The Haunting Horror Story Of Cybercrime

As the old saying goes, “darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand.” Halloween is upon the scene and frightening things are unforeseen. 

Imagine watching a chilling movie depicting a zombie apocalypse or a deadly virus spreading fast across a metropolis, infecting everything in its wake. Sounds like a monstrous scenario? Sounds analogous to a cyber-attack? You could be onto something. Strap yourself in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

According to a recent F5 Labs threat analysis, the top application breaches haunting companies right now with rapidly mutating sophistication include payment card theft via web injection (70%), website hacking (26%), and app database hacking (4%).

Frighteningly, further analysis shows that 13% of all web application breaches in 2017 and Q1 2018 were access related. 

This bloodcurdling discovery can be dissected as follows: credentials stolen via compromised email (34.29%), access control misconfiguration (22.86%); credential stuffing from stolen passwords (8.57%), brute force attacks to crack passwords (5.71%), and social engineering theft (2.76). The eerie evidence also shows that applications and identities are the initial targets in 86% of breaches.

Businesses worldwide now face a sense of creeping dread and imminent disruption. Nowadays, they are more prone than ever to terrors such as malware hijacking browsers to sniff or intercept application authentication credentials. Then there are the strains of malware that target financial logins to menace both browser and mobile clients.

There’s no way around it. Getting your cybersecurity posture right is the only way to stay safe. Get it wrong, however, and you’ll get the fright of your life in the shape of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforcement. There is definitively nowhere to hide this Halloween if you’re breached or fall short of tightening compliance expectations.

Yet, if scary movies have taught us anything about horror stories, it is to never to scream and run away. As this ghoulish season can overshadow any organisation, it’s imperative that preventative measures are in place to protect vital assets. 

Yes, the findings from F5 Labs may paint a bleak picture but there are plenty of preventative measures you can take to improve your security posture and safeguard your employees’ applications and sensitive data: 

• Understand your threat environment and prioritise defences against grave risk concerns. Know which applications are important and minimise your attack surface. Remember, an app’s surface is broadening all the time, encompassing multiple tiers and the ever-increasing use of application programming interfaces (APIs) to share data with third parties.

• Use data to drive your risk strategy and identify what attackers would typically target. Beware that any part of an application service visible on the Internet will be probed by fiendish hackers for possible exploitation.

• Configure your network systems properly or suffer the consequences of applications leaking internal and infrastructure information, including server names, private network addresses, email addresses, and even usernames. This is all valuable ammunition for a horrible hacker to carry out an attack.

• Be aware of common threats including DDoS attacks, ransomware, malware, phishing, and botnets. Ensure your IT response strategies are built to adapt and update in line with new vulnerabilities and threats will invariably improve survival rates.

• Implement a strong set of easily manageable and powerful security solutions such as an advanced web application firewall (AWAF). This type of technology is extremely scalable and can protect against the latest wave of attacks using behavioural analytics, proactive bot defence, and application-layer encryption of sensitive data like personal credentials.

• Ensure the company enforces a proactive culture of security and educates employees on policy, device management, as well as safe internet and cloud usage.

• When travelling on business, ensure staff never conduct financial transactions requiring a debit or credit card when using public or free Wi-Fi services. Never assume mobiles and laptop devices are safe, even at the local coffee bar.

• Change your passwords regularly (i.e. every month). This is especially important after travel. Devices may have been compromised during transit.

• Always perform regular data backups on approved devices and/or secure cloud platforms to ensure sensitive information is not lost or stolen and can be quickly recovered in the event of an attack.

• Remember, careless employees who feel they are unaccountable for the loss of work devices can damage business reputations.

The Grim Reality

Remember this is the time of year when “creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize the neighbourhood”. Whether you’re expecting a trick or treat this Halloween, neglecting cybersecurity is certain to have ghastly consequences.

The business world is littered with victims of cybercrime, so don’t get consigned to the grievous graveyard of cyber fraud. Know what makes your apps vulnerable and how they can be attacked. 

Makes sure you put the right solutions in place to lower your risk. Now is the time to stop being haunted by cybercriminals draining the lifeblood out of your business.

ISBuzz News:

You Might Also read:

Guide To All Things Criminal On The Web

« Amazon Scraps AI Recruiting Tool That Showed Bias Against Women
Britain To Spend Up To £1B Extra On Cyber Warfare »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

Resecurity, Inc.

Resecurity, Inc.

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Gartner insights into How to Select the Right ZTNA offering. Download this FREE report for a limited time only.

Optimum Insurance

Optimum Insurance

Optimum's Cyber Risk & Data Protection Insurance policies are designed to protect against cyber exposures that arise when a company’s data and customer information is breached or stolen.

CSIS Security Group

CSIS Security Group

CSIS provide actionable threat intelligence, prevention, incident response and 24/7 managed security services.

TrustArc

TrustArc

TrustArc provide privacy compliance and risk management with integrated technology, consulting and TRUSTe certification solutions – addressing all phases of privacy program management.

Igloo Security

Igloo Security

Igloo Security is a leader and pioneer in SIEM (Security Information & Event Management), PSIM (Physical Security Information Management) and MSS (Managed Security Services).

BrainChip

BrainChip

BrainChip is the leading provider of neuromorphic computing solutions, a type of artificial intelligence that is inspired by the biology of the human neuron - spiking neural networks.

Agility Networks

Agility Networks

Agility Networks is a technology company providing integrated services and solutions for Digital Transformation and Cyber Security.

Vigilant Technology Solutions

Vigilant Technology Solutions

Vigilant is a global cyber security technology company offering solutions to manage entire IT & cyber security lifecycles.

Suresecure

Suresecure

Suresecure are a specialised consulting company providing Strategic IT security consulting, Managed Security Services, and Incident Response Management.

Assure IT

Assure IT

Assure IT is a Singapore company specialising in technology governance, risk and compliance.

C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute

C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute

The C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute is a research consortium dedicated to accelerating the benefits of artificial intelligence for business, government, and society.

Psybersafe

Psybersafe

Psybersafe is a hands-on, behaviour-changing training system that keeps your people and your business cyber safe.

Solvo

Solvo

Solvo enables security teams and other stakeholders to automatically uncover, prioritize, mitigate and remediate cloud infrastructure access risks.

Dropzone AI

Dropzone AI

Dropzone AI are creating a generational leap in SecOps by using AI to automate cyber expertise and tooling.

Alpha Echo

Alpha Echo

Specialising in security advice and enterprise-wide Cyberworthiness, Alpha Echo helps Australia deliver on cyber outcomes at a military grade level.

Loccus AI

Loccus AI

Loccus are developers of AI solutions in the voice safety space. We build identity verification solutions, deepfake detection systems and fraud protection products for companies and end-users.

A&O Shearman

A&O Shearman

A&O Shearman is a law firm at the forefront of the forces changing the current of global business: energy transition, life sciences, technology, private capital, finance and beyond.