FEATURE
HIDDEN THREATS
Andy Barratt, UK Managing Director at Coalfire, explores the recent increase in cyberattacks on outsourced service providers and the growth in cyber risk encouraged by COVID-19.
Throughout the long battle against Coronavirus, we have come to see the very best and worst elements of humanity. For every positive tale of NHS and frontline workers acting for the good of others it seems there has been a counterbalance of hoarding, reckless gatherings or profiteering on the back of the crisis.
“The presence of Coronavirus has created the chaotic conditions that cybercriminals thrive upon.”
It’s perhaps no surprise then, that at the height of lockdown, while communities across the UK were coming together for some well-deserved respite during the VE Day bank holiday weekend, hackers were breaking into the HR database of outsourced services provider Interserve.
Interserve has not been the only target. Since the UK went into lockdown, we’ve also seen significant breaches
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reported by Bam Construct, EasyJet, Zaha Hadid Architects and UK power grid partner Elexon.
Unfortunately, it’s no coincidence that there has been a sudden increase in high-profile cyberattacks at a time when businesses have been forced to facilitate mass remote working and divert their attention and IT resources – at least temporarily – away from security.
The sad truth is that the presence of coronavirus has created the chaotic conditions that cybercriminals thrive upon. For example, more than 2,000 new scams relating to the virus have been shut down by the National Cyber Security Centre. In the cybersecurity profession, the threat of an invisible actor is ever-present. There is therefore some irony that another silent enemy has paved the way for cybercriminals to ramp up their activity.
Some sectors are naturally more attractive targets – both in terms of monetary resource and data. As such, we shouldn’t be surprised that the likes of Interserve,
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