The countries or organizations identified as the targets of cyberattacks

The countries or organizations identified as the targets of cyberattacks

Security protocols and controls should be properly implemented in organizations because the incidents of privacy breaches have been increasing at an exponential rate. Data privacy and protection should be a major concern because security breaches can have a negative impact on the reputation of the organization and potentially harm the sensitive data of customers. One of the reasons behind security breaches is poor IG or Information Governance, along with human errors and software bugs. In the New York City, the fraudulent cases have been rising since 2013. Around 110 million customers of a retail firm, Target, has become the victim of security breaches (Smallwood, 2019).

Additionally, after reading chapter 11, it has been understood that government institutions have been the targeted victims consistently. In this context, the government of Canada, the United States, as well as India, has been consistently targeted. Apart from that, corporations and high-tech firms such as the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee have been targeted. The cyber attackers attacked the data stored in computer systems of these large organizations and hid the data secretly. The United Nations was unaware of the consistent number of attacks, and before uncovering it, cybercriminals have already stolen sensitive information. In 2013, another scandal occurred, and the NSA or the National Security Agency was in the news. Edward Snowden revealed to the media that organizations have been accessing, storing, and monitoring a huge amount of data that should have been remained private. .

However, the usage of the stolen data has not yet been determined, and the motive behind stealing the data is to gain a competitive advantage diplomatically as well as economically. It can be stated that government agencies and companies are not in a safe zone, and some incidents even occur on a regular basis. Incidents go without detection, and the victims are constantly being eroded. Once the rivals gain access to national secrets, it is nearly impossible to safeguard the data. Therefore, an effective way of managing the issue could be the formulation of effective IG policies. The need of the hour is to test and enforce the policies in targeted organizations and countries so that such attacks can be prevented in the future (Manworren, Letwat & Daily, 2013). The organizations must use the most suitable technology, and systems must be detected on a regular basis.

Apart from cybercriminals, the mentioned countries and organizations are also prone to attacks from insider threats. Inside the perimeter of the organization, threats and breaches might occur. Therefore, organizations are supposed to tackle the insider threats more seriously. The United Nations is at the risk of both malicious and non-malicious threats. Malicious threats might occur due to a small group of employees. They can cause severe damage to the reputation of the firm. Non-malicious threats could occur accidentally while users are using e-mails (Kamiya et al., 2018). Sudden leaks in the reputed organizations indicate the need to implement strict regulation and an effective IG program. The cost of insider threats is comparatively costlier than outsider threats.

References

Kamiya, S., Kang, J. K., Kim, J., Milidonis, A., & Stulz, R. M. (2018). What is the impact of successful cyberattacks on target firms? (No. w24409). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Manworren, N., Letwat, J., & Daily, O. (2016). Why you should care about the Target data breach. Business Horizons, 59(3), 257-266.

Smallwood, R. F. (2019). Information governance: Concepts, strategies and best practices. John Wiley & Sons.