Year: 2018

Tackling the Cyber Threat at the World Cup

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World Cup

The 2018 FIFA World Cup has finally arrived with the expectations for the England team  more subdued than normal…..away from the football pitch the cyber threat landscape will once again present challenges for this major sporting event.  Already this year we have seen the Winter Olympics in South Korea experience wiper malware that hit the internet and TV broadcasting of the opening ceremony.

With Russian hackers having  “home advantage ” it will be interesting to see the attack vectors utilized and how resilient cyber security will be to combat this.

GCHQ have warned the Football Association that both the officials and players could well be targeted by hackers during the tournament.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/12/england-world-cup-squad-targets-russian-hackers

Why the World Cup ?

Major sporting events grab the attention of the entire world but unfortunately this also attracts elements of the population who perceive this as an opportunity to be exploited  ….. the world of cyber crime.

The threat that cyber crime poses to an event such as this is similar to that which exists for any other business but on a much larger scale and with more dramatic consequences due its high profile and the many threat vectors that may exist.

Assessing the Cyber Threat

Some of the targets for cyber criminals are likely to be the following :-

1.The Official World Cup Website

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks preventing access to website by fans.

The accessing of the website by hackers and altering the data such as falsifying the results and tables and providing incorrect information to the public.

Defacement of the website by a hacktivist.

Fans will no doubt access the website via Wi-Fi and vulnerability will exist if they inadvertently log in through a rogue Wi-Fi connection which could lead to the stealing of their personal data.

2.Match Day Tickets

Ticket fraud with the setting up of bogus websites taking fans money and issuing counterfeit tickets.

Website scamming offering last minute match day tickets for the big games with no ticket actually being produced.

3.The Stadiums

Technology will be pivotal in all aspects of the running of the ten stadiums being used in the tournament. Stadium entry, ticketing processing, management of floodlights and associated infrastructure would all be impacted in the event of a cyber attack.

4. Tournament Data 

The event will involve a huge amount of data ranging from credit card data of fans, players confidential information or the database of the organizers which is likely to be targeted by hackers. This could occur through phishing attacks in order to steal personal private information (PPI)and then lead to possible bank fraud of individuals. With GDPR now in force hackers are likely to focus more on stealing data.

5.E-mail Transmission

E-mail scamming could be caused by bogus e-mails set up to obtain players and officials personal information that is disseminated over the internet. The numerous sending and exchanging of e-mails also presents an opportunity or spamming.

6.Media Coverage

World wide coverage will be provided to this event by television companies who will be reliant on technology and the service could be interrupted or even blacked out by a hacker wishing to cause transmission downtime.

7. Computer Network 

The spreading of a malware attack within the internal computer network and third party providers could cause enormous interruption to the running of the tournament. The reliance on technology reaches far and wide ranging from the transportation network to close circuit TV surveillance systems.

8. Mobile Applications 

Fake mobile apps devised by developers to give the impression of the official FIFA app.

9.Cyber Terrorism

Cyber terrorism could occur in a number of forms. A ransomware attack would limit or entirely restrict the use of computer systems affecting many aspects of the tournament.

There may be political motivation from countries that want to disrupt the tournament. This could be to make a political stand on an issue or perhaps a country that failed to reach the finals or a country that has controversially been knocked out of the competition.

The threat of remotely controlled drones by cyber terrorist entering a stadium causing disruption and delay to matches.

10.Social Media

Infiltration of social media websites by hackers of the tournament and personal accounts pose a threat to fans , players and officials privacy.

Cyber Risk Management Program

FIFA will no doubt have in place a comprehensive cyber risk management program to manage the World Cup  which is likely to be broken down into the following :-

  • Identification of cyber risk vectors
  • The mitigation of cyber risk within the tournament
  • The transfer of residual cyber risks that they are unwilling or unable to manage.

Cyber Insurance

Cyber Insurance can assist with the transfer of cyber risks by the following insurance modules :-

  • Network Security Liability
  • Data Privacy Liability
  • Multimedia Liability
  • Network Business Interruption
  • Data Asset Protection
  • Cyber Extortion
  • Crisis Management

A cyber insurance policy also provides post breach vendor assistance helping with data breach notification , forensic investigation and public relations.

Image : Shutterstock

Is Our Data Safer Under GDPR?

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GDPR

Now that GDPR is in force will this make our data safer…..

The volumes of data running through businesses in the UK is difficult to visualise and practically impossible to safeguard so will GDPR actually make any difference to our data being better protected? The chances are that it will be but the same inherent threats will still exist.

So what are these threats ?

1.Businesses that have not yet complied with GDPR

In the the run up to GDPR a number of reports indicated that many business were behind in achieving the required standards expected there is therefore a danger that firms are still very much behind the curve in meeting the GDPR standards.

