Three quarters of tech firms hit by cyber criminals
THREE quarters of technology, media and telecoms firms have been the subject of cyber attacks in the last year, according to new research by Deloitte – an increase of 13 per cent on 2010.
A fifth of technology firms said they suffered up to 20 breaches in the last year, with experts warning the risks are increasing as hackers become more sophisticated.
Mobile devices are expected to become the top security threat faced by companies in the next 12 months.
Some of the best-known firms in the world have fallen victim to hackers over the last 12 months, with Sony experiencing the biggest ever breach which resulted in information on more than 100m of its customers being accessed by cyber criminals.
Games giants Nintendo and Sega both suffered relatively minor attacks, while Google reported a flurry of hacking activity, including a siege on its Android mobile operating system and attempts to hack into the email accounts of senior US government officials.
Some of the hacks have been claimed by a group calling itself LulzSec, which claims to be carrying out the attacks to draw security breaches to the attention of companies and for their own amusement.
Others – like the attack on Google and similar attempted breaches firms including Lockheed Martin – appear to originate from within foreign states.
Deloitte warns that despite the increase in cyber crime, the amount spent on IT security remained static last year.
SONY
100m Customers’ data breached in attack
Google
472% rise in Android malware this year
Nintendo
Zero data lost in attack this year
citigroup
200,000 bank card holders’ info accessed
SEGA
1.3m customers’ data breached