Introduction
Not investing in cybersecurity today is a major flaw that endangers the viability of enterprises. The implementation of technology in business has countless positives, but it also generates many security risks. The problem with cyber-crime is that the attacker always has the upper hand. Even though organizations aim at having a proactive cybersecurity strategy, most times it’s really difficult to do so because of the ever-changing technologies that hackers adopt. Cybersecurity is important for every company of any size and industry, but there are some that need to take more serious action than the rest.
Industries that need stronger cybersecurity
Financial services
Equifax, HSBC, JPMorgan, Bank of America, CNA Financial and Capital One are just some of the many companies that have suffered a cyber-attack in the past. Financial services rank first in the list of most cyber-attacks per industry. That’s no surprise since they include obvious targets like banks, investment companies, lenders, finance companies, real estate brokers and insurance companies. As technology evolves and even more consumers move to online banking solutions, hackers find new ways to perform malicious actions. Usually, hackers use ransomware attacks against financial services companies. With this method they block the access to the company’s network and steal its confidential data. In order to regain control of their systems, companies must pay the attackers the requested ransom. These enterprises not only handle immense amounts of money, but also sensitive information like bank statements, credit cards and social security numbers, making them appealing targets for ransomware attacks.
Government
State and federal governments are a goldmine for hackers because compromising their systems puts national security at risk. These systems contain information like finance details, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates and places, commercial contacts and last but surely not least, biometrics such as fingerprint data. The outcome of a possible cyber-attack in this sector is hugely upsetting. With government systems being the largest data storage of all, hacking them eventually provides cyber-attackers with entry points to countless databases and networks. The fact that even the biggest agencies around the world, like the CIA or NSA, have experienced numerous attacks, highlights the importance of stronger cybersecurity in the government sector.
Healthcare
Just like financial services, the digital transformation in healthcare has created multiple attack vectors for hackers. A study conducted by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Journal shows that 89% of healthcare organizations have experienced a data breach, while 60% of business associates of healthcare organizations have experienced a breach of healthcare data. These organizations maintain confidential data such as patient records, investor communications and trade secrets. Hackers find value in this information, as they steal and sell it on the dark web. Furthermore, security gaps in technological solutions like electronic health records, remote patient monitoring and even life support systems can risk people’s lives. It’s an organization’s responsibility to adopt best practices for keeping these tools safe.
Maritime
People tend to ignore the importance of cybersecurity in the maritime industry. The protection of IT and OT (Operational Technology) systems is vital. The compromise of these assets could jeopardize not only the health and safety of the staff and the ship’s ability to operate safely, but also the sensitive data of the crew, vessel, cargo and ports. In the maritime sector, there’s a significant lack of timely response to technical vulnerabilities because of the technological gap between the ship’s IT systems and land-based systems. Ultimately that leads to the exposure of data to unauthorized users, failure of critical systems, ecological damages and economic implications. For a more detailed presentation, read our articles about the cybersecurity challenges in the maritime sector and cyberattack analysis in the maritime industry.
Manufacturing
In 2020, 21% of ransomware attacks happened against manufacturers. The reason is pretty self-evident. Intellectual property has really high value in the manufacturing industry, thus it is a valuable attraction for financially-motivated attackers. Besides ransomware, manufacturers also suffer attacks on critical infrastructures. These eventually lead to defective products, production downtime and physical damage. The main entry points of most cyber-attacks against manufacturers are legacy equipment and not properly protected IoT systems, as well as the lack of conducted risk assessments that help an organization identify which parts of its environment could lead to cyber-attacks.
Retail
Some people are surprised to find that retailers are among the top cyber-attack targets. Nonetheless, with the shift to eCommerce and online payments this industry has been silently climbing the ranks in cyber-attacks per industry, making cybersecurity a necessity for retail companies. Numerous cases of denial-of-service attacks have been reported, where hackers compromise and shut down a company’s systems. Usually these attacks happen during peak business hours in order to harm the company both money-wise and reputation-wise. Also, just like financial services companies, retailers store personal and financial information of customers that attract malicious users who want to steal them.
