THE PERFECT STORM

Cybercriminals are constantly seeking to exploit the latest trends to increase the success of their attacks and unfortunately, the recent Coronavirus outbreak has created a perfect storm. Check Point, together with Dimensional Research recently surveyed more than 400 cybersecurity specialists across the globe and the results are sobering. 71% reported an increase in cyber-attacks since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest statistics from the Department of Home Affairs reveal the estimated cost to Australian businesses due to cyber crime will amount to $29 billion this year alone. With the average cost per business a whopping $276,323 and up to 51 days to resolve the cyber incident.

In the Government’s 2020 Cyber Security Strategy discussion paper, The Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton said “cyber security has never been more important for economic prosperity” and “it will underpin future growth ensuring we remain competitive globally as Australian enterprises innovate and find new ways of creating value for their customers.”

The challenge set before Australian businesses is that under-resourced I.T. teams are finding it near impossible to face the onslaught of cyber threats emerging with increased frequency as well-resourced hackers constantly build and replace new cyberattacks.

According to the Carbon Black 2017 ransomware economy report, in recent years there has been a 2,500% increase in the sale of ransomware on darknet sites, with basic tools costing as little as $1.

Threat detection and mitigation have never been more critical to the life of businesses and unfortunately, it is only after the unthinkable has occurred that a dedicated security service provider is seriously considered.

THE UNTHINKABLE

Regrettably, for these Brisbane lawyers, that is exactly what has happened. The Brisbane Times broke a revealing story about cybercriminals who stole millions of dollars from at least 2 unsuspecting law firms in Queensland. They achieved this not by expertly hacking into the lawyer’s network or infecting the system with a virus, they simply sent an email.

For those who fell for the scam, it all began with a simple phone call from people who said they were seeking legal representation. This was followed up with an email which contained a link to ‘important documents’ to support their case.

Everything seemed legit but nothing could have been further from the truth. The whole process was a trick designed to capture login details through a file-sharing site that required email account passwords to gain access.

Once the scammers gained access to the email accounts, they moved to phase 2; monitoring the firm’s email traffic for invoices requesting payment. When a suitably large invoice arrived in the inbox, a phony message with false bank account details was sent to the client so the payment ended in the scammers pocket instead of the law firm.

Most people classify cybercrime simply as an I.T. problem but, human beings are still the gatekeepers of all sensitive data. Bank accounts, file storage, credit card details are all protected by passwords that can be obtained with trickery.

Cybercrime does not target a machine; it targets people and research has uncovered time and again that human error is one of, if not the leading cause of cybersecurity breaches across the globe.

HOW TO RIDE THE STORM

So what is the answer? How can Aussie businesses ride the storm and secure their end-to-end cyber architecture and avoid paying a fortune or even losing their business to a cyber incident?

FocusNet Technology understands a single mitigation strategy will not guarantee the prevention of a security incident. Therefore, to provide peace of mind a multi-layered business continuity plan should be considered that comprises:

1. 1. Clear visibility is the greatest weapon an I.T. department can arm themselves with. We highly recommend considering a professional cyber risk assessment to become aware of your businesses vulnerabilities.

1. 1. A strong cyber security system that is built for threat detection, mitigation, compliance, and data recovery.

1. 1. A Security as a Service provider experts in cybersecurity who are dedicated to staying on top of the latest attack trends, bad actors, indicators of compromise and affected industries.

1. Cyber insurance while we can build an I.T. infrastructure with a solid defence against the malicious attacks, research reveals most breaches are due to human error. The strongest approach is to combine a robust I.T. security system with a comprehensive cyber insurance policy.

CYBER PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

One of the ways FocusNet Technology is combating the evolving cyber landscape is by partnering with AT&T’s AlienVault USM, a defence platform which leverages threat intelligence from the Open Threat Exchange (OTX) — the world’s largest open threat intelligence community of security experts, researchers, and I.T. professionals.

The community consists of more than 65,000 participants, over 140 countries, and scopes at least 14 million threat indicators every day. This unified alliance is one of the strongest defences against cybercrime in the world today.

With the all-in-one platform, our top-tier professionals manage cyber defence at the highest level, providing businesses with confidence and peace of mind, knowing their I.T. infrastructure is in good hands.

Please feel free to give us a call and speak to one of our cybersecurity consultants to discuss our multi-layered solutions or arrange an obligation free cyber risk assessment.