Cyber Attacks Get Bolder And More Radical

14 August, 2023

By Amanda Stewart

Large, bold and sophisticated cyber attacks are appearing almost as rapidly as spam mail through your inbox.

The cyber attackers are neither focused on large nor small businesses. They want everyone. Wherever there is a business, they will attack in order to extort ransoms to recover data. Large, small or micro business, it's all the same to the hackers.

All small businesses need to get themselves secured in case they get taken down by hackers. Luckily, there is government funding to help you get take the first steps. Why? Because the government knows this will take up a lot of business resources, finances and bandwidth as everyone tries to fix the situation. Talk to us if you need some ideas on how to move forward.

Here's a quick list of some of the recent hacks in the last 6 months.

The 2017 Cyber Security Breaches Survey found that 74% of UK businesses [4] consider cyber security to be a high priority for senior management

Norsk Hydro: A Norwegian aluminium producer is recovering after hackers took 22,000 computers offline at 170 different sites around the world. They refused to cave in to the cyber-criminal's demands for money and have spent £45m trying to restore their business to full strength. Cyber-attack forces company to use pen and paper. The BBC says the attack comes as evidence grows that hackers are getting paid off in secret by large organisations who want an easy way out.
Travelex Network (Jan 2020: On New Year's Eve, hackers launched their attack on the Travelex network. As a result, the company took down its websites across 30 countries to contain "the virus and protect data". A ransomware gang called Sodinokibi has told the BBC it is behind the hack and wants Travelex to pay $6m (£4.6m).
Austria Foreign Ministry (Jan 2020): Austria's foreign ministry has been targeted by a cyber-attack that is suspected to have been conducted by another country. The ministry said the seriousness of the attack suggested it might have been carried out by a "state actor". The hack started on Saturday night and experts warn it could continue for several days.
US Maritime Base (Jan 2020): A computer virus forced a US maritime base offline for more than 30 hours, the country's coast guard has revealed. Ransomware interrupted cameras, door-access control systems and critical monitoring systems at the site. The agency did not reveal the name or the location of the facility targeted by the attack.
Global phone networks (June 2019) attacked by hackers. Hackers targeted mobile phone networks around the world to snoop on specific users, according to a report. The level of access they gained to the networks meant they could have shut them down had they wanted to. In 2018, 30% of telecoms firms reported that sensitive customer data had been stolen in attacks.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said that "Organisations must notify the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach unless it does not pose a risk to people's rights and freedoms. Under General Data Protection Regulation, a company that fails to comply can face a maximum fine of 4% of its global turnover.

With the latest turn of events, it looks like the hacking phenomenon is set to soar. What's your New Year's Cyber Resolution? Ready to chat over your options? We have tech and cyber solutions for everyone including funding assistance to build business resilience in the face of a critical level of cyber attacks.

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