MELBOURNE: THE Symantec’s latest annual Internet Security Threat Report released this week. Its message is underscored by Dell’s annual security report, which lists growing threats in the business world ranging from the troublesome cybercriminals intercepting your credit card details at the cash register to the terrifying, hackers bent on wreaking havoc shutting down entire power grids or other critical infrastructure.
After a wave of high profile attacks on banks and retailers over the last two years, almost 80 per cent of the calls to Symantec’s global incident response service since December have come from health organisations, said Robert Shaker, a Symantec official who oversees the commercial service.
While usually seeking valuable patient and employee data, hackers who target health organisations may inadvertently disrupt computer systems that oversee medication and other life saving treatments, Shaker said.
The health sector’s vulnerability to hackers was underscored earlier in 2015 when Anthem, the giant insurance firm, reported a data breach affecting up to 80 million customers.
But as each sector strengthens its defences, Shaker said, hackers move on to new industries that may be vulnerable.
He predicted schools and universities may be the next big targets.
Higher education is “another area very similar to health care,” where administrators have historically been less focused on computer security, said Shaker.
He noted that university computer networks hold a variety of valuable data, including financial records for students and employees, as well as scientific and medical research.
Several universities have already reported large data breaches in recent months, according to reports compiled by the non-profit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Symantec is one of the biggest companies in a growing industry that sells software and expertise for defending against cyberattacks – so it has a vested interest in highlighting security threats.
But findings in its annual Internet Security Threat Report generally echo observations of other industry experts.
Along with an overall jump in the volume of malicious software, Symantec said it’s seeing an increase in software designed specifically to siphon information from smartphones and other mobile gadgets.
It also counted a surge in certain kinds of “spear-phishing” attacks, in which hackers send deceptive email or text messages to consumers or company employees, hoping they will click on a link that infects their computers with malware.
In a particularly dramatic trend, Symantec reported almost 9 million incidents of “ransomware” attacks in 2014, more than double the total from 2013.
“Ransomware” programs aim to extort money from computer users through various threats.
