EFFECT OF CYBERSECURITY ATTACKS ON PIPELINES AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Introduction

Cyber threats are a widespread form of risk that is faced by most of the organization in the present era. It is the type of attack that tends to steal and damage data that are confidential for an organization. However, the cyber threats also there on the pipeline operators and even in losing the natural resources of the nation.

Types of cyber threats and their impact on the economy

It was observed those five years ago, a hacker under the name of Ugly Gorilla stole tons of confidential data from the gas pipeline companies of the country (Pipyros, Mitrou & Gritzalis, 2017). The situation resulted in a massive financial loss of the organizations which have breached 3 lakh web of steel. Such an incident has shaken the pipeline organizations, which used to be one of the most significant contributors to the country. The economy of the country, as a result, has suffered a tremendous loss.

The cyberattack on the shared data network has led to forcing shut down four of the natural gas pipelines of the country. It had also directed to curtailing the communication with the customers through computers. However, the gas supply was not interrupted, and the news of data stolen was not bright at the moment. Not only the gas pipelines but also the various other natural resources of the country are prone to cyber threats. The pipe and the gas transmission system have been targeted as the central area of hacking. It is because they are considered to be the most valuable contributor to the economy of the country. The cyber threats thus create a high impact on the economy of a country (Nikkarila, Åkesson, Kuikka & Hämäläinen, 2018).

Implementation of diversity and commonality for mitigating threats

Crimeware

It can be described as the most common form of cyber attacks with all kinds of malware and malicious accounts to increase cybercrime. Ransomware, in this context, can be cited as the best example. This kind of cyber attack occurs when the software of a device is not updated, and the operating system is also not updated. Backups are required to be created to remove unwanted files and to clean the machine.

Distributed Denial of Service (DD0S)

Such kinds of attacks usually occur in large organizations, and its main feature includes creating obstacles for using the system and network freely and effectively. To mitigate specific risks, proper DDOS mitigation strategies are required to be present in the operation of the organization. The devices are required to be tested regularly to ensure that it is free from such viruses (Kopp, Kaffenberger & Jenkinson, 2017).

Fraud

It includes individual suspicious emails from the higher authority to all the employees regarding sudden transfers or any sudden changes in the organization. While it may sound simple, however, it tends to work most of the time. To mitigate it, the financial sections of the organization are required to be instructed not to transfer funds without informing the higher authority of the organization.

Conclusion

At last, it can be concluded that the various cyber crimes that exist in society hamper not only the organization but also the economy as a whole. The natural resources also tend to get exploited in this context, and as a result, the economy suffers a lot. Therefore, the risks are required to be mitigated by the organizations.

References:

Pipyros, K., Mitrou, L., & Gritzalis, D. (2017). Evaluating the effects of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures in the context of Tallinn Manual. In Information Security & Critical Infrastructure Protection (INFOSEC) Laboratory, Dept. of Informatics, Athens University of Economic and Business, Conference Paper (Vol. 5).

Nikkarila, J. P., Åkesson, B., Kuikka, V., & Hämäläinen, J. (2018, June). Modelling Closed National Networks: Effects in Cyber Operation Capabilities. In ECCWS 2018 17th European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security V2 (p. 323). Academic Conferences and publishing limited.

Kopp, E., Kaffenberger, L., & Jenkinson, N. (2017). Cyber risk, market failures, and financial stability. International Monetary Fund.