Tech trends: Data breaches forced governments, enterprises to focus on cyber security
New Delhi: Mega cyber attacks such as "WannaCrypt" and "Petya" this year forced governments and enterprises globally, including in India, to focus and invest more on bolstering their security networks.
In the first major attack of the year, the world reeled under "WannaCrypt" that locked files on computers. Hundreds of thousands of computers were infected with the malware in May.
The primary reason for this attack being successful was not the software but human error. On March 14 this year, Microsoft released a security update which addressed the vulnerability in the 16-year-old Windows XP operating system.
Once the patch for the vulnerability was released, hacker group "Shadow Brokers" exploited this loophole and wreaked havoc in 150 countries. Those who installed the update were saved, while several who did not, fell prey to the attack.
Soon after the "WanaCrypt" attack, tens of thousands of computers globally were affected by the "Adylkuzz attack" that shut down SMB networking to prevent further infections with other malware (including the WannaCrypt worm).
While Europe and major parts of the world struggled with another big ransomware attack called "Petya", India also bore the brunt. Some Indian servers were down owing to the Petya attack.
The Shipping Ministry said operations at one of the container terminals at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) was affected by Petya.
Companies like Genesis BM, a public relations firm, had to shut down systems in India after their international servers were attacked.
The month of May saw another cyber attack when a malware called "Judy" hit over 36.5 million Android-based phones, making its way through Google Play Store.
In August, the "Locky" ransomware, once considered almost defunct, sent over 23 million emails with the malware to the US workforce in just 24 hours. It scrambled the contents of millions of computers and demanded payment to unlock it.
A group of hackers leaked the "Game of Thrones" script, along with 1.5TB of HBO data that included other popular TV shows. The hacking group demanded approximately $6.5 million worth of Bitcoins from HBO.
A group of hackers also penetrated Equifax -- one of the largest credit bureaus in the world -- and stole personal data of 145 million people. Accountancy firm Deloitte was also targeted by a sophisticated hack that compromised the confidential emails and plans of some of its blue-chip clients and the attack went unnoticed for months.
In November, Yahoo agreed that it was attacked in 2013 wherein criminals had information about all three billion accounts. In another massive attack, hackers stole the personal data of 57 million customers and drivers from Uber Technologies. The breach was concealed for more than a year.
Most companies fall victim to cyber attackers either because of unpatched software with known vulnerabilities or because of the human factor like people falling victim to phishing emails, Finland-based cyber security firm F-Secure said.
Later in the year, the enterprise cyber security company FireEye said Chinese advanced persistent threat (APT) groups that have allegedly been creating cyber havoc internationally will shift their focus in 2018 to countries like India and Hong Kong and groups seen as a threat to Beijing's influence over global markets.
Slowly becoming aware of emerging cyber threats, organisations worldwide will spend $96.3 billion on security in 2018 -- an increase of eight per cent from 2017, according to a Gartner forecast.
More than 60 per cent of organisations globally will invest in multiple data security tools by 2020 -- up from 35 per cent today, it added.
"Cyber attacks such as WannaCry and NotPetya, and most recently the Equifax breach, have a direct effect on security spend, because these types of attacks last up to three years," the market research firm said.
To ward off future attacks, the Indian government set up NIC-CERT centre to monitor, detect and prevent cyber attacks on government networks. NIC-CERT will work in close coordination and collaboration with sectoral CERTs and CERT-In.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) in New Delhi in November that witnessed top global security experts deliberating on ways to fight cybersecurity.
2017: Highlights
* "WannaCrypt" attack infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries in a single day
* "Petya" ransomware attack hit India as some servers in the country became victim to the attack
* "Judy" malware hit over 36.5 million Android-based phones
* "Locky" ransomware sent over 23 million emails with the malware to the US workforce in just 24 hours
* The Indian government set up NIC-CERT centre to monitor, detect and prevent cyber attacks on government networks
* Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) in New Delhi in November.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
