IBM report for 2014: More cyber security breaches by employees

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

The IBM annual security survey for 2014 reveals that in that year the number of security related events that turned into full cyber attacks almost doubled itself from the previous year. Most of the cyber attacks – 55% – were a result of sources inside the organizations that actively sought to hurt the company. These factors operated out of deep personal grudge and so were more determined to hurt the company, often by a sense of frustration, resentment or hate for an emplyee who was promoted instead of them. This high risk group uses authorization given to them by the company itself, and so they pose the most threat, being able to operate undetected.

The rest of security breaches – 45% – was a result of hackers using the innocence of company emplyees and business partners in order to get them to commit unintentional actions to damage security. These damages occur from activating dangerous links arriving by spam mail or, by being attached to mail, activate themselves (.exe). IBM’s X-Force team in charge of monitoring internet space and detecting malicious activity online found that in the last two years there has been a constant rise of cyber attacks through mainpulations that cause the emplyee to click a link that activates malware, while the volume of junkmail itself hasn’t grown at all. This is a rise of 1% – 4%, which indicates mostly on the emphasis hackers see in this work pattern and on a rising level of sophistication.

The IBM report justly raises the conclusion that it’s time to start taking the matter of Junkmail seriously: A company that wants to maintain a proper level of security must keep updating its anti-virus constantly, to prevent mails that contain exe. files attached to them, to reach the organization network and use softwares that stop the possibility of automatic loading of links included in the e-mail or the possibility of autmatic changing of the files after they were opened. A company must activate technologies for monitoring the organization inner-network and so to detect any deviation from the standard conduct in advance. This way an understating of a breach is possible, and with it the prevention of future breaches. Above all, it’s critical to enhance awareness in company employees for cyber activity that may occur on the internet, which might affect the company if its employees aren’t aware of their online conduct and of possibility of their being used by outside factors with malicious intents.