Attackers are profiting and succeeding, so they are not going away or giving up: Navaneethan M, Sr VP, CISO & Head IT, Groww
There are 1000 attacks, an attacker only has to be successful once. The defender has to be successful 1000 out of 1000 times. The CISO considered the ultimate data protection expert, is responsible for safeguarding an organisation’s information assets, infrastructure, and IT security. The CISO plays the critical role of risk assessment, mitigation, and solution, acting in the company’s best interests to curb and eliminate threats.
They do this by ensuring that a company’s IT infrastructure is secure, investigating security incidents, and working with other members of the organisation to ensure that the IT department and all employees are following the best practices.
Data is everything
If you have the right data, you are the king. Today, it’s easy to gather data to help you better understand your customers and your business. In fact, it’s all too easy to risk having too much information to process. Any business with a website, social media presence, and electronic payment acceptance of any kind collect data about customers, user habits, website traffic, demographics, and more. All of this data is full of potential if you can learn to access it. It can be used to make informed decisions and help predict future possibilities.
Data breaches worldwide
A data breach is any security incident in which unauthorised parties gain access to sensitive data or confidential information, including personal data (Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, healthcare data) or corporate data (customer data records, intellectual property, financial information). As per the records during the third quarter of 2022, approximately 15 million data records were exposed worldwide through data breaches. This figure had increased by 37 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Data breaches aren’t stopping despite significant investments
- Many organisations do not have enough experienced information security resources to safeguard an IT product or infrastructure and sensitive data.
- The end-user consumer continues to be targeted and exploited by phishing and social engineering attacks.
- Many organisations often release software before sufficient testing can be performed due to the need for quick release into the market.
- Attackers are profiting and succeeding, so they are not going away or giving up.
Quoting an example of the “Bangladesh Bank cyber heist”
❖ It took place in February 2016, when thirty-five fraudulent instructions were issued by security hackers via the SWIFT network to illegally transfer close to US $1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to Bangladesh Bank, the central Bank of Bangladesh.
❖ Five of the thirty-five fraudulent instructions were successful in transferring $101 million, with $20 million traced to Sri Lanka and $81 million to the Philippines.
❖ The Federal Reserve Bank of New York blocked the remaining thirty transactions, amounting to $850 million, due to suspicions raised by a misspelled instruction.
❖ It was later suspected that Dridex malware was used for the attack.
Cyber threats and trends for 2023
The barrier to entry for cybercrime is at an all-time low. There are now numerous tutorials, affiliate schemes, and Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) models that allow unskilled attackers to access and deploy sophisticated tools and methods. Some of them are mentioned below:
-Cloud Security
-Insider threats continue to lurk
-API Security
-Technology supply chain attacks
-Account takeovers
-Data privacy
-Dark Web & Deep Web
-Ransomware attacks are on the rise
If data is not properly protected, the consequences can include a total loss of trust from customers, loss of business, and hefty legal and financial consequences. Organisations should have a well-defined pen testing program to help monitor their security and bring to light any areas that may need additional protection. It gives an overall summary of your company’s security posture.
Compiled by Sunidhi Malla
(These are some edited excerpts from Navaneethan M, Sr VP, CISO & Head IT, Groww address on ‘Lessons from Some of the Biggest Data Breaches & How to Prevent Them’ at the Information Security Conclave ’23).
