Make sure you’re cyber aware and have cyber security installed.
With various cyber attacks like ransomware, hacking and malware being up 600% in 2021, since last year, we wanted to emphasis the need of having many levels of security for your business.
Most businesses were forced to move their workers to work remotely quickly, without a clear plan for their IT infrastructure. This meant staff had to use their personal computers to work from, and had important client data on their systems, which can be a huge risk to data protection regulations and available for hackers.
The rise in cyber-attacks is attributable to the fact that information is now more widely available, technology is more advanced, and corporations are not prioritizing security.
With tools that are readily available to anyone, it’s easier than ever for someone to be malicious towards a business.
The only thing stopping them is being caught.
From putting networks into a state of emergency, or phishing emails that look like official emails, to database leaks and ransomware – cyber attackers have targeted anyone with a computer, whether they are a large corporation or an individual.
Twitch, Amazon’s game-streaming service, was the target of the most recent cyberattack. The data breach exposed over 100 GB of information, including the platform’s source code, broadcasters’ monthly profits, and unannounced products.
The information was provided “to stimulate further disruption and competition” in video streaming, according to the hacker.
As at the time of writing this blog (October, 2021), no clear end result has been achieved, and twitch has given no answer other than recognition.
In May 2021, American oil pipeline, Colonial Pipeline Group, were suffered a ransomware cyberattack in May 2021.
Days before the cyber attack, the organisation had 100 GB of data taken from their systems, but this had not been reported or noticed.
The real damage was the billing system. Hackers compromised the billing system, which wasn’t known, so Colonial Pipeline had to shut down their entire pipeline systems to contain the hack.
President of the United States, Joe Biden, addressed about the country’s security, saying, “An attack on one is an attack on all.”
To regain access to their systems, a ransom of 75 Bitcoins ($5 million) was demanded, which was paid. Photo Credit: CNBC/Google Images
In July 2021, The Swedish Coop supermarket had to close down over 500 of its stores, due to their point-of-sales tills and self-service checkouts stopped working.
This was a hack that started with Kaseya and expanded to other business networks, including the Swedish Coop.
The supermarket had to close its stores for several days, which led to loss of sales and had to rebuild their systems.
The American Software company, Kaseya, became victims of a ransomware attack in July 2021, which caused downtime for thousands of other companies.
Kaseya was targeted by hackers, putting its servers offline, which also hurt their clients which used their system too.
It was reported that 1,500 plus businesses, which used Kaseya IT Management Software were hacked into, and left damaged.
The hacking group demanded a $70 million ransom to be paid in Bitcoin in order to obtain a universal decryption key that would unlock all impacted systems.
The Health Service Executive in Ireland were hacked on the 14th of May 2021, causing their whole I.T. systems to go down across Ireland, impacting 22 hospitals.
Hospitals had to rely on paper records, as there was no access to electronic systems.
As a result, hospitals had to turn away patients who had scheduled appointments, were in need of medical assistance, were pregnant (36 weeks or less), or were due for vaccinations.
HSE confirmed that 520 patients’ data, including sensitive information, was published online.
News outlets reported that the estimated ransom HSE received was around $20 million.
In September, they had 95% of their systems back online.
The Brazil-based meat processing company, JBS S.A., suffered a cyberattack on the 30th May 2021, in all of its locations – United States, Australia, Canada and Brazil.
The company supplied approximately one fifth of meat globally, making it the world’s largest producer of beef, chicken and pork by sales.
Hackers caused problems on their slaughterhouses, shutting down multiple plants in the United States and disrupting Australia’s meat business.
Prices have risen across the country as a result of meat production shortages.
JBS paid the hackers a ransom of $11 million in Bitcoin.
Businesses are losing millions of dollars due to cybercrime, but more importantly, their reputations are being damaged.
Customers and businesses are afraid of having their data exposed, as well as having to pay a large ransom, not knowing if the hacker will return their data, or not leak/keep private company data for future storage.
System Force I.T. is committed to providing the highest level of security possible, for your business.
A corporation can prevent cyber-attacks by putting in layers of different security and training its employees on the software.
System Force I.T. customises, monitors, and trains employees on a variety of cyber security systems based on your company’s needs.
We provide a FREE IT AUDIT which helps to analyse your business, and identify weaknesses or risks, whether to cyber security or your I.T. infrastructure.
We got you.
System Force IT provides 24/7 IT support and engineering help with all our services. Our IT infrastructure management team are responsible for the backbone of your business. Monitoring and maintaining both physical and virtual services in real-time.
System Force IT provides 24/7 IT support and engineering help with all our services. Our IT infrastructure management team are responsible for the backbone of your business. Monitoring and maintaining both physical and virtual services in real-time.