Cyber Attacks by Foreign Governments

2/12/2020 Cyber attacks by foreign governments, malicious companies and enterprising hackers are on the rise. And the biggest problem is you. - ...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-20/cyber-crime-hits-consumers/10825970 1/5
RELATED STORY: Our ability to repel a large-scale
cyber attack 'might not exist': Defence figure
RELATED STORY: Major parties hit by foreign
government hackers in attack on Parliament servers
RELATED STORY: Nearly half of Australian companies
hit by customer fraud, cyber crime
Key points:
A hacker stays inside an organisation
on average for eight months before
being found
Most hacks start with a simple
opening of an email
The best protection is at an individual
level, installing security patches when
available, as well as two-factor
authentication
Cyber attacks by foreign governments, malicious
companies and enterprising hackers are on the rise. And
the biggest problem is you.
By business reporter Daniel Ziffer
Posted Wed 20 Feb 2019, 12:39am
PHOTO: Email phishing gives hackers the easiest and most common entry to an organisation's data network. (Reuters: Kacper Pempel)
Forget sequences from blockbuster films of gangs breaking into
secure buildings, avoiding guards to attach a "tap" to a blinking
server. Real hackers walk through the front door by sending you an
email.
"Ninety per cent of cyber attacks worldwide begin with an email. Most
organisations don't really look at their email security that carefully," said
Michael Connory, chief executive of Security In Depth.
"Everybody is vulnerable. Australian organisations have no idea how
vulnerable they are."
After a cyber breach of the Federal Parliament's computer network and a
warning from one of Australia's most senior military figures that the threat
of similar attacks is on the rise, experts are pleading with Australian
businesses to take the threat seriously.
"The easiest way for an attacker to get into an organisation is by phishing,
by email," Mr Connory explained.

2/12/2020 Cyber attacks by foreign governments, malicious companies and enterprising hackers are on the rise. And the biggest problem is you. - ...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-20/cyber-crime-hits-consumers/10825970 2/5
It's simple. Somebody in an organisation opens an email and are directed to click on a link, usually something that
requires an action such as: "You need to update your details".
When the person logs in, they inadvertently give their username and password to a hacker.
The information is then used to get into the broader computer systems of an organisation.
Consumers hit
PHOTO: Security In Depth chief executive Michael Connory says on average companies take 8 months to discover they've been hacked
(ABC News: Daniel Ziffer)
Consumers feel the impact of breaches through the potential for identity theft.
Vast amounts of personally identifying detail is available online, and criminals don't need much to get you in trouble.
"Your Tax File Number, your driver's licence number, date of birth ... from that small amount of information they could
begin to set up companies, obtain credit, start to obtain loans, run up huge debts," Mr Connory noted.
"A vast array of damage."
For businesses, the danger goes beyond losing important data or confidential files.
Almost half of data breaches in Australia are in health and finance, where organisations risk losing the vital trust of
customers and their ongoing business.
Patch, patch, patch