BleepingComputer reports that healthcare organizations in North and South America, Western Europe, and Australia, were noted by the Department of Health and Human Services to have been targeted by the …
In April 2022, a few months after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, three wind-energy companies in Germany were hit with cyber-attacks that disabled thousands of digitally managed wind turbines. In one case, the company wasn’t even the target but “collateral damage” after attackers took down the Ukrainian satellite system ViaSat. This is just one example of the cyber-risks now facing digital renewable energy systems.
It is estimated that by 2050, global power systems will be 70% reliant on renewable energy – derived mainly from solar, wind, tidal, rain, and geothermal sources. These energy sources are generally distributed, geographically remote, and relatively small scale. They are often managed and operated using under-secured digital technologies that plug directly into the legacy infrastructure of national power grids. This creates a broad cyber-attack surface for threat actors to target.
To build robust cyber-resilience into digital renewable energy systems we first need to understand the areas of risk. These include, but are not limited to:
The launch this week of a Future of Defence fund that will put money into the armaments and cybersecurity industries comes amid confusing signals from the sector.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, investing in defence stocks – until recently regarded by many as anathema – is increasingly seen as providing support to democracy.
Yet in the past few weeks the direction of share prices has not necessarily reflected the global boom in spending, sparked by the war in Ukraine, and alarm over China’s intentions towards Taiwan, its neighbour in the South China Sea.
After a long-ish era of decline, expenditure reached $2.24trillion (£1.74trillion) last year, with British businesses such as Chemring, which supplies materials and components for missile systems, reporting a surge in orders.
Nato members that have not dedicated 2 per cent of GDP to defence are promising to meet this target. The HANetf Future of Defence fund, which will have the stock market ticker ‘Nato’, will back only companies based in the countries that are members of the alliance or part of the Nato Plus group – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and South Korea.
Despite the rush to re-equip and form multi-year partnerships, shares in some major UK and US defence names fell following last month’s failed insurrection led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group. BAE slipped as did Qinetiq, which is behind the Banshee drone.
It seems traders viewed the brief coup as evidence of instability in Russia that could shorten hostilities in Ukraine. A cessation would reduce outlay on tanks, troops and the rest, with other consequences for defence contractors.
Ukraine has been a hugely important testing ground for these groups’ technologies, revealing where innovation and upgrades are needed.
Some investors, devoted to the cause of ESG (environment, social and governance) will be unperturbed by the post-coup share price falls.
They will continue to shun BAE, Qinetiq and other cyber-security or weaponry companies in the EQM Future of Defence index. Its constituents include Cisco, Northrop Grumman, Palo Alto and Raytheon, maker of the Patriot missile.
But Russian aggression has shifted…
Educational institutions are facing a surge in cyberattacks targeting IoT (Internet of Things) devices like IP cameras, network video recorders, and routers, according to recent data published by Check Point Research. In fact, the cybersecurity solutions provider states that there has been a 34% increase in cyberattacks when compared to last year. How can schools and other organizations stay safe from hacking attempts in the education sector?
Experts believe that schools and universities need to focus on vulnerability management. Basically, this process involves the continuous identification and resolution of potential weaknesses or flaws, such as bugs and firewall misconfigurations. These give hackers a chance to steal data and cause harm. Even something as simple as regularly updating software and installing antivirus solutions can help prevent unauthorized access to confidential data like the addresses and medical records of students.
BlueSteel Cybersecurity CEO Ali Allage, who has two decades of experience in leading tech companies, tells us how schools can stay safe from cyberattacks and institute better strategies against hacking attempts in the education sector.
“So, my thoughts on the topic of the education sector seeing an increase in attacks is not surprising just because of how much the education system had to transition [during] and after covid on technology use. There’s been a lot of quick adoption without necessarily having the right frameworks in order to support remote education or adopting some of the technologies needed for today’s educational world. So, part of that is not having a grasp on vulnerability management, and this is using these tiny devices, like I mentioned [IoT devices] like cameras, [some] of these hardware pieces that sometimes get overlooked on firmware. Making sure that the software that goes to run the hardware are up to date. And, so we’ll see a lot in terms of vulnerability management not necessarily getting the love or attention it needs, or you’ll see that they’re identifying some of the issues — It’s just that the breadth of items that need to be addressed are pretty large and it could be…