“The cat is out of the bag in terms of how to attack an organisation”, says Alastair Paterson, CEO of Digital Shadows. “By failing to control their online information, organisations make it easy for cyber criminals to conduct hostile reconnaissance and launch their precision attacks”. Such attacks, according to Paterson, can involve data theft, extortion or even physical harm, and have increased threefold this year according to Cisco.
At the heart of the problem, says Paterson, are the ever-expanding digital shadows that individuals and organisations cast across the Internet. This is the trail of publicly-available information that is unintentionally broadcast as we conduct our day-to-day affairs on the Internet. It may include a person’s movements, friends and interests or an organisation’s key employees, software versions and security settings. Our digital shadows have grown enormously due to the explosion in social networking that has led to organisations and individuals sharing more information than ever before.
Paterson continues: “While there are many advantages in engaging with clients, colleagues and friends in this way, if it is not done safely, criminals can use this information to dupe people into giving them access to confidential information”. As an illustration, Paterson cites the recent cyber attacks against high-profile organisations including Google, RSA, Sony and the IMF.
“The best option”, says Paterson, “ is for organisations to regain control of their digital shadows. The trick is to flip things around and see yourself through the eyes of a hacker. Get the measure of your digital shadow, monitor it closely and mitigate any risk of exposure to hostile reconnaissance”. To make this happen, says Paterson, requires highly advanced technologies capable of continuously monitoring millions of Internet sources for any trace of information that may give an attacker a foothold to mount a targeted cyber attack. Security professionals can then analyse the high-risk areas and deploy mitigating countermeasures.”
“By exposing unnecessary information online you effectively give attackers the keys to the front door”.
