En Voyage_Issue#14_Flickbook

ACCORDING TO THE ONLINE TRUST ALLIANCE’S (OTA)
CYBER INCIDENT & BREACH TRENDS REPORT,
CYBER INCIDENTS TARGETING BUSINESSES NEARLY
DOUBLED FROM 82,000 IN 2016 TO 159,700 IN 2017.
Logicalis is the largest IT
services company in the Channel
Islands and its Managed Security
Services has a 40-strong team
operating around the clock,
working on behalf of clients
across the globe. Cybercrime
is a 24/7 threat and one that
has to constantly be monitored
and kept up to date with. Too
many businesses, however, still
treat cyber security as a finite
problem that can be solved,
rather than the ongoing process
that it is, according to Richard:
‘Keeping up with the threat is a
big problem for any organisation,
but especially those who try to
manage the threat on their own.
For businesses, there’s also been
a natural progression towards
embracing the Internet of Things,
and with more interconnecting
devices comes greater risk.’
The broad range of connectable
devices known as the Internet
of Things - televisions, electrical
systems, door locks and alarms,
to name but a few - creates a
myriad of connection points
for hackers to gain entry into
networks, access customer
information, or even penetrate
manufacturers’ back-end systems.
‘But the biggest risk to any
business still remains an internal
data breach. People often focus
on the headlines, or the idea
of a lone hacker in a garage
somewhere, trying to break
into systems for fun, but an
internal data breach is by far
a bigger risk,’ said Richard.
‘It could be case of an employee
mistake, or malicious intent,
or it could be that the systems
in place aren’t configured
properly. It could be caused
by any number of things.’
‘AWARENESS HAS
IMPROVED BUT THERE
NEEDS TO BE A SHIFT
IN THINKING AWAY
FROM CYBER SECURITY
AS A COST OF DOING
BUSINESS, TOWARDS
THINKING OF IT AS BEING
OF STRATEGIC VALUE TO
AN ORGANISATION.’
While data breaches at famous
corporations, like Adidas and
Dixon Carphone, tend to make
the news, owners of small-tomedium-sized
businesses need
to be aware that breaches don't
just happen to the big guys.
Many Channel Islands-based
businesses, which operate on
a global scale but have small
infrastructure, are particularly
vulnerable to cyber attacks.
‘We have companies that
do business internationally
but are not necessarily on the
scale of other large global
organisations. Law firms are a
good example. They might be
a large international business,
dealing in large transactions, but
they don’t have the IT resources
of a big global firm,’ said Richard.
‘Because of that, they are
going to be a target, and we’ve
seen that in the last 12 months.
We’ve seen targeted attacks on
Channel Island businesses.’
Technology is no longer just
an enabler. These days, it’s the
beating heart of most businesses
and if it fails, the consequences
can be terminal. Prevention
against cybercrime is vital and
companies must understand not
only what risks they face, but
take action and apply an ongoing
security strategy to manage them.
‘Awareness has improved
but there needs to be a shift in
thinking away from cyber security
as a cost of doing business,
towards thinking of it as being of
strategic value to an organisation.’
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