[BreachExchange] A Big Cyberattack Is Inevitable In 2017

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.itechpost.com/articles/70603/20170103/big-
cyberattack-inevitable-2017.htm

Security analysts make dire predictions for 2017. According to them, we'll
see more undetected, complex data integrity attacks this year aiming for
political manipulation as well as financial gain.

Big Data Breach Expected In 2017

According to Network World, while data integrity attacks are, of course,
not entirely new, these hacks have very damaging potential consequences, as
they compromise the security of digital information with the aim of gaining
unauthorized access to modify data for a number of ulterior motives. This
could represent the ultimate weaponization of data.

According to Venture Beat, the year 2016 has seen even more cybersecurity
activity than 2015. Around 500 million accounts have been swiped from
Yahoo, $81 million have been stolen from Bangladesh Bank, and about 19,000
emails have been leaked from Democratic Party officials in the run-up to
the election. On top of that, we have experienced the IoT-powered botnets
launching record-breaking DDoS attacks that have taken down major websites
of the Internet.

The cyber-attack headlines in 2016 offer, in reality, just a glimpse of a
cyber war between security experts and hackers. This digital war is being
waged every day on a grand scale. And what is worse is that it is expected
worse to come. Escalated challenges are predicted by security experts for
2017.

Attackers Will Change Stolen Data

Today's cyber attackers are escalating website hacking and pure data theft
to attacks that target data integrity. Hackers will use their ability to
access information systems in order to cause long-term reputation damage to
groups or individuals.

Rather than simply gaining a profit, attacks like the Yahoo and DNC
breaches focused on influencing economic and political public opinion. This
kind of cyber attacks are to be expected to continue in 2017, according to
security experts. According to a recent online statement, the Russian group
behind the election-related breaches is moving next on to Germany's
elections.

The kind of scenario is particularly damaging for those industries that
heavily rely on public confidence. Publicly traded companies, banks or even
laboratories that cannot vouch for the fidelity of medical test results are
among the organizations at particular risk. Such attacks could also be
particularly damaging to governments, as public distrust in national
institutions rises when critical data repositories are altered.

Consumer Devices Held For Ransom

Cryptolocker and other ransomware have plagued companies around the world
in 2016. According to security experts, these attacks have increased
fivefold in the last year alone. The ransomware encrypt critical files and
leave companies facing hefty fees for their release.

Hospitals are prime targets and have suffered particularly at the hands of
ransomware attacks. As they are full of critical patient records,
life-saving medical equipment, patient devices and staff computers,
hospitals' cyber defenses have failed to keep pace. This resulted in many
organizations forced to pay up in order to recover their data. For
instance, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles had to
pay the equivalent of $17,000 in Bitcoin after its computers were taken
offline by hackers for over a week.

As consumers are targeted across a range of IoT connected objects, in the
year 2017 and beyond, it is expected to see the beginning of a new type of
extortion on a micro level. For example, someone getting home and turning
on their smart TV could find out that cybercriminals are running a
ransomware attack on that device.
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