This time last year the news of Sony’s data breach was raging hot in the media. But what’s changed since then? How does the threat landscape look now? Can we assure ourselves all is now calm?
This time last year the news of Sony’s data breach was raging hot in the media. But what’s changed since then? How does the threat landscape look now? Can we assure ourselves all is now calm?
Since Sony, reports of company breaches have increased abundantly over the past year. You just need to Google ‘cyber-crime’ for a large list of attacks to infiltrate your screen. From Carphone Warehouse, Ashley Madison and TalkTalk, large company breaches have been stealing the show and the fact that smaller companies can be affected too can easily be forgotten. However, now, as the issue of cyber-crime is spreading, some smaller companies are keener to voice their concerns – just like this Scottish hairdressing firm which was attacked last month.
On the whole it is clear that crime on our streets is decreasing but crime in the online world is increasing (Office for the National Statistics report).The PWC Information Security Breaches Survey 2015 reports that 90% of large organisations and 74% of small organisations reported that they had suffered any form of security breach. This represents a 9% year on year increase for large organisations, and over 20% for smaller businesses. But what actually is trending on today’s threat landscape?
Trend number 1: The Internet of Things (IoT)
The internet of things is revolutionising the way we use the Internet. It refers to any device that is connected to the Internet such as cars, medical equipment, thermostats, and watches, to name but a few. It was only recently that The Guardian has reported a kitchen from the very foreseeable future, a ‘Smart kitchen.’ You’ve probably heard of smart fridges where your fridge will kindly update you if you are out of milk or any other kind of necessity but having a whole smart kitchen will allow all your appliances to ‘talk’. For example, having a chopping board that can weigh what you’ve chopped and a pan which tells you its temperature.
The Internet of Things provides us with endless possibilities which appeal to our imagination and emphasise our need for convenience. However, we have to remember increased connectivity also increases the opportunities for a hack. Click here to see the vulnerabilities Pen Testers found in a smart fridge.
Since each device that is connected to the Internet can theoretically be hacked, the ubiquity of these devices inherently means that we are exposing ourselves to more threats.
Trend number 2: BYOD
BYOD (bring your own device) has been mentioned in many of our previous blogs (if you have been keeping up to date with them!). Bringing mobiles, tablets, laptops and wearable technology into the workplace all pose threats to your business network. It means that educating employees is more important than ever before as bringing your own device can open up a whole host of vulnerabilities to your business.
The Sony hack was a landmark event to occur in the cyber-war and since then cyber-crime has continued to evolve and throw a spanner into the connected world we live in. So the message is simple. As both connectivity and cyber-crime evolves you must do too in order to have the necessary front line defences in place to keep safe and secure.
