Tag: cyber attack
“Porous as a Colander”
Expert Says Cyberterrorism is a Threat to U.S. Corporations and Government Agencies When you think about data backup and recovery, you probably think of natural disasters – floods, hurricanes, fires, and the like. But cybersecurity expert Richard Clarke says that the biggest threat to our sensitive information may not come from the sea or the sky. It may come from China. Or Iran, North Korea, Russia, or any other nation …
Political hacking to define 2011, McAfee predicts
Security experts at McAfee have stated that the coming year will bring significant problems to those who are charged with protecting data and retaining the integrity of corporate systems, although this time there will be political motivations behind the actions of so-called hacktivists. In the past cybercriminals have worked purely for financial gain, but since the Wikileaks scandal and the rise of the Anonymous hacktivist group, many public and private …
Gawker suffers massive data loss and Amazon rebukes DDoS claims
The world of online security has been tumultuous over the last two weeks after the release of diplomatic cables by Wikileaks. Now major sites are coming under attack by hackers, with significant data loss suffered by gossip site Gawker and online retail site Amazon denying that recent downtime was caused by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. It is known that Amazon was a target of the Anonymous group …
Twenty percent of data loss originates from within, report claims
A study by KPMG has found that a fifth of data loss incidents which occurred this year were a result of internal activity, rather than third party interference, which shows a significant rise compared to statistics gathered in 2009. Three years ago this type of data loss was accountable for four per cent of the global total, with a total of 23 million people from around the world being impacted …
Leaked evidence hints that Chinese authorities hacked Google
The international furore surrounding the publishing of secret diplomatic communications by whistleblowing site Wikileaks, has revealed that Google is thought to have been hacked by the Chinese government earlier in the year, resulting in the ensuing face-off between the world’s largest country and the search giant. Media outlets from around the world, including the Guardian in the UK and the New York Times in the US, were provided with a …
Cyber war heightens focus on stealing business data, report finds
A report written by Websense has found that there are an increasing number of cyber attacks being targeted at businesses, resulting in more frequent data theft and loss. Over the past 12 months it was found that 52 per cent of breaches in which data was stolen occurred via the internet, with nine per cent harnessing email as an alternative route into business systems. The total number of spam mails …
Study finds inconsistent IT security levels
A report into the way in which businesses and organisations in the UK comprehend and consequently deal with the threat of cyber attacks and the activities of criminals and terrorists, has found a worrying discrepancy between awareness and action. Conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the survey took answers from leading IT security specialists from a variety of organisations and, while 69 per cent said that they were anticipating cyber attacks, …
EU revises regulations on data protection and IT security
Cyber attack deflection and data loss prevention are key to many businesses and organisations, so the news that the EU has begun to formulate a new directive on the subject will be welcome to many. While the directive will be intended to expand the official recognition given to cyber attacks of a previously unseen scale, it will also give member states the powers to better tackle and punish those cybercriminals …
Businesses failing to fund system security improvements, survey finds
A new study has found that most businesses around the world are unprepared for attacks from cybercriminals, despite the fact that most are well aware of the heightened risks facing unprotected businesses in the current climate. Vistrom sought the help of the Ponemon Institute in order to conduct this survey and it concluded that, although the growing number of attacks which manage to breach security and compromise the integrity of …
Welsh cyber crime showing rapid growth
A new survey has found that businesses and individuals in Wales are being targeted by more than twice the number of cyber attacks than in previous years. Incidences of hacking, data loss or theft and malware infections have increased by over two thirds, according to e-Crime Wales. Welsh businesses are believed to have been hit with a bill for about £373 million in total as a result of the increase, …
