In the fast-paced, digitally-driven world of today, individuals who are well-versed in cybersecurity principles still find themselves vulnerable to online threats. A crucial yet often overlooked aspect is the impact of stress and distraction on one’s ability to recognise and respond to cyber threats, particularly phishing emails. Even those who have undergone comprehensive security awareness training are not immune to this phenomenon.
Today’s work can be overwhelming for even the most educated usersRead more
Officers left ‘shocked and dismayed’ over unprecedented data breach
The Irish News has reported that a major data breach has exposed every serving officer’s personal data online. Almost 10,000 officers and staff members have been affected.
For almost three hours, several types of personal metadata were available for the general public to see. Authorities believe undercover officers could have been exposed, and may be unable to continue their work. In general, a rise in the risk of terrorist attacks against serving officers is feared to have increased.
The data breach happened after a freedom of information request led to an unfortunate, self-inflicted error. No foul play has been suspected, but the damage is major and widespread.
In all workplaces, the importance of data protection cannot be overstated. We all handle vast amounts of sensitive information on a daily basis. Steps can be taken to safeguard and protect information, but human error remains a significant vulnerability that can lead to data breaches.
In a global sting, named Operation reWired, authorities in the US and around the world have arrested 281 individuals that were involved in a global Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam. The ring had been under investigation for months, during which they were found to have hijacked email accounts belonging to company executives, impersonated staff and ultimately tricked unsuspecting employees into wiring millions in funds into the group’s accounts.
Business Email Compromise is a common tactic by cyber criminals which users social engineering to trick staff into transferring money directly to themRead more
Cyber criminals have always targeted users, finding it easier to trick unsuspecting employees than to bypass complex technical security measures – and this trend has been growing steadily the last few years. Identify fraud, where criminals impersonate someone else in order to steal their money or use their account to manipulate others, is now one of the most common types of cyber crime there is. Account takeover attacks, where criminals gain access to a user’s account and use it to send spam or phishing emails, is also on the rise, often allowing malicious emails to bypass email security filters.
Phishing remains one of the most common attack vectors for criminals – one study alarmingly found that 93% of phishing emails contained ransomware
Cyber criminals are beginning to target Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications, with the aim of disrupting and stealing data from large companies, according to reports from both security experts and the US government. According to a recent report from security companies Digital Shadows and Onapsis, hacktivists and state-sponsored groups in particular and looking to exploit flaws in platforms provided by Oracle and SAP.
SAP and Oracle are believed to be the biggest targets due to long-running security vulnerabilities