Hacktivism is rising threat to firms’ security
CYBER attacks from activists have become an increasing threat to security at UK companies, with an overwhelming number considering politically or socially motivated hacking a threat, research released today shows.
A report from financial services firm Deloitte claims that more than 70 per cent of firms in the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sectors see “hacktivism” – activism via hacking – as a threat to their business security.
The research follows the rise of hacktivist groups like Anonymous, which has been associated with cyber attacks on Sony and Visa.
The report also showed that dwindling budgets are hitting firms’ protection against cyber attacks, with 48 per cent of survey respondents pinpointing a lack of cash as an obstacle to improving online security. Other issues included sharing information with third parties, and the increasing number of employees using their smartphones for work.
James Alexander, a lead partner for TMT security at Deloitte, highlighted the fact that less than half of companies surveyed had a plan for responding to attacks.
“Companies need to act as if a breach is inevitable and have a documented response plan in place so they can react,” he said.
“Unfortunately not enough companies are doing this so we think companies are being overconfident in their resilience.”