Irish information security provider, Ward Solutions, have warned that cyber criminals will change their tactics in 2017 to exploit growing fears of brand damage and escalating fines.
The provider expects cyber criminals to change their ransomware attacks to focus increasingly on acquiring customer data held by organisations and then threatening to disclose these data breaches to relevant authorities such as the Data Protection Commissioner. Ransom prices could increase significantly for the price of their silence.
While ransomware attacks and data breaches are set to grow this year, Ward expects that ‘breach fatigue‘ will set in amongst the general public, resulting in organisations being held more accountable by key stakeholders such as shareholders and regulators. This could result in more serious repercussions for information security with poor incident handling and non-disclosure causing particular challenges.
Among a number of significant warnings for business and state organisations, Ward also believes that most Irish organisations do not yet realise the scale of the challenge to become compliant with the impending General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation, which is due to come into force in May 2018.
Other information security developments that Irish organisations should be aware of in 2017 include an increased focus on supply chain assurance demands from business partners, as well as the effect that impending legislation will have on organisations’ cloud strategies, as they grapple with failings of due diligence, risk assessment and the implementation of effective controls.
CEO at Ward Solutions, Pat Larkin says, "2017 could be the year that sees a country respond to a cyber-attack with a show of military force, resulting in the first bullets or missiles flying in response to cyberterrorism. We would hope that Governments and security agencies engage in coordinated preventative measures so that this particular prediction isn’t actually realised."
He added, "In Ireland, we also need to be more prepared and joined-up in our approach to the growing threat of cyber-attacks too. It’s imperative that our critical infrastructures and assets are proactively protected from these growing threats."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
