cyber crime

Coronavirus Being Exploited By Hackers

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Coronavirus

Coronavirus is sweeping the world with hackers taking advantage of people’s vulnerability and the uncertainty that exists in this situation.

The cyber threat landscape remains the same as do the techniques and methods that hackers utilize but hackers are also being more inventive and praying on innocent victims.

Phishing Attacks

This remains one of the most common forms of cyber attacks. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has announced that they are seeing cases of fraud where Coronavirus has been an avenue for cyber attacks. The losses are understood to be in excess of £800,000. Emails are inadvertently opened to trick individuals which leads to personal information being accessed by the hackers who then use this for illegal means.

This could include the impersonating of third party suppliers or the provision of business services. Another method is the bulk selling of face masks and hand sanitiser.

Also being seen are vishing (voice calls) and smashing (SMS) messaging. Everyone needs to be alert even more so to these dangers.

Hacker Scams 

Another pattern emerging is bogus emails coming from research agencies who are affiliated to bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO). The e-mail content pretends to be able to divulge information on individuals  who may have the infection.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51838468

Remote Working 

A large proportion of the work force is now working from home and with this comes an increased exposure to cyber risks. Good housekeeping is therefore important and should include the following:-

  • Ensure that communications are secure
  • Ensure that strong passwords and multi factor authentication
  • Raise awareness of cyber attacks within the organisation
  • Make sure laptops are kept secure and in a safe location
  • Be careful not to disclose personal credentials
  • Log – off when not using the network
  • Review the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
  • Impose stricter procedures for financial processes and monetary transfers

Managing The Cyber Risk 

All organisations are facing a huge challenge with this infectious disease and the consequences that it brings with  business interruption being one of the main threats.

Cyber insurance includes incident response services which can assist with cyber attacks that may befall a company these include forensic investigation costs , public relations consultants and legal assistance. In the current climate it is even more important to have access to these specialist vendors.

 

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The Cyber Security Threats For 2020

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Cyber Security Threats

Cyber Security threats are evolving all the time making it extremely difficult for business to combat this and it is now even more important to have in place the appropriate protections to keep them safe from hackers.

The same core cyber security threats still exist but these are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to trace and prevent.

Ransomware   

Ransomware is now not just used as a scatter gun approach but is now being more targeted at businesses where ransom demands are now much larger than before. The decision now becomes to pay the ransom in order to obtain the decryption key to mitigate the interruption to the everyday operation of the organisation or to hold out and rely on the back-ups in place that hopefully would not be corrupted. New strains of ransomware are also appearing and becoming increasingly difficult to repel.

Phishing Attacks

These types of threats remain prominent and despite an increase in training by companies to help employees spot such attacks, commonly sent via e-mails, success is high for hackers still reaping rewards.

Internet of Things

The interconnection of devices is increasing at an alarming rate with all aspects of life now being connected from the office to the home . The concern is that people are more reliant on this and this provides greater opportunity for hackers to access a network and cause disruption.

The Supply Chain

The supply chain of any business is in many cases fundamental to its operation where this be the supply of technology or the provision of non IT services. The cyber security of such entities is in a number of cases not as robust as the principal business and should their IT be compromised this can lead to a hacker gaining access up the line.

The Insider Threat

This remains a prominent threat and is to an extent still hard to predict as this is determined by human nature. Even with the most sophisticated firewalls in place if an employee is determined enough to steal data they will succeed. It will be interesting to see how the Morrisons case develops which laid down that businesses are vicariously liable for the actions of employees in the event of a data breach of their employees personal data.

Artificial Intelligence  ( AI)  

AI as it is know is perhaps the newest of the cyber threat vectors that now exist and is the most unknown but potentially the one that could cause the most disruption. It is also the most difficult to defend against. Deep Fake videos are a fast developing area where a believable video conference call from what is thought to be the CEO could have been created by AI , this could lead to misinformation being relayed within the company and impact business decisions.

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Agriculture – The Cyber Threats

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Agriculture

Agriculture is perhaps not recognized as a sector that could be the target of hackers however this sector is now relying on increased connectivity and communication on-line and with this comes the threat of possible cyber attacks.

The Farming community has varied experience in protecting its IT and limited experience in the management of these types of risks.

Cyber Threats

  •  Increased reliance on digitization and conversion from older computer systems
  •  Working with a broad number of suppliers increases supply chain threats
  •  Farm database being subject to a data breach from a hacker
  •  Loss of productivity as a result of a cyber attack impacting on yields
  •  Loss of storage facilities
  •  Compromise of farm management and logistics software  
  • Agricultural vehicle attacks

The Smart Factor

Agriculture is becoming more reliant on smart technology as this is cost effective and works effectively in this sector where movement of goods and animals dominants.

For example this involves some of the following :-

1.Livestock tracking wearables

2 Food tracking

3.Smart agriculture sensors for soil moisture and weather stations

Cyber Risk Management 

Agriculture is linked to the food industry and any compromise in technology is going to have a very significant impact of the food supply chain , protection of this is vital. The food sector is classified as part of the 13 sectors that fall under Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), the prominence of this therefore is at the highest level. The  management of risks in this sector should be a priority.

We have not seen many cyber attacks in this sector and it is maybe the case that few have been reported or they have been in significant to be reported.

Cyber Insurance 

This is relatively new form of insurance and is now being purchased by many businesses in many different sectors and it is conceivable that the farming sector will also consider this with cyber risk becoming more relevant .

 

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Deep Fake – Do You Believe ?

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Deep Fake

Deep Fake is emerging as a prominent new cyber threat which businesses are now facing and need to implement measures to counteract.

What is Deep Fake?

