internet of things Archives - CyberBrokers.co.uk

What are the six major cyber risks of 2019 that businesses will need to guard against in the perpetual war against cyber criminals.

The cyberthreat landscape is constantly changing with hackers using ever more sophisticated means to gain unauthorised access to computer systems.This coupled with some of the more established tools utilised by hackers produces a cocktail of cyber attacks vectors that provide the ultimate test to cyber risk management of a busines.

Cyber risks come in many shapes and forms and it is likely that we will see the following featuring throughout the world in the coming days and months.

Supply Chain Vulnerbilities

This is proving to be a very real vulnerability with businesses heavily reliant on their suppliers and contractors for services whether this be for the provision of technology services that are fundamental to the effective functioning of the business.

If one of the suppliers systems are compromised this is likely to result if a significant businesses interruption loss where income will be lost and reputation damaged.

http://cyberbrokers.co.uk/how-secure-is-your-supply-chain/

Mobile Applications

We are are all reliant on our smart phones and laptops and end to end encryption of these is therefore of paramount importance. Confidential information and personal data is in abundance on these devices and a hacker will no doubt target such devices that do not have the appropriate security in place.

With the emergence of 5G this it will become increasingly harder to protect mobile applications.

Phishing Attacks

These are well established methods that hackers use to overcome human vulnerabilities.

This is carried out by e-mail compromise where uses click on a link that leads to malware being spread resulting in crippling the computer system or falsely changing a clients bank details to one set up by a hacker which leads to a loss of funds.

Ransomware Attacks

There have been a number of high profile ransomware attacks namely WannaCry and Non-Petya that impacted many countries around the world. Business affected by these include WPP, Maerck and the National Health Serice in the U.K.

A ransomware attack can be very cleverly disguised with many means available to gain access to a computer network. Over the past twelve months ransomware attacks have declined but they still remain a very real threat with different strains of malware emerging. This will only increase and make detection harder awareness of new methods and defense of these will therefore be vitally important to mitigate this on-going threat.

The Morrison’s Effect

As a result of a Morrison’s employee stealing salary details and distributing these to a number of newspapers Morrisons were sued for damages by a number of the affected individuals.

As a result of this it was found after appeal that Morrison’s were vicariously liable for the employees’ actions. The court also stated that the affected individuals could claim for financial loss and emotional distress. It is therefore conceivable that this could open the flood gates for class actions against other such businesses in similar circumstances.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45943735

Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now developing at an alarming pace as businesses recognized the benefits that machine learning can bring such as increased efficiency in manufacturing and data analysis. this however brings increased cyber risks. It is possible for inter-connectivity to take place which leads to communication with other devices called the Internet of Things (IOT) the result of which can lead to a compromise of systems , loss of data or even physical damage.

Cyber attacks backed by AI would be far greater than a conventional human lead cyber attack causing more damage for longer periods. This is a new emerging cyber threat but it could be one of the most dangerous and damaging as cyber security has not kept pace with the ensuing risks.

Cyber attacks will undoubtably become more sophisticated with the cyber risk landscape becoming more unpredictable and difficult to assess the threat vectors that develop.

Image : Shutterstock

The “Internet of Things” is the product of the increasing connectivity of corporate computing infrastructures, industrial machinery and electronic consumer devices.

This provides new cyber threats to businesses which will need to be managed through a combination of robust cyber security measures and cyber liability insurance.

The phase, the “Internet of Things” is associated with devices that are capable of communicating via the internet through programmed commands or by “learning “patterns of behaviour and activity so as to recognize common occurrences in our daily lives and communicating with other devices accordingly

With more devices and people being connected to the internet in the coming years, this will produce a global impact with the estimated market for the “Internet of Things”thought to be $66 billion between now and 2019.

From a business and consumer perspective this has many advantages , whether it be controlling an industrial process remotely to switching on your central heating whilst you are on the way home on a train, it does however come with very real cyber related threats.

The main threat bought by the “Internet of Things” is the vulnerability of the loss of data and the compromising of personal information as devices will have access to such information about a business or individual . This scenario makes it a prime target for a security breach from a targeted hacker attack.

Examples of recent attacks this year :-

Hacking attack of a German steel mill where hackers gained control of a smelting furnace and caused it to over heat resulting in damage to the furnace and interruption to the business.
Hackers took remote control of cars steering , braking and acceleration
Baby monitors being hacked allowing third parties to control the monitors

This year Lloyd’s of London commissioned a report where a hypothetical attack was carried on the electricity grid of the Eastern US. It was calculated that the loss could equate to $2 trillion which would not all be covered by insurance.

A cyber liability insurance policy will provide coverage for both third party and first party losses. This encompasses a businesses third party liability and first party exposures resulting from a data security breach , the response and associated investigation costs . It can also respond to business interruption loss and damage to a businesses computer systems and it’s data. The policy however is unlikely to respond to all first party damage and claims involving bodily injury . It will therefore be necessary for other insurance policies to be reviewed by your insurance broker to ensure that an any gaps in coverage are appropriately addressed.

The Six Major Cyber Risks of 2019

Cyber Liability – The Internet of Things

The “Internet of Things” is the product of the increasing connectivity of corporate computing infrastructures, industrial machinery and electronic consumer devices.