New Year. New Cyber Attacks.

As the new year rolls in, let's look at the cyber news that we missed over the holidays.

‍

• The Financial Post just revealed that Canada is one of the world's most popular hunting grounds for cyber crime. Here is the breakdown:

In Canada, the construction sector was the top ransomware target (93 victimized companies), followed by manufacturing (86). Finance (69 ransomware cases), healthcare (65), education (63), technology & IT (62), logistics & transportation (59), automotive (56), municipal services (52), and legal (49) were the 10 industries most targeted by ransomware gangs, according to Nordlocker, which analyzed 1,200 attacks.

My thoughts: I think as a nation, we were a bit late to the cyber security party. We only recently started taking action. So up until now, the hackers have been getting by no problem. It's no wonder they prefer Canada.

‍

• In other news, on Christmas day, there was a cyberattack on the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. No details as of yet.

My thoughts: Christmas day!!!!??? Common.

‍

• In a recent article by Yahoo Finance, they reveal that one thing to look out for it cybercriminals "adapting." In other words, if you block them one way, they'll get you another way.

My thoughts: I agree that cybercriminals will adapt to no matter what is happening. However, we're all fed up of this "scare" tactic. Yeah, criminals will adapt but companies will be more prepared. As long as we're proactive, there's nothing to worry about.

‍

• A Japan University, world renown for their research in Chemistry, lost 77TB of research data due to an error in the backup system of its Hewlett-Packard supercomputer. They decided to scrap the system and will start fresh this year.

My thoughts: No matter how much data you have, ALWAYS test your backup systems. Although there are no details on what exactly happened, I'm can almost guarantee that their backup system was extremely outdated and hadn't been touched in years.

‍

• A healthcare provider in the U.S. got breached back in October, disclosing the personal information of over 1.3 million people. Upon investigation, the intruder seemed to have gained access through a third party Medical provider.

My thoughts: We are going to see a lot more third party breaches. Be careful with who you work with.

‍

• You can send an email on behalf of uber.com. Yeah, that's right. Uber is aware of this flaw but has not taken any action to fix it.

My thoughts: This has dangerous ramifications. We're lucky no one exploited this flaw yet.

‍

__________________________________

Access The Untold Stories of IT Professionals.

Assurance IT launched IT Spotlight - a weekly newsletter putting the spotlight on IT professionals. Get the inside scoop on their careers, their predictions in the industry and more. Once a week, every week, find out what other IT professionals are up to. Learn more here.

‍