Deep Fake is a method that combines and superimposes existing images and videos onto source images onto source images and videos using artificial intelligence. It uses a machine learning  technique known as generative adversarial network (GANS)and first emerged towards the end of 2017.

Video content has historically been very difficult to change but with the use of artificial intelligence this has helped make the process easier.

What are the typical threats?

  • Creating an emergency situation that is not real and causing panic.
  • Disruption to an election by false statements
  • The making of a false announcement to directors and shareholders
  • An image of a director requesting the fraudulent transfer of funds.
  • Posing falsely as a partner that may affect a relationship
  • False video of a celebrity in compromising situations.

How are Deep Fakes detected?

Sophisticated deep fakes are difficult to detect where as the more amateurish ones can be spotted quite easily such by a lack of blinking or shadows of individuals that do not seem to be in the correct position.

It is also possible for them to also be trained to avoid detection and is therefore a cyber threat that is hard to combat.

Last week Google released a database of 3,000 deep fakes to alter faces and to make people say things they never said. These were of course actors the purpose of this was to help researchers build tools required to take down harmful fake videos that could cause distress to individuals and harm to businesses.  https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2019/09/27/google-made-thousands-of-deepfakes-to-aid-detection-efforts/

Well Known Deep Fakes

Deep fakes have been carried out on many famous individuals from Donald Trump to Tom Cruise and Theresa May.

Here are some examples

https://www.creativebloq.com/features/deepfake-examples

The Future of Deep Fakes

The world of Deep Fakes will no doubt develop beyond a level which makes them impossible to differentiate between what is real and what is not – this is one race that hackers seem to be so far ahead that it will be difficult catch them.

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Artificial Intelligence – Helping Cyber Security

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Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI)  is now playing a significant role in helping to managing cyber risk. This was recently evident in the aftermath of the Nordsk Hydro ransomware attack where AI was utilised to identify further vulnerabilities.

This form of automative technology would seem to be a good match for managing the constant threats posed by hackers where new cyber attacks relentlessly attack computer systems and constant monitoring is required. Despite the automation basis there however still needs to be human involvement in this process.

How Does AI Work ?

Billions amounts of data is consumed by AI via machine learning and deep learning techniques. This makes it possible to improve and develop its cyber security bank of knowledge which ultimately provides a better understanding of existing and developing cyber risks.

AI utilizes reasoning in order to identify relationships cyber threats malware threats and dubious IP threats . This is then analysed in a very short period of time thus enabling users to respond and act on imminent cyber threats.

Where can Artificial Intelligence be used ?

  • Monitoring of computer systems
  • Predictive tool for new threats
  • Analysis of threats based on current activity
  • Monitor Human activity
  • Post data breach tool
  • Detection of viruses and malware

The Future 

Capgemini released a report last month “Reinventing Cybersecurity with Artificial intelligence”

https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/AI-in-Cybersecurity_Report_20190711_V06.pdf

The report revealed that 69% of organisations felt that AI will be necessary to respond to cyber attacks in the coming years. Telecoms in particularly were of the view that this would help mitigate the sizable losses already experienced in this sector. Many organisations are gearing up for testing the viability of AI and how it can help their cyber risk management processes. Budget provisions for this are being made as long term there are many  costs benefits in AI.

Artificial Intelligence is developing at a rapid rate and it is important that its application remains relevant to the cyber security sector as other industries also show an interest in this technology.

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Are You Checking In With Hackers?

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Hackers

Are you checking in with Hackers?

The hotel industry has been a prime target for hackers and this trend is likely to continue. So why are cyber attacks so prevelant within this sector?

Volumes of Data

Hotels hold vast quantities of data through many sources such as through their reservation systems for their customers . This will be personally identifiable information that would consist of names, addresss , e-mail addresses and passport details.

On–line Payment Processing

Customers will log-in on a hotel website to make a reservation which will require them to provide debit or credit card details. These details could be compromised in the event of a data breach. Payment transactions can also remain exposed for a while on computer systems which presents further opportunity. In 2017 hotels accounted for 92% of all point of sale intrusions.

Wi–Fi

The wi-fi in some hotels can be relatively insecure if their cyber security processes and procedures are not as robust as they should be. This can also lead to their data being compromised.

Symantec released a report this week which revealed that 67% of hotel websites surveyed leaked customer’s booking data. This was over 1500 hotel websites in 54 countries , this equates to two in three websites data could be used by third party sites such as advertisers.

https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/hotel-websites-leak-guest-data

Supply Chain

Hotels relies on a supply chain which can include a number of contractors, broking and travel agencies . If there is a vulnerability with one of these it is possible that the hotel may be impacted by this causing business interruption or a data loss.

An Attractive Sector

This sector is a target because of the size of the market and the revenue that is generated each year, this provides opportunists threats for cyber criminals and the proliferation of fraud.

Cyber Attacks on the Hotel Industry

There have been a number of high profile cyber attacks on hotels where hackers have sought to steal data or cause disruption to the business.

Marriot International Hotels 

This is the largest data breach in this sector but also one of the largest in the world.

500 million guests were exposed to this cyber attack which included names and addresses and passport numbers. The attack emanated from the Starwood guest reservation database with who they had recently merged.Starwood themselves had previously experienced a data breach a number of years earlier.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/11/30/private-data-500-million-marriott-guests-exposed-massive-breach/

Hyatt Hotels Corp

Hackers hit the restaurants front desks and parking facilities at 40% of their hotels situated around the world over a four month period.

It is understood that malware was designed to collect cardholder names, numbers and expiration dates.

Hilton Worldwide

Access was gained via the payment card system but on this occasion their was no evidence that data was stolen. The systems were in fact attack twice , cardholder details were again the main target.

As with all business that rely heavily on business via on-line transactions their cyber risk is very high and it is important that cyber risk management is a central focus to management.

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