As the value of cyber space persistently increases in the world of business, so too does the likelihood of cyber-crime. “In 2012, Kiwis lost over $4 million from phishing and online scams. Many forms of cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect” says Chief Operating Officer of IT security company Eset APAC, Lukas Raska, in a recent report. In 2019 this has increased to a whopping $33 million. Due to these statistics we have decided to cover the issue of cyber security in a series of blog posts.

SONY Pictures experienced a debilitating cyber-attack that allegedly went on for over a year before it was apprehended. The hackers obtained much of the company’s confidential data; including details and emails of employees, as well as unreleased films.

Attacks of this nature occur on a regular basis across companies of all shapes, sizes and locations. Does your business have a practice for safeguarding its cyber security?

What is a Cyber-attack?

A cyber-attack can be any type of offensive act toward computer information systems, infrastructures and computer networks - attacks can be made against a personal, or business system. The source of the attack (often known as the hacker) may try to steal, alter or destroy the targeted infrastructure.

Over the years, cyber-attacks have become more sophisticated and dangerous, providing hackers the opportunity to make money via your potentially penetrable system. It is your duty to one-up cybercriminals with an educated approach to your IT security.  

Cyber Security Jargon:

Antivirus: software designed to detect and destroy computer viruses and malware.

Firewall: A Firewall is a network security system that controls incoming and outgoing network traffic. It creates a protection barrier between a trusted internal network and another network that may not be trusted (e.g . the Internet). A firewall can be either hardware or software based.

Phishing: Phishing is an email fraud method that attempts to gather personal and financial information from the receiver (e.g. passwords).  Phishing scams are usually delivered via a simple legitimate looking email, but the possible harm to your computer’s network could be enormous. The SONY attack was allegedly caused by a basic phishing email. 

Malware: Malware is short for ‘malicious software’ that has been designed to damage or disrupt a computer system. In some cases malware infected computers can be controlled by the hacker, who could use it to send malware to others.

Trojan: Trojan, or Trojan horse, is a type of malware that is disguised as a normal programme. It persuades the user to run a programme that appears as routine, useful or interesting - thereby allowing the hacker/s to perform an attack.

Part. Two of the cyber security series here