February Cyber Security News Round-Up

As our world becomes more connected and digital, having a solid approach to cyber security is more important than ever. For many organizations, your infrastructure is likely a majority, if not all digital, which means that solid cyber security practices are critical to your organization’s functioning.

Here is a cyber security news round-up for some recent stories. Keeping tabs on the latest cyber security news can aid in keeping you aware of the latest threats and security developments.

Cyber Security News Round-Up

Canadian federal police says they were targeted by cyberattack

The Canadian federal police agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was breached by a large-scale cyberattack. The extent of the damage is not yet known, as no immediate threats have been detected from the breach. Link to the article here.

Outages from cyberattack at UnitedHealth’s Change Healthcare extend to seventh day as pharmacies deploy workarounds

Change Healthcare has been experiencing outages affecting hospitals and pharmacies around the United States due to a ransomware attack presumably by the group BlackCat. Change Healthcare has tools that work with payments and revenue cycles that have been down. Link to the article here.

Ransomware Groups Are Bouncing Back Faster From Law Enforcement Busts

As mentioned in the previous story, groups such as Change Healthcare have been experiencing cyberattacks from cybercriminal groups like BlackCat. They are a group that was recently hacked by law enforcement agencies thereby allowing decryption keys to be sent to victims of the group. However, when some of the core components of cybercriminal groups are in countries that do not cooperate with investigations, the group can cut their losses, regroup, and strike again. Link to the article here.

Why is cyber security important? What’s the takeaway?

Here are a few key components these new stories teach us on why cyber security is important.

There is more to cyber security than law enforcement

Law enforcement agencies work hard to protect people from cyber threats. Unfortunately, they cannot protect people from all threats that exist. As mentioned in the article “Ransomware Groups Are Bouncing Back Faster From Law Enforcement Busts,” some groups are reforming, or new ones are popping up faster than they can be shut down.

Due to that increasing threat, individuals and organizations must take cyber security seriously. Take steps to build up your layers of security.

Business Continuity

Ever think what it would do to your organization if you couldn’t operate for just a day or two due to a power outage or unexpected internet outage? It would likely be very challenging and impact your organization’s ability to operate. Data compromise due to a cyberattack would be even more crippling and potentially something that would be irrecoverable. The incident with Change Healthcare is just an example of an organization that has had to navigate very challenging circumstances due to a cyberattack.

Critical Infrastructure

Just as a cyberattack can cripple an organization such as a business, it also can cripple critical infrastructure. This could include critical institutions such as energy or emergency services. Not only is it important to develop layers of security for your organization, but additionally it is important to have a plan for downed services in the event of a cyberattack.

Personal Data Protection

Finally, on an individual level, it is important to remember to protect your data. A cyberattack that compromises your personal data can lead to challenges such as financial loss and identity theft, not to mention the mental and emotional distress of dealing with a situation like that.

Before you go

Regardless of whether you are leading and protecting an organization or are an individual, cyber security is not optional for anyone; it is a necessity. Not only is all of this important to an individual, but it is also important for our collective security.. So let’s all keep pursuing best practices and learning together.

As always, we are here to help.