Internet Security Threats: Cautionary Tales
Published on 03 October 13
William
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You don’t have to delve too deeply to find information about major security breaches; malicious attacks can prove to be extremely costly to businesses and are a regular occurrence, both in the UK and beyond. While the new infographic by Symantec helps business owners to realise how they can be targeted and how to protect themselves (part 1 and part 2 of the infographic can be found online), it’s also interesting to read about the massive security threats that have occurred over the past couple of years, such as:
Sony’s PlayStation Network
Most gamers will remember the prolific attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network back in 2011, when 77million accounts were hacked. The site was down for a month and Sony lost millions of dollars because of it.
The occurrence is widely considered to be the worst gaming community security breach of all time. With 12million of those hacked having unencrypted credit card numbers, the sheer magnitude of such a hack is colossal, affecting people all over the world. What’s worse is, they still haven’t found the source.
What can you learn from it? Protect everything. Keep all personal information encrypted and secure.
Dropbox
The popular online storage service is an invaluable resource for users all over the world. The ability to share files and information among colleagues can be priceless for businesses needing somewhere secure to share information.
However, in 2012, there was a security breach that led to many of its users (over 50million, apparently) receiving unsolicited emails. Since then, Dropbox have implemented extra security measures, including automated systems that spot dodgy activity with ease.
What can you learn from it? Keep your login passwords for different sites unique. Avoid opening emails that you don’t trust and definitely don’t click on file attachments inside them!
LinkedIn
In 2012, the social and business networking giant, LinkedIn, were hacked, with over 6.5million user passwords stolen by cybercriminals originating from Russia.
Those affected were unable to access their accounts and subsequently had to change their passwords in order to gain entry again. The passwords that were stolen were in an encrypted format, but were decoded and posted onto a Russian forum, in plain text, within hours.
One controversial response blamed LinkedIn’s lack of use of secure data transfer protocol (i.e. https), which is essential if you want to guarantee encrypted data between the web browser and server.
What can you learn from it? If you’re a business that has an ecommerce aspect, be sure to invest in security measures such as a SSL certificate, which will provide your site with an added level of protection. As an internet user, you need to ensure that your passwords are different for every login you use so that if one is stolen, the others are still safe.
While larger enterprises have incredible amounts to lose by becoming the target of an attack, it’s also important for small businesses to understand the importance of staying secure online. If a small business was to be the target of a hack, chances of them coming back from that are much less likely - don’t risk being without online security, no matter how big or small your business is.
by Roxanne
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