Today, with the emergence of the latest Information Technology (IT), and its invasion to every aspect of life significantly defines its importance and dominance in real-world times. This very technological innovation has made the IT segment a potential target for cyber-attacks even during the pre-Covid-19 times.

Content 1.  Glimpse of recent cybersecurity attacks in 2020 2.  Major Impacts for Businesses due to Cybersecurity Breaches 3.  Some of the cybersecurity threats amid Covid-19 pandemic are: 4.  Cybersecurity Challenges for WFH employees during Covid-19 5.  Cybersecurity Challenges for Healthcare, Financial, Telecom, and E-learning Systems during Covid-19 6.  How can WFH employees and other Business Sectors overcome these Cyber Threats and Attacks? 7.  The need for businesses to leverage security testing to prevent cyber threats 6.  Conclusion

Remarkably, now as the world grapples with an unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, the cyber-attackers and hackers are trying to take complete advantage of the rapid changes happening across various industries due to the ever-changing digital landscape, and thus, these cyber-attacks are becoming WFH employees: more rampant these days.

Invariably, the cyber-attackers are using this pandemic situation as a way of spreading malicious campaigns that include spam emails,  malware, ransomware, banking malware, malicious websites, malicious domains, DDoS attacks, etc. The U.N. disarmament chief has warned that cybercrime is on the rise, with a 600% increase in malicious emails during the COVID-19 pandemic. The high representative for disarmament affairs said, growing digital dependency has increased the vulnerability to cyber-attacks, and it is estimated that one such attack takes place every 39 seconds.

Many organizations across the globe have encountered huge economic losses and even many brands had their businesses hit due to these rapidly growing cyber-attacks during these pandemic times, some of which have been detailed below.

Glimpse of recent cybersecurity attacks in 2020

◘  According to a Capgemini report, there has been a 667% increase in spear-fishing email attacks related due to COVID-19 since the end of February 2020 alone

◘ Another cybersecurity report states that the ransomware attacks are estimated to cost $6 trillion annually by 2021

◘  According to Cybercrime Magazine, cybercrime is likely to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025

◘  Twitter hackers who targeted Elon Musk and others, received $121,000 in Bitcoin in a recent cyber attack

◘  67% of financial institutions reported an increase in cyber-attacks over the past year of 2019

◘  The world’s largest cruise line operator reported a data breach due to a ransomware attack in August 2020 wherein hackers stole confidential information of customers, employees, and crew members

◘  500,000 stolen Zoom passwords were available for sale in dark web crime forums

◘  Many healthcare organizations were struck by ransomware attacks and data breaches, stating that millions of their patient’s data were exposed

◘ 43% of cyber-attacks target small businesses

Let us also know some of the major impacts businesses face due to these cybersecurity breaches. Typically, each organization is unique in terms of the impact of the breach or cyber-attack which also depends on the timing and duration of the attack and also the industry involved. Specifically, if it is a financial industry the impact could be more rather than for manufacturing industry when these both industries are compared with respect to being affected due to these cyber attacks.

Major Impacts for Businesses due to Cybersecurity Breaches

Brand reputation loss:

These cyber-attacks by hackers have caused some businesses to lose some of their customers and stakeholder’s trust, especially if the company has failed to protect their customer data. Invariably such a reputation loss might not attract the best talent, suppliers, or even investors, and might also lead to business disruption at times.

Customer data and Intellectual Property theft:

Continuous attacks by cybercriminals have led to monetary losses and especially this stolen data could be of more worth to the attackers. The stolen data is also sold on the dark web and hackers make good ransom these days. In addition, if Intellectual Property theft occurs, it might cause more harm to the companies as they lose their years of effort and R&D investment, due to these cybersecurity attacks.

Financial loss & business disruption:

Cybercrimes cause small businesses more damage when compared to large businesses or large corporations. According to a report, 43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses, but only 14% are prepared to defend themselves. Due to certain cyber-attacks, many of the leading corporate websites have gone down suffering many hours of business disruption in recent times.

Fine payment and legal consequences:

Businesses need to protect the personal data of customers or employees or patients, etc. If this data is accidentally or deliberately compromised, then it showcases that the organization has not followed appropriate security measures and they may be levied with fines and some might also have to face certain regulatory sanctions and legal consequences also.

