Cybercrimes on the upswing

The ongoing cyber threat
Cyber security is an issue no telecommunication provider can ignore, as attacks have rapidly evolved in number as well as strength, with no end in sight. In fact, Derek Manky, Fortinet global security strategist, has estimated that there are approximately half a million attack attempts every minute in cyber space. As one of the leading European telcos, Deutsche Telekom (DT) has implemented a comprehensive strategy to combat distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that can handle the most severe assault scenarios.

More possibilities, more risk
Along with the changes in size, frequency and sophistication of attacks, the ability to launch malicious strikes has become increasingly straightforward. Today it is easy for anyone to find online instructions on how to build a botnet, offer their own computers as part of an army of bots or even hire a whole battalion from organised criminals who rent botnets on a
pay-for-volume basis.

In addition, the proliferation of the Internet of Things provides hackers with an easy way to quickly gain widespread infiltration. The research company Gartner expects a huge jump in the number of these connected devices, to as many as 20 billion by 2020. It is not inconceivable that a home air conditioning unit or coffee machine could be used as a bot to remotely attack a government institution. All of this is possible due to the simplicity of these internet-connected devices, which normally do not have security tools such as those found on computers.

Read the complete article at Capacity Magazine here.