2023 was a busy year for cyber criminals, making it tough to choose the top cyber security news stories of 2023.
Cyber security professionals have had their hands full in protecting sensitive information and detecting breaches to ensure the safety of their clients.
Most importantly, the hackers claim to have stolen 6 terabytes of data, including social security numbers.
The biggest public sector headline Ontario hospitals & Toronto Public Library ransomware attacks.
At the end of October 2023, Ontario hospitals along with the Toronto Public Library lost access to thousands of patient information in ransomware attacks.
These breaches served as a wake-up call, showing that even public entities are not exempt from cyber threats.
The most alarming part of this breach was that the hospitals had patient SIN numbers stored, making it easy for cyber criminals to impersonate the patients and potentially access their banking or government accounts.
These attacks occurred just when the CEO was new to his position, with little knowledge of the IT of the business.
In 2023, the Indigo cyber attack made waves as the top Canadian cyber attack search query on Google.
Although the store never confirmed how much was directly from the cyber incident, the yearly numbers aren't looking great.
The Indigo cyber attack highlights the vulnerability of businesses during times of organizational restructuring.
It is unclear whether cyber criminals deliberately target companies during these periods, but they do take advantage of any crisis, including leadership changes.
If your business is undergoing restructuring in 2024, be mindful of the increased risk of cyber attacks.
The breach was facilitated by customers reusing old passwords, allowing cyber attackers to exploit passwords obtained from other data breaches.
23andme initially reported that the attackers were only able to access 14,000 users' data.
Kevin was an iconic figure in the cyber security industry making memorable marks on the world with his hacking, insightful books, and transformative cyber security training.
Remember to advocate for stronger, role-based security awareness training and more investment into your cyber security program.
Book a free trial of Click Armor to start strengthening your security culture.
Scott Wright is CEO of Click Armor, the gamified simulation platform that helps businesses avoid breaches by engaging employees to improve their proficiency in making decisions for cyber security risk and corporate compliance.
He has over 20 years of cyber security coaching experience and was creator of the Honey Stick Project for Smartphones as a demonstration in measuring human vulnerabilities.
This Cyber News was published on securityboulevard.com. Publication date: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:13:05 +0000