DOI : 10.17577/Global giant Nike is investigating a possible data leak after a known cybercriminal extortion group, WorldLeaks, announced that it has released personal data related to the brand’s operations. Data hacks have been known to disrupt the corporate world and cost companies a lot of money. Last year, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) lost an estimated £1.9 billion due to the cascading effect of a vulnerability in third-party systems, applications, and products in data (SAP) software halting production for 5 weeks. These events demonstrated that all it takes is for a small breach to occur to bring a business down or cause total shutdown with huge losses financially and reputationally. Averting an infringement is the best strategy treating all threats equally with watchful eyes and preventive measures. From third-party leaks to unpatched servers, the strategic value of any entry point must be safeguarded because it can quickly turn into a catastrophic domino that will cost the company its existence.
How Something Small Becomes Big
The initial entry point of hackers is not the main target of the breach. It is just a way to get inside an unprotected door so that they can look for other means to increase their power. For example, low-level accounts such as those belonging to an intern or a guest Wi-Fi user are used to gain access to a network. Once inside, automated tools scan cached credentials eventually ending up with a token or password that belongs to an information technology (IT) admin who logged in earlier becoming, in effect, a system administrator. Although businesses have firewalls, once an attacker cracks it and gains entry, there are no internal locks to stop the perpetrator from moving from one machine to another targeting the human resources (HR) server and financial database. Hackers spend time quietly studying and mapping the entire organization searching for the most valuable data. The sad news is the company isn’t even aware that all these operations are going on until it is too ate.
Furthermore, hackers exploit small breaches in management tools like a password manager or a helpdesk software. That way, there is no need to hack servers individually. Instead, by simply injecting a ‘malicious update’, every computer in the business multiplies one breach into thousands. Of course, small breaches can also happen using third-party vendors increasing the likelihood of supply chain attacks. Even if there’s a ‘trusted connection’ with a provider, cyberattackers use it to get past a security system. They frequently gain access because they are familiar and trusted. Usually, they do not trigger alarms, but by the time they get noticed, the damage is already substantial. In essence, the breach is not the main danger but the domino effect that follows due to operational disruptions leading to financial and legal risks, among others.
What Can Be Done?
Cybersecurity is not about bringing in expensive tools or complex security systems because the reality is most breaches take advantage of basic vulnerabilities not advanced defenses. Hence, firewalls and antiviruses are pointless in protecting a business if employees are not trained how to recognize threats or if access permissions are too lax. According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, 80% of data breaches are caused by human error. Furthermore, updates and patches are vital in strengthening the defense of a system while constant monitoring is equally critical to spot breaches as they happen so that the appropriate response can be launched. In other words, cybersecurity is a resilience issue that helps a business or company prevent a cascade effect from happening.
It all boils down to implementing basic protocols like enforcing a multi-factor authentication, promoting the use of unique passwords, and running regular updates and patches. Granting privileges must be strictly limited. Staff must be trained regularly on practical security equipping them with the ability to recognize phishing attempts and report suspicious activity immediately. Likewise, constant monitoring of loggings, alerts, and incident response report helps in preventing a catastrophe. Recovery plans, backups, and tested response practices help contain an incident preventing it from becoming an existential threat for the company.
To sum it up, small problems can easily become disastrous, but there are ways to prevent them from turning into a tragedy for the company. The main aim is to ensure that a single incident doesn’t topple the organization. To avoid a domino effect, a business needs to be resilient. This means handling crises effectively by training employees, performing regular monitoring, and intentionally limiting access.