2.Inability to restore data

In the event of a compromise of personal data it will be important that a businesses can restore data by having the appropriate back-ups in place if this is not possible this will impact on their business confidence and reputation.

3.Internal espionage

Rogue employees or a disgruntled member of staff might wish to cause disruption or make a point on a company wide issue. Morrisons were recently involved in a court case and found vicariously liable for the acts of an employee who gained access to the personal details of employees and released this into the public domain.

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/the-morrisons-data-breach-and-gdpr-compliance

4. Heightened cyber security threats 

It is conceivable that there will a visible increase in cyber attacks on businesses as hackers will target firms for their data and exploiting vulnerabilities. Such threats as ransomware or a DDos attack where a hacker could hold a business to ransom by threatening to steal or disseminate data.

http://cyberbrokers.co.uk/will-ransomware-attacks-increase-under-gdpr/

5. Poor cyber risk management

A data controller with poor cyber risk management would be a prime target for a hacker. Basic cyber hygiene is vital with minimum standards of Cyber Essentials and preferably ISO27001 advanced cyber security processes in place.

6. The absence of an incident response plan

If a businesses is hit by a data breach it will need to react quickly to this, an incident response will assist with this . Business continuity and disaster recovery plans should also be in place so that the business can continue to operate.

Cyber Insurance can help….

This specialist form of insurance can provide valuable coverage in the event of a data breach and help mange the impact of this.

The main elements of coverage provided to protect data are as follows:-

  • Privacy Liability
  • Data notification costs
  • Regulatory costs and expenses
  • 24/7 Incident response services

There is no doubt that data will still be at risk with threats to its security emerging as technology and the incentives to use data for ill means increases.

Image : Shutterstock

GDPR – Data Protection But Not As We Know It

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Manufacturing

On the 25th May the General Data Protection Regulations ( GDPR ) comes into force which will change the whole world of how personal data is managed for individuals that live within the EU member states.

The concept behind this is to give people back control of their data which imposes strict data protection obligations on businesses and provides individuals with the right of redress should their data not be managed in accordance with these regulations.

Despite the fact that the UK will be leaving the EU next year, the regulations will apply to UK businesses after which these will then be replaced by the proposed Data Protection Bill that will impose similar data protection regulations.

GDPR is arguably long over due, in the UK we currently have the Data Protection Act 1998, to put this into context at the time that this was implemented , there are analogue television and dial – up internet…. .. The increase in the use of personal data has increased dramatically since then due to the advances in technology and how people interact with the many modes of communication such as social media.

In the UK the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) will monitor and regulate the GDPR. The ICO website provides a guide to businesses explaining their obligations and to help those individuals who have day to day responsibility for data protection within their organisation.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

In order to help businesses prepare for for these new regulations the ICO have published “Preparing for the GDPR – 12 Steps to take now

https://ico.org.uk/media/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf

What types of data does this apply to ?

This relates to any information which is personally identifies an individuals and includes the following :-

Names & addresses

Passport Number

National Insurance Number

Photographs

Biometric data such as fingerprints , iris scanning and voice recognition

The Dangers of Non-Complaince 

The profile of GDPR is gathering moment and no doubt individuals will wish to be aware of the amounts data that is held against their name. With this will bring about situations where individuals request details and these are unavailable due to non-compliance with business being unable to produce the information at all or within the required time limits.

The other issue and the one with the most significant consequences is where a business suffers a data breach as a result of a hacker attack or an perhaps an error or deliberate act by an employee, the details are then disseminated into the public domain or used for ill gotten gains. The ICO has powers to issue fines of up to 4% of  worldwide turnover of a businesses or 20 million Euros whichever is the greater. This is an uplift from GBP500,000 under the current regulations, this therefore represents a significant increase and demonstrates that a serious non-compliance will have severely consequences.

Managing GDPR

It will be essential that the correct processes and procedures are in place and in the event of a data breach it is important that an incident response plan is readily available whether this having been drawn up internally or with the help of a specialist consultancy. The incident response plan will consists of various vendors to help manage the breach such as lawyers and public relations consultants.

A cyber insurance policy provides such resources and is offered by insurers on a 24/7 basis should the policyholder be subject to a data breach.

The management of these new regulations within a businesses is going to be a fundamental focal point going forward with personal at all levels needing to be aware of their day to day obligations in the processing and handling of data.

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Will Ransomware Attacks Increase Under GDPR?

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Ransomware

Business in the UK suffer on average 38 ransomware attacks a day and it is likely that we will see a significant increase in this when GDPR comes into force on 25th May this year.

