Despite living in a world where the internet is becoming ever-more fundamental to everyday life, there is currently a world-wide shortage of cyber security professionals who are able to keep it all secure. Within four years this shortage is expected to reach 1.8 million. According to a recent study, only 35% of the enterprises involved felt they were adequately staffed to deal with cyber-attacks. 35% is not a good percentage.
An ominous flashing red light on a blacked-out computer screen means the promise of a threat. It was 21:26 on a Sunday night and an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) alert shot across one of our screens. A security analyst usually has just minutes to respond, carry out an investigation on behalf of the organisation under threat and make a critical decision.
Cyber security is a big deal these days. A very big deal. A deal worth £3.5billion to be precise. The threats are varied and numerous, with attackers constantly shifting their methods and approach to circumvent security. No matter how good cyber security gets and how thorough your processes are, the threat will always remain. What’s interesting here is that a large portion of this threat comes from within your own walls.
Last year we exhibited at a major information security trade show in London, during the preparation for this we received our exhibitor passes as “print yourself” PDF files. We immediately noticed that there are two forms of barcode here and, interestingly, the QR Code seems quite dense given that all it should be storing is a delegate ID number. Being the inquisitive sort of people that we are, we started up a QR scanner and had a look at its contents.
If many of the recent threat reports are to be believed, we can assume that, on the whole, businesses are not improving when it comes to detecting a network breach. In those isolated cases where improvement can be seen, the improvement is small. The Mandiant M-Trends 2018 report states that the median global dwell time sat at 101 days (in 2017). I can believe that.
We are roughly halfway through 2018 already (which is terrifying when you stop to think about it) and, as we’ve already mentioned, the growing prevalence cyber security stories now in mainstream media shows no sign of stopping. But what threats lie in wait around the corner?
Every year, cyber crime is costing UK businesses around £30 billion, and this figure is on the rise. So, it’s time to start taking the issue seriously. With many people still in the dark about how to go about protecting their business, we’re here to help! So to ensure your business isn’t killed off by cyber crime, here are some essential tips for cyber security.
The digital world has become a dangerous place. It’s like the Wild West (the movie kind, not the real kind, which was decidedly less wild than it’s portrayed), with outlaws out to do you harm and make off with your precious data. Fortunately, like any good western, there are also honour-bound gun slingers seeking to bring law, order and – most importantly – security to the digital landscape.
