Cyber attacks on companies in the country continue. The most recent case was presented yesterday to Public Companies of Medellin (EPM).
The entity reported that it was attending a cybersecurity Incident, that did not affect the public services of energy, water and gas.
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However, EPM pointed out that due to the situation that arose, they canceled the customer service in offices and virtual channels.
Although the service company did not specify the type of incident, it reiterated that they would maintain preventive measures.
Another recent incident was the cyberattack on the platform de Keralty, owners of the EPS Sanitas and the Colsanitas prepaid medicine service.
According to Juan Pablo Rueda, president of EPS Sanitas, the entity was the victim of a cyber attack that led the company to develop a “contingency plan”, he stated. Additionally, from Sanitas it was confirmed that the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation opened an investigation to confirm who would be behind the attack.
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“In this work we are counting on the support of national and international experts with extensive knowledge in this type of situation,” the group commented in a statement.
But situations like these have begun to set off alarm bells both at the business level and among users.
And it is that according to figures from the Police Cybernetic Center, the number of cases reported so far this year amounts to 54,121 reports of victims, number that exceeds 11,223 cases registered in 2021.
Companies like Fortinet have pointed out that Colombia is among the top Latin American countries with the most attempted cyberattacks.
In that order, Mexico stands out in first place with 85,000 million, followed by Brazil (with 31,500 million) and Colombia, with 6.3 billion attempted attacks.
“In addition to the extremely high numbers, the data reveals an increase in the use of more sophisticated and targeted strategies, such as ransomware (information hijacking).
During the first six months of 2022, approximately 384,000 ransomware distribution attempts were detected worldwide. Of these, 52,000 were destined for Latin America,” asigned the company Fortinet.
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Although the attacks have increased, experts point out that the modalities have also become more sophisticated, which makes all areas of the companies become vulnerable and susceptible to attack.
Diana Robles, IBM Security leader for Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and the Caribbean Region, andHe explained that any critical areas or information of a company is susceptible when facing a cybersecurity attack.
“Today, all industries are vulnerable, the difference is made by companies that are prepared to quickly contain and detect a cyberattack. Cybercriminals can use everything from ransomware, which is the seizure of control or the kidnapping of information, to phishing, which is deceiving a victim, posing as a well-known brand or person to deliver valuable data,” Robles specified.
Likewise, the expert commented that according to an IBM study, phishing was the most common cause of cyberattacks (47%) in 2021, in addition “it was observed an increase in attacks caused by stolen credentials or ransomware (29%) in Latin America,” added Robles.
For Kelly Quintero, strategic territory manager for BeyondTrust, Latin America has not been the exception to constant cyber attacks occurred all over the world. In Colombia, the expert specified, since there is no legislation that regulates the communication of cyber attacks, Many companies are exposed to this type of situation.
“The size of the companies, the presence of multinationals and of course the sensitive information of great value, has led to an increase in security incidents. Hacker organizations from Brazil, Russia and China are beginning to include our country in the list of attractive regions to commit these acts”Quintero said.
Likewise, the expert commented that “computer security controls will never be enough when being prepared for cyber attacks is concerned”.
Alberto Samuel Yohai, president of the Colombian Chamber of Informatics and Telecommunications (Ccit), remarked that “the country must continue working hard to strengthen cybersecurity measures, adopting models, standards and frameworks that allow us to face the challenges that will arise in the next years”.
Tactics to avoid risks
According to BeyondTrust, companies in the country should implement good tactics to minimize the risk of potential cyberattacks.
As a first point, the company recommends acting quickly in the event of incidents.
(See: Increase in cyberattacks requires secure connectivity tools).
In general, suspend internal services of the organization, eliminate administrator access to systems and backup sensitive information, eliminate the use of passwords and establish policies for frequent password changes.
Finally, carry out a constant evaluation of software vulnerabilitiesapplications and other systems.
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