If you think movies like Eagle Eye, Live Free or Die Hard are simply imaginative stories that push the possibilities of technologies, you’re in for a surprise. The potential of cyber-crime across the world today is even scarier than anything in the movies, and organizations need to be more prepared than ever before to combat it.
By expanding our digital footprint, we are enlarging the cyber-attack playing field.
For more than a decade now, individuals, organizations and governments have pursued digitalization to achieve their social, economic and digital agendas. While this is hugely beneficial for overall human progress, without proper security precautions it can leave organizations open to becoming potential targets.
In the MERAT region, economies that are rooted in oil & gas are particularly at risk. Over a short time span, the oil and gas industry has been rapidly digitally overhauled, now with almost every machine connected to the internet. The upside of this is the ease of remote maintenance and production analysis, but the downside is that hackers now enjoy multiple gateways to exploit and gain access to internal networks. This was experienced Saudi Arabia last December, where a data-wiping malware targeted key players in the oil and gas sector.
As well as high profile cases, smaller scale attacks on individuals are also a threat. While mobile phones and other digital devices are the most common devices to hack, there has been talk of less traditional technology being compromised, for example prosthetic limbs. The fact is that the more we digitize, the more vulnerable we become – something which could be accentuated even more with the roll out of 5G in the near future.
The risk shows no signs of subsiding.
DarkMatter, the UAE’s foremost cyber-security company recently reported that ‘the UAE, one of the world’s most digitally-connected societies, continues to be one of the most attractive destinations for cyber criminals in the world’. Malware and ransomware attacks nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2019 and governments can be just as vulnerable as the ordinary person. The scary bottom line of cyber-crime is that if hackers take over critical infrastructure, destabilizing an economy or social regime could be as simple as using a remote control.
Conservative estimates put the price of cyber crimes within the private and public sectors at $6tn in the next two years – globally the largest transfer of economic wealth in the history of mankind. This is being prioritized on a national level in some countries, for example in the UAE where the Dubai Police launched a cyber-crime division which received more than 9,000 reports from the public in its first 12 months.
Prevention is the best cure.
Data security is and will remain a critical issue for the foreseeable future, with huge financial implications for organizations. At a time where every pixel of data has a price for the right buyer, the right security solutions are a critical consideration for business leaders and government officials alike.
At Dell Technologies’, our industry-leading data protection solutions means your data assets are secure from edge to core to cloud. Next-generation back-up appliances and software offer superior risk reduction for workloads and advanced security across heterogeneous environments. We understand that all organizations are unique, and offer a range of solutions including bespoke options to ensure our clients are secure and ahead of the curve in data protection readiness.
Learn more about Dell Technologies’ data protection solutions and get in touch with our team to find the right solution for your business.
