PERSPECTIVE
stealing anything. These attacks are distant enough from the victim, it’s almost a ‘passive’ crime, that makes it easier for people who wouldn’t normally steal to carry out. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, he says. “You name it, the dark market has it for sale. Stolen credit cards and personal data, hacked social media profiles, airline reward points, even passports from foreign countries are freely available. Illegal businesses on the dark Web sell every possible tool of the trade, enabling anyone to launch a cyber attack.” Security leaders are worrying about cyber espionage, and state-sponsored attacks, but they need to understand that sophisticated attackers are making a career out of bringing organisations to their knees, he adds. “Although nation-state attackers are very well funded and determined, they have specific targets in mind. A very real danger comes from the crime-as-a-service business, that not only sells tools to anyone
with the cash, they are available for hire, and could potentially take out any business in their cross hairs.” Companies must practice good cyber-hygiene, as well as engage with their peers to anticipate what the dark market will come up with next, Campbell-Young says. “As quickly as the bad guys invent a new tool or services, security practitioners need to develop new defences. It’s no good just monitoring the threat landscape, the industry needs to work together to anticipate the next moves.” From an enterprise security point of view, the actual threats remain the same, but the number of people involved with them is growing exponentially, he concludes.
CEO 2019 Vol 18.2
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