Freya Riddel discusses insights from the recent Ransomware attack suffered by global-tech company Garmin with Governance Directions Journal.
KordaMentha Manager Freya Riddel debuted in the latest edition of the Governance Institute of Australia's Governance Directions Journal. Discussing global-tech company Garmin's July 2020 outage due to a Ransomware attack, Freya provides insights into the rise in large-scale cybercriminal activity, its impact and the lessons to be learned.
In the article, Freya utilises her forensic expertise to analyse the impacts of the cyber-attack on Garmin as its data was encrypted by a malicious software and held to ransom. With Garmin providing fitness-tracking services and wearables for individual users and GPS services to the automotive, marine and aviation industries (including the Federal Aviation Administration), the effects of the attack were extensive. The costs associated with such an attack not only include the demanded ransom in exchange for unlocking the company's data, but also those related to services downtime, repair of systems, the risk of reputational damage and possible regulatory or legal action.
"The impact of cyber attacks is vast, and yet the gravity of their threat remains poorly understood. The importance of appropriate protection and planning (and investment in such) cannot be overstated."
Freya also discusses the lessons to be learned from the rise in cybercriminal activity, including vulnerable points of entry, the tactics cybercriminals apply and the added risks associated with an increasingly remote workforce. Providing practical guidance for individuals and organisations, Freya discusses how to protect data from attack and the best practice response to large-scale cybercriminal activity.
"While cyber attacks are becoming highly sophisticated and so too are the cyber security techniques used to detect and block them, some effective prevention controls remain strikingly simple."
Click here to read the article as featured in the Governance Directions Journal.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.