Cyber Criminals Could Hold Your Data Hostage
Password theft, identity theft, ransomware – in an age where hacking has become the career of choice for tech-savvy criminals, data protection must be a top priority for CPOs.
“Cyber criminals don’t need to even leave their house to do damage,” says Craig Hancock, cybersecurity expert and Executive Director of Telstra Service Operations. “One breach of trust and the consequences can be irreparable. These days, the traditional idea of criminals – think balaclavas, weaponry, a getaway car – has moved off the streets and into cyberspace.”
Are you prepared for cyber criminals? Do you have your business information secured? How do you manage the confidential information of your customers? And what do you have in place to mitigate risk?
Hancock will deliver a cybersecurity update at the upcoming 10th Asia-Pacific CPO Forum, where he’ll demonstrate how frighteningly easy it is to steal data from a computer by showing a live hack. “I’m planning on showing the group how easy it can be to hack a business, with basic tools and knowledge. I want to make sure everyone is aware about what goes on in the world of cybersecurity threats, and give them some understanding of what they should be doing to help mitigate these threats.”
“Mitigate” is a key word here, as Hancock predicts the cybersecurity challenge faced by businesses and organisations will continue to grow year on year. Notably, he says that any organisation offering a fix-all solution to “solve” your cybersecurity challenge should be avoided.
“It’s an ongoing challenge – cybersecurity has evolved enormously from five years ago, and is likely to look entirely different again by 2020. There’s no single ‘fix’ and there are plenty of bright, shiny objects to distract your security team. You would be wise to put in place some basic, common-sense measures and controls and partner with an organisation that understands the extent of the threat.”
What are the risks?
Cybercrime can be initiated through your head office, at weak point in your supply chain, or even through IoT-enabled devices with low-level protection. Among the types of crime that can take place, Hancock mentions:
- Password theft: with the obvious prize being the password or access code to users’ bank accounts.
- Identity theft: a customer’s date of birth and other key information (such as health records) enables criminals to assume their identity, or to sell on this information to others. This can be very expensive for the company that has suffered the breach.
- Ransomware: Hackers can lock your company’s data in an encrypted vault and demand a ransom for its release. A famous example of this occurred last year when a cyberattack on a Los Angeles hospital left doctors locked out of patient records for over a week, with the hackers demanding a ransom of $3.7 million in Bitcoin.
Telstra’s Craig Hancock will deliver a cybersecurity update at PIVOT: The Faculty’s 10th Annual Asia Pacific CPO Forum.
