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“SMEs reportedly not prepared for cyber-attacks” – More and more SMEs are subject to cyber-attacks and are worryingly not prepared for them

Amongst all the ‘high-profile’ data breaches like Yahoo and TalkTalk, there isn’t a lot of media coverage surrounding small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the data breaches they’re guilty of.

However, SMEs should remain vigilant as there is a rise in cyber-hacks in recent years, with cyber-criminals targeting small businesses just as much as the larger ones.

The legislation affects us all, so no one can hide from it – no matter your size!
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Ripples from the 2013 Target data breach

Data breaches have been on an upward rise for as long as I can remember, and the Target breach back in December 2013 was a part of that trend.

Between 27 November and 15 December 2013, U.S. retailer Target was subject to one of the biggest hacks that the industry has seen. Around 40 million customers’ credit/debit card information was breached; 70 million customer records were stolen; 1 to 3 million cards were sold and used in fraudulent transactions; £163 million was spent on reissuing cards that were compromised; and an estimated £46.8 million went straight into the cyber-criminals’ pockets. Monumental!
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ThyssenKrupp’s trade secrets stolen in cyber-hack

One of the largest global steel manufacturers, ThyssenKrupp, has revealed that their company has been hit by cyber-hackers and may have had sensitive trade secrets stolen.

In February last year, cyber-hackers gained access to the German manufacturer’s computer system and managed to go undetected for three months. It wasn’t until April that ThyssenKrupp’s internal security team detected the hack. According to the manufacturer’s spokesperson, the management board was informed “at once” and he notes that the hack was detected quite quickly.
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Cyber-attackers may leak data instead of just encrypting it!

There is a new threat of cybersecurity on the horizon, as cyber-attackers aren’t just encrypting data for ransoms, but may threaten to publish it for ransom payments, security experts warn.

From the sharp rise of cyber-attacks in recent years, internet users have learned to be wary. However, this has been met with the vicious growth of various techniques of cyber-attacks, which are becoming smarter and smarter. This new tactic will be sure to scare some in to paying up!
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Cyber-attack in East Yorkshire caused customers to be without internet for four days

U.K. telecom provider KCOM Group has blamed cyber-attackers for causing customers to be without internet over a period of four days recently.

Some customers report that they’re still having difficulties accessing the internet, which reportedly caused over a thousand customers to be disconnected from the internet.

The telecom provider said the root of the issue was down to cyber-attackers accessing customers’ broadband routers.
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“Every little (cybersecurity) helps” – 20,000 Tesco customer bank accounts accessed in cyber attack

Tesco are the latest corporation to fall victim to a major cyber-attack.

It’s thought that 20,000 customer bank accounts were affected following an attack, leading to a full investigation with the National Crime Agency which is now well underway.

This is also thought to be the first time a bank has acted very publicly about such an attack. There has long been concerns about what organisations are keeping from us. in terms of cybersecurity issues…
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“Phishing messages sent to Red Cross blood donors” – Cyber attackers are trying to extract more sensitive data from the 1.3 million Red Cross data breach

Following ‘Australia’s largest data breach‘ where 550,000 Red Cross blood donors’ information was reportedly hacked, victims have found themselves to be at a potential risk of further hacking as criminals are reportedly attempting to steal patients’ details through a recent phishing scam.

These sorts of follow-up attacks are not uncommon – when people are at their most vulnerable after a cyber attack, it can be common for other hackers or criminals to jump on the situation to try and use the hack for further gains.
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“Personal Devices Used as a Weapon to Hack” – DDoS attacks on DNS service provider, Dyn, led to many users losing internet connection recently

Millions of personal devices connected to the internet were used as a weapon to assist the cyber attacks that happened on Friday 21st October.

The tools assisted the cyber hackers to launch a huge DDoS cyber attack against major websites – the target of the attack being a DNS service provider, Dyn, based in New Hampshire, U.S.

It was a huge attack.
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“Security Breach that Cost TalkTalk £400k” – The major telecom company fined for the lack of security protection of customer accounts

Can you put a figure on stolen data? You can in terms of fines and compensation payouts.

Major U.K. telecom company TalkTalk has been fined £400,000 for the cyber-attack which happened in October last year. Up to 4 million customer details were thought to have been accessed, but it was later confirmed that around 157,000 accounts were directly accessed in the breach.
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HSBC successfully defend a cyber attack on final Friday for payday and tax returns

With the financial Christmas hangover, and self assessment tax being due at the end of the month, January can be a harder time for us all. On the cusp of this key weekend, HSBC has announced that it has successfully defended a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) cyber attack today.

Although customer’s personal information appears safe for now, the attack has disrupted services which will no doubt be a cause for concern for those eager for payday or paying their self assessment tax before the deadline this weekend.
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