During this year alone, the ubiquity of cyber-attacks has dramatically increased with no end in sight. The FBI continues to warn about cybersecurity due to ongoing risks of data breaches, cyber-attacks, and other cyber threats to our national security.
To date, terrorists have not deployed a full-scale Internet cyber-attack, but they have defaced numerous websites, breached information security, and instigated countless denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Since the United States is extremely dependent on target-rich IT environments, this makes it a prime target for criminals.
Just recently, the activity of Russian hackers from central Russia, who are believed to have compromised 1.2 billion credentials, highlights the increased intensity. The more dangerous threat is the hacker's ability to create profiles of individuals with stolen information. These valuable profiles, which can easily be sold on the underground market, can be used to obtain fake passports, ID cards, or driver's licenses.
What, if any, Safeguards Have Been Developed?
According to the publisher of Nilson Report, a payment industry newsletter, advanced fraud detection algorithms have been developed by credit card companies and banks to uncover fraud prior to charges hitting victims’ accounts. As a result, less than five percent of credit card numbers stolen in breaches are ever used for fraud.
Additional issues that continue to threaten critical infrastructure include inadequate network security configurations, technological obsolescence, and poor IT security.
Is This the New Norm, or Can Technology Prevent these Issues?
One approach that helps to shorten data breaches is an investment in the testing and development of a modern and comprehensive IT security oversight program.
Regardless of the serious implications to bottom line profits, company liability factors, public relations, and overall productivity, for some reason, far too many organizations either neglect or simply totally overlook network testing.
For best practices, it's a mistake to let this one slide because if something does happen, it can be a major disaster… as we have learned from this recent round of Russian cyber-attacks.