Some of the cybersecurity threats amid Covid-19 pandemic are: 

Cybersecurity Challenges for WFH employees during Covid-19

With the Work From Home (WFH) option still continuing for almost all corporate IT employees, their remote settings bring in more susceptibility to cybersecurity threats. The remote access, use of collaboration tools by employees, availability of enterprise data on endpoint devices, lack of physical oversight of IT infrastructure, continue to be some of the major grey areas for organizations and their WFH employees to be more susceptible to these cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity Challenges for Healthcare, Financial, Telecom, and E-learning Systems during Covid-19

Healthcare systems:

Almost all modern-day healthcare systems are based upon ICT apps and these e-healthcare systems include e-pharmacy, telemedicine, virtual consultations using various apps, etc. In recent times, during this pandemic, these systems have become more vulnerable and have become more targeted systems for hackers.

Many of the healthcare systems across the globe have been attacked by various forms of cyber-attacks thus either causing business disruption or causing data theft of patient records.

Financial services:

For the financial sector, hacking and malware continue to be the primary cause of data breaches. 71% of all data breaches are financially motivated and typically the cost of cyberattacks in the banking industry reached $18.3 million annually per company, according to a recent report.

Alarmingly, 8 out of 10 US citizens fear that businesses are not able to secure their financial information and this financial report also states that 92% of ATMs are vulnerable to hacks. Thus, financial services organizations need to leverage effective measures and best security testing practices to safeguard customer data from possible threats.

Telecom systems:

According to a Deloitte report, telecom companies are a big target for cyber-attacks, as they build, control, and operate critical infrastructure that is being widely used to store large amounts of customer sensitive data. Cybercriminals or insiders are looking to blackmail customers, or even conduct identity theft, or launch furthermore attacks.

There are more risks involved even with the leased infrastructure equipment such as routers from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and once it is compromised, then hackers use it to steal data, launch anonymous attacks, and many more which could lead to significant revenue loss to these telecom companies.

E-learning systems:

With schools closed for in person study, online learning environments have become the target for cyber attackers. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has warned that attackers could take advantage of COVID-19 by increasingly targeting virtual environments, including those utilized by school districts. The education sector has already been a prime target for ransomware attacks during these pandemic times. Another report from a leading Security firm said that many educational organizations are at risk of data security incidents during the current period of working from home and virtual learning on the go.

How can WFH employees and other Business Sectors overcome these Cyber Threats and Attacks?

Undoubtedly, cyber attackers have become smart in their moves and tactics but to defend systems from these attacks, businesses and organizations need to become even smarter by ensuring some best practices. Below mentioned are some of the best practices to adopt and protect their systems, applications and infrastructure from cyber-attacks.

Best practices to be followed:

Organizations should increase awareness among their employees, and educate them to identify potential risks, and stay away from any unsolicited emails, links, and messages, or malicious domains.

Both the employer and employees should ensure below mentioned best practices:

◘  Employees should be advised not to open up emails from unknown senders or from people who often do not communicate directly with them

◘  Employees should be advised not to click on links, or malicious domains if it comes from an unknown sender

◘  A corporate-approved anti-phishing filter or corporate-approved anti-virus must be installed by IT team to protect the company’s data from any possible cyber threats on each system

◘  Employees should maximize the usage of virtual private networks (VPNs), cloud interfaces, etc. to keep data safe and secure

◘  Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) should be made necessary for all employees to access critical applications

◘  Password authentication should be followed and also ensure to keep their software updated

The need for businesses to leverage security testing to prevent cyber threats:

Organizations need to leverage security testing of their applications, systems, and infrastructure to safeguard them from any possible threats and vulnerabilities. Security testing is the key solution for preventing the organization’s apps, systems, and infrastructure from cyber-threats and vulnerabilities. Security testing is a rigorous testing process performed by using various open-source and commercial automation security testing tools to help identify any weaknesses, or vulnerabilities in the systems, applications, or networks.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, cybersecurity is an uprising issue, especially during these unprecedented pandemic times. Many businesses have turned towards digital solutions to ensure the longevity of their businesses. But, inevitably,  with the usage of these digital solutions, many organizations are more prone to cybersecurity attacks. Hence, brands must leverage effective security testing services from next-gen security testing services provider to safeguard their systems, apps, data, and IT infrastructure from cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

How can TestingXperts help in preventing your organization from cyber-attacks?

We have a team of Certified Ethical Hackers (CEH) who can help you to ensure that your application is secure from any vulnerabilities and that it meets the essential security requirements like confidentiality, authorization, authentication, availability, and integrity.

We are one of the best security testing companies that have expertise in assessing a wide range of applications for security threats and we ensure that your application is rigorously tested for all possible threats and vulnerabilities. We also perform vulnerability testing and pen testing to safeguard your systems, apps, and infrastructure from any possible security threats.

We primarily follow the OWASP (Open Web Security Project) guidelines in our security testing services along with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX, WAHH, OSSTM, WASC, and NIST Standards as per the application-specific requirements.

