Internal cyber threats on the rise
As technology steamrolls ahead at an alarming rate so does the possibility of a cyber threatsfrom not just an external hacker but also from an organisations own workforce.
Earlier this year at a Risk and Insurance Management Society forum in Melbourne experts from around the globe gathered to discuss the future of cyber insurance for commercial and government exposures.
Common cyber threat incidents caused by staff:
- Staff opening emails containing malware links or malicious attachments( invoices, resumes, contracts, etc)
- Using untested equipment(USB devices, laptops, tablets, phones) which have been infected on work equipment
- Malicious damage by IT staff who had access to the system after dismissal
Carla Liedtke, Asia-Pacific Director of Control Risks stated “There are four groups initiating cyber threats, starting with criminals looking to extort money, the second group is national states, and there are 60 countries in the world with cyber programs.
“The third group is ‘hacktivists’, who have a cause to push, but all these can work with people within the organisation.”
Ms Liedtke says internal threats can be driven by money or sympathy for a cause and innocent staff unwittingly opening emails with malware links can also activate attacks.
“Today it is not a question of if you will you suffer a cyber attack, it is when. It is important to have clear, defined roles in the threat crisis team when the attack does occur.”
Tricia Hobson, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright spoke about a lawyer’s role to mitigate the risks which follow a cyber breach.
“It is important to know who you tell of a security breach,” she said. “In Australia there is no mandatory obligation to notify of breaches.”
The US has breach reporting laws, but they are different in each state. This would affect an Australian company with overseas customers if credit card details were stolen, Ms Hobson says.
“Australia is now the second most litigious country in the world, and a breach is a ready-made class action.
Source: http://bit.ly/2hP7eId
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