Cybersecurity Challenges in the Digital Age and How to Improve

Part 1:

Let’s not argue on the fact that the old IT world is evolving at a pace faster than light speed, and cybersecurity experts now have to deal with new threats every day. Today over 60% of total commercial transactions are done online, so this field requires a high quality of security for transparent and best transactions. Around 98% of companies are maintaining or augmenting their resources for cybersecurity and of those, half are increasing resources devoted to online attacks. 

However, despite the best efforts from cybersecurity specialists, cyber-attacks have been affecting the government and numerous large, well-resourced companies. The cybercriminals or attackers are also getting smarter with each passing day. For instance, they are using spying software to track fingerprint movements on touch screens, thus causing loss of sensitive data that they can utilize for blackmailing an individual.

Cyber-attacks including phishing, malware, man-in-the-middle attacks (MiM), SQL injections, brute force attacks, among others, have made data and assets of corporations, governments and individuals, highly vulnerable to security threats. The attacks are not just restricted to the personal, financial and sensitive data of a business but they can even pose a threat to national security. Government agencies are the main target for cyber attackers or hostile foreign entities who seek to cause disruption, sow distrust and obtain classified or sensitive information.

Personally identifiable information (PII) is currently a gold mine for cybercriminals. Attackers obtain key pieces of PII, such as birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, social security or driver’s license numbers, in order to impersonate someone else. 

Cybercriminals can use PII for more nefarious purposes that impact the victim directly, by applying for credit cards, filing fraudulent income tax returns, and applying for loans under the victim’s name. They can also use this data to blackmail, demand ransom, or steal your money.

I guess by now, we all must have heard about the recent attack on the US health department. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on March 15, 2020. It is believed that the attack was designed to slow the department’s systems. The attack on the health department was first reported by Bloomberg which also suggested that the attack was linked to a text message-based disinformation campaign that wrongly suggested that there would be a nationwide quarantine on Monday. However, appropriate actions were taken by the government and the situation is now under control.

The latest attack happened a few days ago with Easyjet, where a highly sophisticated cyber-attack affected approximately nine million customers. Easyjet states that email addresses and travel details were stolen and that over 2.2K customers had their credit card details “accessed”. The company became aware of the attack in January, however it took time to understand the scope and identify who was impacted. 

 This kind of cyber-attack undermines the reputation and credibility of a nation or of an enterprise. Despite investing a remarkable amount of money into hiring security professionals, maintaining customer privacy and avoiding ransomware attacks, many organizations are unable to get control over the situation. The reason being the changing nature of hackers and the access to tools that outwit the latest security countermeasures.