Overview

Cyber Security is a major concern to all organizations that have an online presence. Whether you are a small startup, financial organization or an informational blog, cyber criminals have no boundaries as to who they target as long as they can create a significant amount of exposure. It is the easiest way to create panic and in most cases is not traceable. The power of a DDoS attack on a major website has a phenomenal impact in the media which generates a form of panic to the general public. Questions arise about Data Safety, Password Exposure and Credibility of the website which they have trusted for many years, even if the site was just taken down.

Can you imagine if you hear about a Security breach on your family banks website – what would you think?

What are the reasons for Cyber Crime?

There are 2 main reasons for Cyber Crime:

Political – Before the internet, and even still today when people want to make political statements they gather a group of likeminded people and set up a protest. A protest is very easily picked up by the media and therefore a win/win situation for the organizers. On the internet a similar concept is used to generate the media’s attention but causes more damage and can tarnish website credibility. There are many examples of political cyber-attacks and we can even look at the most recent examples of Russian and Ukrainian hackers that took down or defaced websites for political reasons. According to Bloomberg News  Cyberspace is fast becoming a battlefield for Ukrainian and Russian partisans even as ground troops from the two countries continue their military standoff.

Criminal – Cyber space has become a haven for criminals to easily extract data, passwords and even personal information. Cybercrime in the United States is estimated to cost $100 billion annually and the number is growing.

Preparation

Let’s start by getting the right tools in place to prevent potential threats. Firewalls, DDoS Mitigation systems, Anti Viruses, CDN’s etc… (In short, good system architecture coupled with a well balanced security posture).  Although you may feel that you are safe once you have all these tools in place for your website and network, there is always a way to bypass them (It may be difficult but can be done) however in many cases it is not difficult at all. If you believe that you have the best systems in the world in place mitigate attacks you should put them to the test! Conduct Vulnerability testing, DDoS testing and Pentesting on a regular basis. Do not take your website security for granted! By constant testing you will understand your security posture from a hacker’s perspective and can reinforce your network.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  Benjamin Franklin