The post Why Cybersecurity Matters the Most in COVID-19 Pandemic? first appeared on TestingXperts.

Application Security has become an indispensable part of the software industry, as hackers are leaving no stone unturned in exploiting the vulnerabilities in the applications through advanced techniques and methods. With most enterprises going full stream on preventing any cyber-attack on their applications, there has been a transformation in the security landscape.

Contents 1. Cyber Attacks and Role of Security Testing 2. Leverage Application Security Testing Services 3. TestingXperts Point of View

Cyber Attacks and Role of Security Testing

The increasing number of cyber-attacks at the application level has been pushing organizations to comply with several regulatory mandates.

One such cyber-attack named ‘Petya Ransomware Attack’ recently hit the cyber walls of companies spanning Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Petya is being publicized as more deadly compared to the last ransomware ‘WannaCry’.

With Petya, victims were unable to unlock their computers despite paying the ransom. The Petya attack has impacted various services, and industries and Ukraine has turned out to be the epicenter of this attack. This deadly attack has impacted companies across all sectors such as pharmaceuticals, shipping, hospitals, law firms and many more. This is termed as the most distressing attack in the recent times.

Viruses and bugs attacking the digital space are getting stronger; intensifying the need for an extensive security strategy. Companies and individuals today are in dire need to build software/applications that are thoroughly tested for their security features and are, at the same time, competent enough to alert the users against any possible cyber-attack.

Such disruptive attacks emphasize on adopting a comprehensive Application Security Testing strategy and ensuring resistance against these nasty attacks.

Leverage Application Security Testing Services

Application security testing helps enterprises to find out security vulnerabilities through an extensive range of tests that not just discover vulnerabilities but also evaluates the overall security posture of the applications.

As the impact of security issue is getting higher, it is essential to involve testing right from the early stages of the lifecycle.

There are several tools that have the capacity to evaluate codes and runtime interfaces for exploitable vulnerabilities. Developers frequently think or claim that they are only responsible for the functionality of applications, while security is by default expected out of QA and testing teams. However, it should be realized that quality is an enterprise-wide effort and not a single person or group’s responsibility.

TestingXperts Point of View

Enterprises should be completely prepared to face threats from hackers. Most security vulnerabilities are often a result of negligence and slip ups. A blend of right skill sets and correct use of security testing automation framework and tools to tone down the risk of internal and external attacks and this is what is needed to weigh down the cyber-attacks. A comprehensive security testing approach should be implemented across the entire application lifecycle helping in evaluating several supporting elements such as databases, network, and operating systems.

TestingXperts’ rich expertise in Security Testing, caters to diversified business needs. With over a decade of experience, TestingXperts has become a trusted partner to more than 250 companies, providing testing services across industry verticals and organization sizes. Our application penetration testing exposes vulnerabilities in applications and ensures that application risks are minimized.

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Bug bounty programs are increasingly becoming very popular and are forming part of many organizations’ strategy to discover security issues within their applications. Organizations of all sizes and verticals have Initiated bug bounty programs, including likes of Google, Facebook, Uber, AirBnB, Starbucks and countless others.

Bug Bounty Programs

Certainly! While a bug bounty program will help you catch those nasty vulnerabilities at a relatively low cost, it should not be your primary security testing strategy. By exposing a vulnerable application to the users, whether internal or external, you are susceptible to data thefts and application hacks. Not all hackers will be ‘ethical’ hackers and they may exploit the vulnerabilities they identify for malicious gains rather than reporting those to you. This could lead to serious consequences including business loss, reputation loss and legal proceedings. This could be particularly severe for smaller-mid size organization who do not have enough backup, infrastructure and tools, leaving them in a completely irrecoverable state impacting their business operations.

So, there is no substitute for a formal and periodic security testing cycle when it comes to ensuring the security of your applications. Security testing, when done by the right professionals with right tools and techniques, can ensure most security vulnerabilities are caught upfront providing organizations an opportunity to fix those before the application is rolled out to end-users. The security testing should be carried out before the initial launch of the application and repeated, at a minimum, before all major releases. However, with continuously evolving technology, hacking techniques and continuous changes to the applications, there could still be potential security flaws even after doing periodic security tests. The bug bounty program could be adopted as a good secondary security strategy to uncover vulnerabilities where the RoI for doing formal security testing falls below acceptable levels. Such vulnerabilities should be considered as an acceptable business risk and should be addressed using bug bounty programs.

Read our #blog and identify whether #Bug #Bounty is the right solution to catching #Security #Threats Read https://t.co/PwCri8X4L7

— TestingXperts (@TestingXperts) September 12, 2016

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