How to prevent a cyberattack by manipulation

One of the most important responsibilities of all cybersecurity professionals is to protect information. Business financials, customer and user information, sales records and unique product designs are critical to an organization's success. 

Every firewall, IDS, MFA and email security is built to protect and stop cyberattacks. Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to steal from businesses and individuals. Because of this, companies must be aware of the growing number of security issues and cyber threats.

Manipulation hacks are becoming increasingly common.

What is a spoofing attack on a company? Suppose cybercriminals hack into your company's database. In that case, they can upload fake documents where they order members or employees of the organization to transfer money to the criminals' accounts with threats or indicating that the damage can be worse in the cloud, as they have managed to breach the security of the cloud and can do whatever they want with it.

When a company loses full control of its business practices or people data, cybercriminals can gain a huge advantage by exploiting the various risks exposed. Currently, many companies have started to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their responsiveness and become more effective, however, it is still too early to rely on AI, and as it is still in development, it can be worse, as it results in unexpected outcomes such as generating a higher risk of cybercrime. 

A company's loss of control over its business practices can lead to various risks, which cybercriminals are quick to exploit. More and more companies are using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency. However, deploying untested artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to unexpected results, including an increased risk of cybercrime.

Cyberattack on an entire city in China

A recent high-profile case was the Shanghai hack, where a cybercriminal claimed to have stolen the personal data of millions of Chinese citizens from the police, and was offering it on a hacker forum called Breach forums for 10 bitcoins (about $200,000).

With the hacking of the database in Shanghai, you can demonstrate the ease with which millions of records can be stolen and also works as a pressure tool for companies or in this case the police, to pay for not releasing the information, as this hacker threatened to release the personal data of thousands of citizens in China. 

This is a very big case, but as no company is exempt from suffering a cyberattack, it is essential to have a communication plan designed to reduce data manipulation.

Sending the right message to employees, partners and owners of the company will help reduce the drama that can be caused when a cyber-attack occurs and in part, it will be easier to report what happened to the public, demonstrating greater responsibility in managing a cyber-attack, as most organizations always try to hide and manage cyber-attacks, before it comes to light, trying to give less importance to what happened. 

Disclosing an event in advance helps to pre-empt manipulation, as cyber criminals can distort the facts while the actual damage may have been minimal, magnifying the real problem.

What can companies do to reduce the risks?

• Invest in security monitoring, response and proactive controls.
• Collect data with a back-up
• Classify data according to importance 
• Using the ISMS module of Pirani's management software, you can mitigate IT threats and know immediately when an incident occurs.
• Knowing what happened, how it happened, and if it happened, is the best way to fight against a cybercriminal tampering attack.