Hackers know your weaknesses, and how to exploit them
Hackers can now demonstrate a level of professionalism that challenges a business’s ability to cope. Whilst some remain motivated by the fun or challenge of it, and some do it for reputational purposes, more and more hackers are motivated by financial gain.
When cyber criminals break into systems, more often than not it’s to steal credit card information, email addresses, usernames and passwords…or anything that they can sell onto a higher bidder.
Alternatively, they can hold businesses hostage with ransomware; a ruthless practice which grew by 300% last year. Ransomware encrypts your files without your consent—and only the developer of the ransomware has the key to solve it. Some forms of ransomware also spread across the network.
Once the infection is complete, a message will appear on your screen, demanding that you pay a ransom in bitcoins for your data. A typical ransom can be anywhere from £200 to £10,000, but some organisations have paid a lot more.
Crucially, cyber criminals understand their targets—down to their likes and dislikes and how they conduct business. They know what they will pay for their data to be released, and they exploit any weakness they find ruthlessly.
In 2016, cybercriminals stole $81m directly from a bank in Bangladesh - and would have got away with almost ten times more, were it not for a crucial typo that aroused suspicion.
Attackers are agile, while companies can’t always say the same. Especially when they’ve just been ‘making do’ with security.