Tag: security breaches

South African Security Breaches | Hackers

South African Security Breaches Raise Hackles

The latest surge in security breaches during 2021 has raised the hackles of CIOs and business owners who access sensitive data in their organisation, particularly from remote work environments. Hackers have clearly been using the lull caused by COVID-19 to hone and master their hacking skills.

most recent security breaches

In August 2021 soon after the cyberattack on Transnet, the Daily Maverick, a South African daily online newspaper, wrote that leading cybersecurity experts were warning that state agencies such as Eskom and other mining and manufacturing companies were likely to be the “next possible targets” of a well-executed cyberattack. They weren’t wrong…

Here are just a few of the more recent security breaches in SA:

An attempted cyberattack resulted in 20GB of data, taken from the space agency’s servers, being posted online.

It was determined that the stolen data didn’t contain particularly sensitive data. The downtime and stress involved in restoring the data and securing the hacked server would have impacted their productivity levels for quite some time.

Just when you thought you had done everything to keep your kids safe online, a hole was found in the proverbial fence.

Mahala by Microsoft is a site that provides students between the ages of 8 and 24 with free access to Microsoft apps. By simply supplying their name, email address, and phone number, they have access to a free Microsoft 365 license. However, these basic steps also exposed their details to other uses, raising the concern that their personal information could be sold or used for phishing attacks. Microsoft is currently working to resolve the issue.

The SA Justice Department has also become a victim of cybercrime in recent weeks.

It’s thought the department suffered a ransomware attack resulting in large amounts of personal information, including bank details, being leaked, and encrypted for possible sale on the dark web. The courts have had to resort to manual recordings to ensure scheduled cases can continue and a manual process to provide the relevant documentation for burials.

it could have been you!

If you think it’s only large firms that need to invest in data security, think again. Although hackers have targeted large firms and continue to do so, small businesses are also easy pickings. This is because hackers rely on the complacency of employees within small businesses who think that no one would want to hack their data. Unfortunately, this is what they want you to believe.

We recently heard of an SME that was hacked for ransom. Fortunately, they had both offsite and cloud data back up. However, as the attack happened over the weekend and a disc change had inadvertently been missed on the Friday preceding, it meant they lost two days of productivity and incurring the cost of an IT specialist for three days.

our final thoughts on security breaches

Data backup is essential to run your business effectively and safely. Even if you only have between three and ten employees and a handful of clients, if their payment details or personal particulars are hacked, it could result in a substantial cost to your business, not to mention the possible legalities involved. Take the steps to protect yourself and your business today and avoid the inconvenience and cost of a security breach.

Embracing the Shift to Online Events & Webinars

With more people working from home and the focus being on staying home as much as possible, many event organisers have embraced the online world to ensure that their events, conferences, and expos can still go ahead as planned.

While one would think that hosting an event online instead of at a venue, which has been the norm for many years, would present a plethora of challenges, that’s not really the case. Of course, a sudden shift to a whole new way of doing things can present teething problems, but it seems that many events have already managed to go ahead online and have done so with great success.

With telecommuting, online learning, webinars and the like gaining huge traction worldwide, security experts are warning key stakeholders and business owners that they will need to enforce a holistic data protection strategy. Security breaches can happen to any platform that hasn’t taken the proper measures to protect itself and experts stress the importance of securing sensitive data using an encrypted and automated online backup service.

Successful Online Events

Let’s take the PancakesCon 2020 event that went ahead as the “Quarantine Edition” this year. The conference was pulled together within a week and was still able to connect over 3 000 attendees and 1 000 competitors. There was a learning village, introductory talks, and multi-track live streaming.

Event organisers gathered considerable know-how from this event and the lessons learnt can benefit all businesses needing to restructure events from in-person attendance to virtual attendance. Here are just a few of the positive aspects:

  • Fewer hurdles and challenges for organisers and attendees
  • No need to spend time looking for a suitable physical venue
  • Fewer overhead expenses
  • Fewer logistics
  • Bigger turnout as attendees don’t have to travel

These benefits are particularly favourable for international events. Now, the attendee who would have possibly had to travel many hours across the globe, deal with jetlag and spend thousands on accommodation, transport, meals and more, can stay home and enjoy all the same features and benefits of the event – at minimal cost.

More Benefits of Online Events and Webinars

For corporations and entities, the benefits can be far-reaching, opening up participation to those who for one reason or another would have been unable to travel to a particular country or event. Consider the following possible benefits:

  • Colleagues who would have previously been excluded from attending the event can now be included. This makes conferences and events more inclusive for example to those who would not have been able to travel to certain events because of travel restrictions, visa complications or even a lack of funds.
  • Senior management often unable to take the time required to attend an event in another province or country due to a busy schedule, can now choose to attend specific speakers and addresses, and better manage their time.
  • Exposure of industry specifics to young talent. Webinars and remote conferences provide a less intimidating environment for young talent to learn about key trends and key ideas in industry forum discussions. Improving engagement in cybersecurity, for example, exposes young talent to a career opportunity that doesn’t look set to decrease any time soon!

Host Your Next Conference Online & See for Yourself

As South African companies adapt to a new way of doing business with the restrictions on travel and a remote workforce, the shift to virtual conferences and events represents a necessary and even advantageous solution. With the on-going development and availability of software designed specifically for remote workers and online meetings, perhaps it’s time to stop and pause for thought – do you really need to host your next event in person?