According to cyber security product developer Sonic Wall there are over 2,500 different know variants of ransomware hitting UK businesses which makes the task of managing these attacks becoming a formidable job to combat. One of the current trends of cyber attacks carried out by hackers was is that their targets appeared to be that of data with ransomware being an ideal method of disrupting businesses by corrupting their data, stealing it or perhaps holding them to ransom.

This form of cyber attack on a business is perhaps one of the most difficult to handle due to its unpredictable nature and the impact that it can have on a business leaving it paralyzed to operate. It is also normally time limited which adds the factor of stress to the business owners with  the imminent threat of data being destroyed if the ransom is not paid within a specific deadline.

With GDPR there is added factor of a business being fined by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) if data is compromised.The fines that could be imposed by the ICO are between 2 and 4% of global turnover depending on how the degree of the data breach. Uber would be an example of where the ICO could have imposed a heavy fine. Hackers held Uber to £750,000 ransom with the threat of releasing the data of 57 million customers. Uber would have been in the position of breaching GDPR rules on two occasions for the initial cyber attack and the fact that it was not disclosed as all data breaches will need to be advised to the ICO within 72 hours. It will be interesting to see how the ICO approach the question of fines and to what degree they are likely to impose the maximum fine threshold.

The paying of a ransom is am easy option to pacify alleviate a cyber attack but this could only be a short term solution as the hacker could return perceiving the business to be an easy target. There is  also no guarantee that the files containing the data will be released and will remain encrypted with the business still unable to access the data.

Cyber insurance can help with ransomware attacks , in paying the actual ransom and the costs associated with negotiating with the hackers. The policy would also provide coverage for the forensic and IT costs to investigate a possible sideways attacks by the hackers into computer systems. A data breach will need to be managed and this specialist form of insurance provides incident response services backed by a panel of experienced vendors.

Ransomware attacks will undoubtedly increase once GDPR comes into force and businesses will need to improve their cyber risk management in order to avoid the wrath of the ICO and the damage to their reputation that a severe data breach may cause.

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Winter Olympics Viewed As Cyber Target

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Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics has already captured the attention of hackers and with this major event only a few days away the cyber threat is very real …..

Hackers have already targeted the Winter Olympics with a number of organisations being subject to attacks in an effort to gain access to sensitive information.

MacAfee have revealed that a hacking campaign has been in place for a while which appears to be backed by a nation state . The targets have been ice hockey teams and ski-ing suppliers discovered.

https://www.wired.com/story/pyeongchang-winter-olympics-cyberattacks/

Why the Winter Olympics?

Major sporting events grab the attention of the entire world but unfortunately this also attracts elements of the population who perceive this as an opportunity to be exploited  ….. the world of cyber crime.

The threat that cyber crime poses to an event such as this is similar to that which exists for any other business but on a much larger scale and with more dramatic consequences due its high profile and the many threat vectors that exist.

The Cyber Threat Landscape

Some of the targets for cyber criminals are likely to be the following :-

1.The Official PyeongChang 2018 Website

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks preventing access to website by fans.

The accessing of the website by hackers, altering the data such as falsifying the results and interfering with medal tables.

Defacement of the website by a hacktivist.

Spectators and visitors will no doubt access the website via Wi-Fi and vulnerability will exist if they inadvertently log in through a rogue Wi-Fi connection which could lead to the stealing of their personal data.

2.Event Tickets

Ticket fraud with the setting up of bogus websites taking fans money and issuing counterfeit tickets.

Website scamming offering last minute match day tickets for the big events with no ticket actually being produced.

3.The Venues

Technology will be pivotal in all aspects of the running of the 15 venues being used in PyeongChang . Entry to the venues, ticketing processing, management of lighting and associated infrastructure would all be impacted in the event of a cyber attack.

4. Competitors Data 

The event will involve a huge amount of data ranging from credit card data of spectators, athletes confidential information or the database of the organizers which is likely to be targeted by hackers. This could occur through phishing attacks in order to steal personal private information (PPI)and then lead to possible bank fraud of individuals. Brazil does have an established reputation for on-line banking fraud.

5.E-mail Transmission

E-mail scamming could be caused by bogus e-mails set up to obtain athletes and officials personal information that could be disseminated over the internet. The endless sending and exchanging of e-mails also presents an opportunity or spamming.

6.Media Coverage

World wide coverage will be provided to this event by television companies who will be reliant on technology and the service could be interrupted or even blacked out by a hacker wishing to cause transmission downtime. For example a video re-run of the 200 m final could be disrupted by a ransomware attack.

7. Computer Network 

The spreading of a malware attack within the internal computer network and third party providers could cause enormous interruption to the running of the numerous events taking place. The reliance on technology reaches far and wide ranging from the transportation network to close circuit TV surveillance systems.