Energy
Attacks in critical infrastructure are undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges for cybersecurity. Hackers who target this sector want to harm not only enterprises, but society as a whole. When it comes to energy firms, attackers can easily gain access to nuclear facilities, power grids and power generation facilities around the world, through the digital control and information systems that companies use. Invasions like these could cause significantly dangerous incidents, like widespread power outages, which could be life-threatening for millions of citizens. It’s scary to even think about the possible outcomes, making cybersecurity in the energy sector a non-negotiable priority.
Supply chain
Even though supply chain attacks have been around for a long time, many security professionals are only now becoming worried about this issue. That being said, supply chain attacks are among the top 5 cybersecurity trends of 2021. As mentioned in previous cases, the digitalization and IoT have allured even more cyber-attackers in this industry. Ransomware attacks happen frequently in this sector. This is due to the large amount of data that are being transferred, used and accessed within the supply chain. Another example is the software supply chain attack, which is a method where a threat actor is able to change the code of third-party software that an organization or an individual is using. Hackers can hijack software updates or update servers, inject malicious code into legitimate applications or inject malicious code into third-party code libraries. Learn more about software supply chain attacks by reading our related article.
How a Log Management and Security Analytics platform can help
As mentioned in the first paragraph, the goal of cybersecurity is to be proactive, rather than reactive with cyber-attacks. It’s difficult, almost impossible, to achieve proactivity because hackers always find new, never before used ways to exploit vulnerabilities without drawing attention. Therefore, it takes a more thorough cybersecurity approach to achieve proactivity. Log Management and Security Analytics platforms, like Logstail.com, are tools that help organizations see the full view of their cybersecurity systems and stay prepared for potential threats. The use of such platforms are highly recommended by security experts because of their valuable features:
- Automated log monitoring: The vast amount of logs generated every day makes manual log monitoring impossible. Automated log monitoring is a must in order to constantly scan your data and keep them secure.
- Visualized data: Create dashboards and reports in various formats with ease. The visual interpretation of log data helps at gaining valuable insights to better understand the state of your logs.
- Email alerting: Be notified of every incident regarding your data. Act on time and mitigate risks before they become major issues for your organization’s security systems.
- Machine Learning Anomaly Detection: Automatic detection of suspicious events within your data, such as errors, misconfigurations and intrusion attempts. With Anomaly Detection you can also identify the root cause of the identified anomalies to be prepared for similar future incidents.
- Easily adopt DevSecOps: These days, adopting DevSecOps is crucial for companies. Ensure that your developers, IT staff and security teams have the visibility and communication pipelines they need to resolve issues faster.
Conclusion
Because of the increased cases of cyber-attacks, it has now become more important than ever to adopt cybersecurity solutions. And unfortunately, these incidents will only keep rising with the evolution of technology. As hackers constantly try to find new ways to compromise security systems, organizations with highly sensitive information have to re-evaluate their cybersecurity strategies.
Our cloud-hosted solution with advanced features brings the functionality of centralized monitoring to your hands. Convert your data into actionable insights and maximize the performance of your infrastructure, or be notified of potential problems and take the appropriate actions. Sign-up for a free demo in order to realize the power of Logstail!
Logstail will re-adjust the way you monitor your data and will help you get more meaningful insights of your technical logs, via dashboards and powerful graphs, to stay alert for all possible dangers.
In Logstail we are also offering the full range of services required to effectively mitigate cyber-attacks. Incident response and consulting, penetration testing, and red team operations, are altogether aiming to help our customers mitigate their cyber incidents. Contact us at sales@logstail.com to get a tailored offer for your business or get a free consultation by our team of globally recognized security experts!
Contact Our Expertsor Sign Up for Free
