Cybersecurity awareness is straightforward if you know what to look for, which is important for Sandton’s business and residential communities to note.
In a place like Sandton, where every second person profits in some way through interfacing with technology, people tend to dread receiving an alert about criminals breaching their computer systems.
Although cybercrimes may happen in a flash, the execution thereof is often the culmination of cybercriminals’ preparations for months – finding ways into systems, gaining control, and eventually executing an attack.
Gerhard Swart, chief technology officer at cyber security company, Performanta, described cybercriminality as a proverbial iceberg; where the security breach is just the visible tip of the operation.
“It’s to the benefit of the criminals if only security teams know the signs of a building attack,” Swart said. “Vigilance and knowledge are the most powerful ways to deter cyberattacks. Fortunately, anyone can grasp the fundamentals behind a cyberattack and highlight suspicious activities.”
How to spot a cyberattack
Popular culture’s depiction of a cyberattack is often misleading – the cybercriminal figure, a shadowy figure sitting in a dark room, typing a few commands into a laptop, before sitting back and sipping from their drink while the code causes havoc. But the reality, Swart said, is different.
“Cyberattacks take place in multiple stages that can happen sequentially or concurrently. Security experts often refer to a standard blueprint called the Cyber Kill Chain, developed by Lockheed Martin, which describes seven stages – reconnaissance, weaponisation, delivery, exploitation, installation, command and control, and actions.”
Protecting your home and business from cyberattacks
Business leaders can do three things to strengthen their security
- Businesses should support and encourage security training for their staff, including regular tests, and do so supportively. Businesses should make their employees feel like part of the solution, not the problem.
- Businesses should encourage general vigilance – if someone notices something strange, they should speak up. Employees should be given accessible channels to notify security concerns, even frivolous ones.
- Businesses should look to invest in technology services that improve detection, visibility and reporting. Security tasks can quickly overwhelm security and IT teams, while the right security services alleviate such pressure.
Detection is better than cure
Swart shared more insight on how to spot an attempted cyberattack.
- A surge in phishing emails targeting your or your employees: emails that are not from where they claim to be, stress great urgency, or contain unsolicited attachments or links, should be treated with suspicion.
- Unusual network traffic or file access attempts: reports of unexpected traffic or files being accessed, especially by accounts that normally don’t do so (such as a sales account trying to access financial records).
- Account logins at strange times or unusual locations: when someone logs in at 2am or from an undisclosed location, that can be a massive red flag.
- Stolen or lost devices: Though stolen devices can be a case of petty theft, if someone loses a phone that can authenticate account logins, there is cause to take that seriously.
- Passwords no longer work: If you cannot access an account yet didn’t change the password, there is reason to be concerned.
“When companies combine good security habits and technologies with security-savvy employees, they become a very hard target and the bad guys usually go looking for something easier.”
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