Overwhelmed by vulnerabilities? Mitigate cyber-challenges with resilience

In 2022, more than 53% of India’s population was threatened/extorted by online hackers demanding ransom through malicious hacks, otherwise known as ransomware. Additionally, if you are an employee who works in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector in India, you’re perhaps one of the 11% who may have experienced first-hand cyberattacks on your company’s website.

If you think that these are just statistics that don’t concern you, think again. Unscrupulous hackers are not content with just increasing the statistics of people they have hacked, threatened, and ransomed, rather they’re looking to create even greater damage. They are out to invade your personal account, your company’s confidential data and security systems, and to simply hold you hostage by gaining control of your data which you think is secure – but isn’t – and exploit the vulnerabilities of our interconnected devices.

In navigating this perilous landscape where vulnerabilities abound, it has become essential for businesses to employ sagacious cybersecurity policies and technologies to secure themselves.

How did we arrive at this dangerous juncture?

1) Weakness of an Organisation’s Information System

Lurking cybercriminals can break into an organisation’s internal networks using malware and gain access to the systems. The inherent gaps or misconfigurations in the operating system are among the leading causes of a breach. For the criminals, only aim is to encrypt files and threaten to permanently destroy all data if their demands are not met.

During a cyber-attack, an organisation may be brought to its knees with operational disruptions. Administrative functions may be paralyzed which affects billing, payroll, and communications. For instance, in 2022, a famous medical institute was hacked in a ransomware attack, leading to compromised data of its many patients, financial losses, operational disruptions, not to mention the loss of goodwill.

2) Digitalisation as a double-edged sword – as vulnerability enters the fray

The rise of digital tools, data integration and accessibility, and online collaboration have paved the way for criminals to probe for loopholes to take advantage of. Just when we thought that we have cybersecurity protocols or firewalls in place to protect us, however, there is no guarantee that our system can’t be compromised.

The remote work era coupled with an increased reliance on interconnected devices, have led to more people and organisations becoming vulnerable to cyberattacks. Apart from regularly accessing data through Wi-Fi networks that are easily hackable, more employees today are using personal devices for work. Experienced hackers can penetrate personal devices with relative ease and in many cases, they don’t need to try very hard. Very often, passwords that were created are simple enough to warrant easy penetration. Other activities like engaging in unsecured file sharing also creates vulnerabilities which hackers can easily exploit.

For many hackers, their modus operandi is to test for vulnerabilities in computer networks that are open to the public. Once they find compromised networks, they are able to extract personal and confidential data including customers’ names, addresses, social security numbers, and financial information.

Vulnerabilities that Hackers Aim for

Hackers target numerous types of vulnerabilities and know what to look for in a system. These are the most common types of vulnerabilities when it comes to cybersecurity:

• System misconfigurations that arise due to incompatible security controls or insecure settings.

• Outdated software that hasn’t received updates making it easy to penetrate.

• Brute force attacks which overwhelm a system making it easy to take advantage of weak or missing authorization credentials to crack passwords.

• Insider risks arising from critical information sharing, whether unintentional or malicious, that can jeopardize an organization's security.

• Poor data encryption that leaves systems open to attackers who may intercept and modify data.

Keeping the Odds Stacked in Your Favor

As an individual or employee, we can all take steps to detect and mitigate vulnerabilities. For example, you can keep your own data and your employers’ data safe by performing software updates. Updates keep applications protected against threats from viruses. You should also only use trusted sites and search engines and finally, to never open unverified links in suspicious emails or emails from strangers.

If you’re an employer or an organisation, you can employ the right tools and expertise to greatly reduce your chances of falling victim to cyberattacks. For a start, build employee resilience by regularly instilling in them cybersecurity best practices. Also, you must periodically review and update security solutions by keeping in mind the evolving digital and security landscape. For instance, we know how technology such as generative AI has greatly changed the security landscape. As technology players and hackers are figuring out how to leverage the technology to their advantage, organisations need to keep abreast of the continuous developments and impact that a AI have upon the security landscape.

Conclusion -Future of Security

By confronting and embracing the perspective of cyber threats not as nuisances but as facets of our digital landscape we can resolve to develop corresponding solutions and adapt continually to safeguard our digital assets and mitigate risks.

This includes effectively managing vulnerabilities through a multi-pronged approach, as not every vulnerability is exploitable or prone to an attack. In supporting thousands of organisations with customized security solutions, we combine intelligence from operations, external data, law enforcement collaboration and in-house R&D that helps companies to anticipate, identify, protect, detect, and respond.

Author: Chalapathi Rao, Chief Executive Officer , India at Orange Business