8. Mobile Applications 

Fake mobile apps devised by developers to give the impression of the official Winter Olympics app. Smartphones area also at risk if stolen and personal data is sourced.

9.Cyber Terrorism

Cyber terrorism could occur in a number of forms. A ransomware attack would limit or entirely restrict the use of computer systems affecting the running of the Winter Olympics.

There may be political motivation from countries that want to disrupt the event. This could be to make a political stand on an issue or perhaps a country that failed to win an event or perhaps a competitor that was disqualified and the country that was represented takes retaliation.

The threat of remotely controlled drones by cyber terrorist entering an event causing disruption and delay to matches.

10.Social Media

Infiltration of social media websites by hackers of the tournament and personal accounts pose a threat to fans , players and officials privacy.

Cyber Risk Management Program

The International Olympic Committee will no doubt have in place a comprehensive cyber risk management program to manage the programs of events which is likely to be broken down into the following :-

  • Identification of cyber risk vectors
  • The mitigation of cyber risk within the tournament
  • The transfer of residual cyber risks that they are unwilling or unable to manage.

Cyber Insurance

Cyber Insurance can assist with the transfer of cyber risks associated with sporting events by providing the following insurance modules :-

  • Network Security Liability
  • Data Privacy Liability
  • Multimedia Liability
  • Network Business Interruption
  • Data Asset Protection
  • Cyber Extortion
  • Crisis Management

A cyber insurance policy also provides post breach vendor assistance helping with data breach notification , forensic investigation and public relations.

The Winter Olympics is global event that is reliant on technology which does make it especially vulnerable to cyber security threats, it is therefore important that these are recognized and measures are put in place to mitigate the potentially severe consequences that could impact on the games.

This post is based on “Rio 2016 – The Cyber Threat”

http://cyberbrokers.co.uk/rio-2016-cyber-threats/

Image : Shutterstock

 

The Challenges Facing Cyber Security

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What are the challenges facing cyber security in 2018?

These will involve the development of existing threat vectors and the emergence of new ones, keeping up with the evolving capabilities of hackers will never be more difficult to repel and prevent.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

This presents a major challenge to all organisations with time marching towards the 25th May deadline. Many businesses in the SME space are behind the curve in their preparations for this and will do well to meet this deadline. If missed they will face the wrath of the ICO and possible fines for non-compliance.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

AI and machine learning is now available to hackers to conduct cyber attacks providing a challenging new cyber threat landscape that will need to be navigated. Machine learning will also be used for the good as it can assist the cyber security sector in analysing and monitoring new and existing threats.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The IoT theat is likely to develop further with possible focus on critical infrastructures and home devices. With it now being possible to purchase botnet kits on the dark web it is becoming easier to set up DDoS attacks.

State Sponsored Cyber Attacks

These do not look they will be alleviating any time soon and are likely to grow eminating from countries that look to install government instalibility or to carry out cyber espionage.

Ransomware

Ransomware will continue to be a major cyber security threat with new strains being developed by hackers focusing on businesses that have immature cyber risk management.

Mobile Breaches

The threat of mobile breaches is still very much with us and this could be the year that a substantial breach occurs. This could happen via a vulnerability in an app which may itself contain considerable amounts of data that a hacker could gain access to for ill gains.

Bitcoin and Blockchain

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency made the headlines at the end of last year with its value increasing by leaps and bounds before coming back down to a more sensible valuation. Blockchain is not very well understood , but is now recognized as method in which fraud can be prevented and will gain in popularity as it becomes more mainstream.

Trust

Trust is emerging as a side issue in the development of cyber security. Trust that business are safe to trade with and that in the event of a data breach they will act in an honorable fashion and in the best interests of their employees and shareholders. This will impact on future trading and the reputation of a business.

What Will Cyber Criminals focus on?

  • Supply Chain

Cyber threats are being targeted on supply chains as their computer systems do not always have the same standard of cyber security as the main contractor this presenting oportinuties for hackers to exploit inferior systems as a gateway to compromising the main contractors systems. This is likely to continue.

  • The Healthcare Sector

This sector has always been a principal focus for hackers as the stolen data can be used for a number of things.With the standard of cyber security not being considered the most robust this presents this sector as being vulnerable to hackers.

SME businesses

The general immaturity of SME’s computer systems and lack of cyber risk management makes them a prime target for hackers . The mentality of “ it won’t happen to us “ does not hold true and is a dangerous game to play.

Adequate levels of cyber security risk management and the emergence of cyber insurance will play an important part in managing a cyber attack on a businesses’s computer systems. The challenges that lay ahead in the coming year will be huge and defending a business against such a varied threat landscape will be demanding.

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