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| English: Outside the fence, Menwith Hill Spy Base This photo was taken on the ‘Foil the Base’ demonstration in March 2003. Founded in the 1950s (RAF) Menwith Hill has been operated since 1966 by the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA), and has grown to become the world’s largest intelligence-gathering ground station outside the US. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In previous posts, we’ve covered how loss or theft of confidential information and loss of reputation can affect the cyber security of a 21st Century business. Today, we turn our attention to direct loss from malicious acts (i.e. hackers, malware).
So many businesses are open to this risk because they don’t know how to protect their security, leaving them vulnerable to malware threats that can quickly cause advertisers, partners, and customers to abandon ship.
Perhaps scariest of all, is that no business is immune.
Take the recent case of Tor, the encrypted web security browser designed to allow businesses and privacy-concerned users to browse the Internet without fear of reproach. Tor had given so many people peace of mind until a recent malware attack, which many are attributing to the National Security Agency (NSA), toppled user confidence.
Researchers claim that malware responsible for bringing down Freedom Hosting, the biggest service provider on the anonymous Tor network, was hard-coded to send information to the NSA, reported TechWeek europe. In one fell swoop, the product became forever in question.
According to Verizon’s 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report, 69% of data breaches in 2012 were attributed to malware infections. 174 million data records were lost in 855 separate incidents. The rate of infection grows each year. McAfee, in a The State of Malware 2013, reported they cataloged 100,000 new malware samples each day.
So what does data theft malware really cost us? Globally, the cost of a data breach averaged $136 per compromised record, up from $130 the previous year (2013 Cost of a Data Breach: Global Analysis, Ponemon Institute and Symantec). With even 120 million data records (69% of the total) from 2012, that’s over $16 billion in loss from malware data breaches.
Here are two things to consider as you attempt to bring security to your business.
- There are many types of malware that can threaten your system’s security, and they’re constantly evolving. You must invest your cyber security dollars with a company that is constantly aware of the changing landscape. Defence Intelligence’s Nemesis 2.0 uses advanced network behaviour analysis in conjunction with real time intelligence to prevent and detect system compromise on your network.
- Attacks are inevitable. Security experts like to say that there are now only two types of companies left in the United States: those that have been hacked and those that don’t know they’ve been hacked. The news is full of stories of large and small companies that are compromised. Don’t be one of them.
