“Organisations need to prepare for a new type of cyber crime”

Regulator Ofcom, the University of Manchester, outsourcing giant Capita, the Swiss government. Just some of the big names which have fallen victim to cyber attacks in recent weeks as of the time of writing. But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just large organisations being targeted – they’re just the ones that make it into the news headlines. And with the rapid ascent of artificial intelligence, organisations of all sizes need to prepare themselves for a new type of cyber crime.

The main threats continue to be financially or politically motivated organised cyber-crime groups, who use malware to gain access to an organisation’s network and exploit the access, says Michael Christodoulides, cyber security expert at PA Consulting. Usually, it’s in the form of ransomware or extortion, having managed to exfiltrate personal and sensitive data for sale on the dark web or hold it for ransom. 

Don’t think it’s just large organisations being targeted – they’re just the ones that make it into the headlines

“These attacks are often opportunistic – your organisation has not been directly targeted, but vulnerabilities in your organisation’s security have been exposed via, for example, a phishing link being clicked to initiate the attack,” he says, “Increasingly, an attack comes through the supply chain, which then impacts on your organisation.”