Cyber Security

Webcams in the workplace have become so ubiquitous that we don’t really pay attention to them anymore, just like we don’t pay attention to computer keyboards and monitors. Yet webcams can, and have, become a serious threat to privacy, confidentiality and intellectual property. They can be hijacked by hackers, criminals and cyber creeps, and they can be used to commit a variety of offenses, from invasion of privacy to blackmail, theft and industrial espionage. A nanny in Texas recently discovered that the baby monitor she’d used was actually under the control of a cyber Peeping Tom.

There are a great many pundits at work purporting to analyze the significance of the hack on The US Central Command (CENTCOM)’s Twitter account. This was not a highly orchestrated and technical attack, but an attack directed at a consumer social network. The real message is not that ISIS has a great cyber force, but that the consumerisation of the workplace can lead to serious unwanted consequences.

A series of cyber attacks attributed to the Hermit Kingdom also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korean (DPRK) and more commonly called North Korea, has caused Sony Pictures to cancel the release of their new ‘comedy’ “The Interview”. The film is based on a fictional scenario wherein the CIA recruits an American TV personality to kill the ruler of North Korea.

What does all this mean to you?

The FBI and DHS published recently a warning that “disgruntled and former employees pose a significant cyber threat to US businesses due to their authorized access to sensitive information and the networks businesses rely on”.

Amazingly enough, a recent cyber-attack on Norwegian oil and energy companies attracted little attention outside Norway, even though the attack was the largest ever on Norwegian interests. Fifty companies were hacked, and the government’s National Security Authority Norway (NSM) has warned 250 additional companies that they may be targets of continuing cyber-attacks.

Lawrence D. Dietz, TAL Global’s General Counsel and Managing Director, Information Security, shares his surprising experience at the recent RSA Conference.

As 2013 draws to a close, we at TALGlobal thought we would share some thoughts as to the Cyber landscape for 2014 and what organizations need to consider to minimize their exposure.