Former cyber czar urges vigilance ahead of holiday season — “it’s not the attackers … it’s us”
Just a week before Thanksgiving, Shoppers at Stop & Shop store in Massachusetts Supermarket chains have been forced to leave empty-handed after a cyberattack on their parent company caused stock shortages.
Parent Company Ahold Delhaize said in a statement Earlier this month, the company alerted law enforcement to the cyber breach and shut down some systems. “While some products may have limited inventory, we are working hard to replenish inventory on our shelves and expect availability to continue to improve over the coming days,” the company said. But this event may be imminent during the holiday season. A sign of things to come, by which time the cybersecurity crisis may be reaching its peak.
This year, corporate giants like AT&T, Ticket Master and UnitedHealth Suffering crippling cyberattacks, businesses are now gearing up for the holiday season in which many cybersecurity operations rely on skeleton crews. But the FBI and DHS warn Now is not the time for them to take a “cyber vacation.”
A new global study of 900 IT and security professionals shows that the vast majority (86%) of ransomware attacks that plagued businesses and organizations in the past year occurred on weekends or holidays Published this week by cybersecurity companies always. But the researchers also found that 85% of the organizations surveyed (90% in the United States) had reduced their security staff by as much as 50% during the same period.
“This study shows we’re not making thoughtful choices,” Chris Inglis, a former White House “cyber czar” and Semperis strategic adviser, told CBS News. “If you realize that most attacks occur on holidays and weekends, and you have reduced staffing, you lose the opportunity to be essentially on par with your adversaries,” Inglis said. He added, “The attackers have the advantage. Because they don’t take a day off.”
The report says organizations consistently overestimate their defense capabilities, with 81% of respondents saying they believe they have the necessary expertise to protect their digital identities from threats. Despite this, 83% of participants suffered a successful ransomware attack within the past year.
Organizations are starting to realize they are more vulnerable during the holidays, but Inglis advises consumers need to remain vigilant, too. Technology like smartphones and tablets are now cheaper and nearly ubiquitous, but security measures have not kept pace.
“We’re not actually making the investments necessary to make these technologies — or this technology system — defensible and well defended,” he said.
Mergers, acquisitions, stock offerings or layoffs have also become magnets for ransomware attacks, with the majority of respondents (63%) also experiencing a cyberattack following a so-called “major corporate incident,” the survey showed.
Financial executives predict President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House could spark a wave of bank mergers and acquisitions, and cybersecurity experts worry cybercriminals will be able to exploit these “moments of distraction.”
“Our adversaries — whether they’re criminal states or foreign rogue states — they’re testing the waters every day. They’re aware that our attention is only increasing,” Inglis said. “If there’s a merger or a change of government, these are distraction moments. So we can expect them to do what they’ve always done. It’s not that they’re looking at this moment, but they see their opportunity in this It could be a more productive moment.”
In February this year, UnitedHealth Group suffered the largest hacker attack in U.S. health care history. The acquisition of Change Healthcare means that it inherited obsolete technologydigital systems are not yet protected by multi-factor authentication.
In addition to the expected onslaught of big bank deals, changes in administrations — regardless of politics — have historically attracted foreign adversaries to test the defenses of new leadership in Washington. In 2021, President Joe Biden inherited the fallout from a sophisticated Russian cyberattack on Texas software maker SolarWinds that hit about 100 top U.S. companies and a dozen government agencies.
In June 2017, the Russian military launched a devastating “NotPetya” cyberattack during Trump’s first year in office, releasing a virus that paralyzed parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure and disrupted computer systems around the world. The losses amounted to billions of dollars.
Security staffing continues to be a common challenge across industries, with only 85% of organizations maintaining year-round 24-hour security operations centers, according to Semperis. While most employees are typically away from the office, overtime costs are high, resulting in staffing challenges around the holidays. .
Global cybersecurity workforce growth has plateaued for the first time since 2019, which is one reason for cybersecurity staffing issues. In 2024, year-over-year growth will be just 0.1%, with budget cuts, layoffs, and hiring freezes exacerbating the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals. According to a recent Report published by ISC2.
The former US national network executive said he was often asked what kept him up at night. “It’s not the attackers, the Russians, the Chinese or any type of ransomware actor. It’s us,” Inglis said. “Sometimes, I think complacency and aggressive ambivalence on our part actually determines our future more.”
