When Global News Hits Home
When you hear and watch news headlines, you can often tune out. It’s not happening here; it’s not affecting you directly. It’s a global issue right now. You’ll worry about it when things are closer to home.
The problem is, by the time it hits home, we may have forgotten about “the headline” and let our guard down.
It’s a New Form of Weaponry
With the current tense climate between the United States and Iran, one way that we can be attacked and less conspicuously, is via cybercrime. Recently two Iranian men were arrested for years-long plot to deploy ransomware to extort municipalities and public institutions, along with multiple hospitals. Losses totaled over $30 million dollars.
They did it via ransomware that they created called SamSam.
In retaliation, the United State government has admitted to using cyber forces earlier this week against Iranian systems that controlled rocket and missile launchers.
While these recent events were reactionary to the conflict in government relations, the arrest mentioned was part of a plan that spanned 34 months. We need to be continually educating our employees, friends, and family members to stay diligent regardless of whether or not a breach is in the news. The threat of cybercrime is always lurking; preparation and prevention are key in avoiding and overcoming the damage associated with a data breach.
