Thursday 17 September 2020

Databases: we do not allow the loss of key assets

Information has become the most important resource in the post-industrial era. Much data becomes an attractive target for criminals. Cybercriminals hack information systems, send spam with spyware, organize targeted phishing attacks, and use contacts with unscrupulous users. The cost of information on the black market depends on many factors: relevance, volume, regional and industry specificity, liquidity of a particular record for committing a particular crime, and finally, simply on the subjective feelings of “sellers” and “buyers”.

Corporate information is often hunted not by lone hackers, but by organized criminal groups. By breaking into information systems, they try to take over large databases. They prefer to sell the stolen goods in bulk, and they often act on order. For example, a group neutralized in China stole more than 11 million records. A batch of 300 thousand records was sold for more than $ 30 thousand, and 1 million records for $ 121 thousand. Thus, one record in a large repository was estimated at $ 0.10 - $ 0.12.


Computer science vs engineering

It is understandable that up-to-date payment information is always highly valued. Using the stolen cardholder data, criminals can make a clone card and withdraw money from the account. In September, the payment details of millions of visitors were stolen from the American fast food chain Sonic. Most of the accounts for sale cost between $ 25 and $ 50. The price is influenced by a number of factors: payment system (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, etc.), card level (Classic, Standard, Signature, Platinum, etc.), whether the card is debit or credit, the issuing bank.

In recent years, cybercriminals have targeted social networks and web services, which have accumulated huge amounts of user information. At the end of August, a serious incident occurred on Instagram: as a result of a hack, about 6 million entries were stolen, including data from celebrity accounts. Cybercriminals uploaded information from millions of accounts to the specially created DoxaGram website and offered everyone to buy it for bitcoins - at the rate of $ 10 per search result. And at the end of May, an unknown person was selling on the Internet a database of 100 thousand users of the social network VKontakte, who were allegedly engaged in the distribution of extremist materials. The “product” was valued at 100 thousand rubles, that is, 1 ruble for 1 entry.

One of the most liquid records is insurance data. MFI Soft has systematized the range of advertisements for sale on the Internet sites of databases of Russian insurance companies. 34 unique databases with a total volume of records of more than 5.6 million have been discovered. Experts call the actions of insiders the main reason for the leakage of such information storages. At the same time, the size of the base does not correlate with the price indicator. As a rule, small databases, but containing fairly fresh and complete information, are valued higher than huge archives. Therefore, the cost of one record in a small or medium-sized database can reach 10 rubles, while in large databases the cost can drop to 0.001 rubles per record.

Medical information is also in strong demand on the black market. The range of prices is large here. A single entry can be worth a few cents, but in some cases the cost is thousands of dollars. For example, in the spring, hackers stole the personal cards and photographs of 25,000 patients, including national and foreign celebrities, from the system of the Lithuanian plastic surgery clinic and put them up for sale on the darknet. The price for one entry was from 50 to 2000 euros. In addition, the entire stolen base could be purchased for 344 thousand euros. The direct and indirect losses of companies affected by confidential information leaks can be many times higher than the amounts that hackers ask for on the black market. Based on a 2016 Ponemon Institute study commissioned by IBM. the average cost per stolen or lost recording was $ 141. Compared to the previous year, the average cost of one violation, although it decreased by 10%, is still an impressive $ 3.62 million. After the leak, the company loses on average 5% on the exchange, and the customer churn can reach 7%. The number of such leaks in the world in 2016 increased by about a third, the amount of compromised information increased by more than eight times. The share of high-tech companies accounted for nearly three quarters of all compromised data in the world - about 2.3 billion records, of which 87% were personal data (PD) of citizens. and customer churn can reach 7%. The number of such leaks in the world in 2016 increased by about a third, the amount of compromised information increased by more than eight times. The share of high-tech companies accounted for nearly three quarters of all compromised data in the world - about 2.3 billion records, of which 87% were personal data (PD) of citizens. and customer churn can reach 7%. The number of such leaks in the world in 2016 increased by about a third, the amount of compromised information increased by more than eight times. The share of high-tech companies accounted for nearly three quarters of all compromised data in the world - about 2.3 billion records, of which 87% were personal data (PD) of citizens.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of leaks and the volume of compromised data of high-tech companies, for which information, including customer information, is, as a rule, a key asset, therefore any leak turns out to be very sensitive for business,” said Sergey Khairuk, analyst of InfoWatch Group. - In 2016, the data of hundreds of millions of users of such popular resources as Facebook, Foursquare, GitHub, iCloud, LinkedIn, MySpace, Snapchat, Telegram, Tumblr and Twitter were stolen. Hackers successfully attacked the largest mail services - Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Mail.ru, stole data from clients of telecommunications companies, including Deutsche Telekom, Three UK, Verizon and other operators. Compromise of more than 95% of data in the field of high technologies in 2016 was caused by 31 "mega-leaks" with damage to more than 10 million records each. In the structure of leaks, the volume of citizens affected by personal data has grown significantly, while the shares of payment information, trade secrets and know-how have decreased. Despite an increase in the number of leaks caused by an outside intruder, leaks within high-tech companies are also very dangerous. Thus, the number of leaks due to the fault of an external attacker in the field of high technologies increased by almost 15% over the year, while the change in the distribution of damage depending on the impact vector is minimal. In 2016, the number of cases of deliberate information leaks increased in high-tech organizations, as well as the proportion of qualified leaks associated with fraud or abuse of access rights. Despite an increase in the number of leaks caused by an external intruder, leaks within high-tech companies are also very dangerous. Thus, the number of leaks due to the fault of an external attacker in the field of high technologies increased by almost 15% over the year, while the change in the distribution of damage depending on the impact vector is minimal. In 2016, high-tech organizations saw an increase in the number of cases of intentional information leaks, as well as the proportion of qualified leaks associated with fraud or abuse of access rights. Despite an increase in the number of leaks caused by an external intruder, leaks within high-tech companies are also very dangerous. Thus, the number of leaks due to the fault of an external attacker in the field of high technologies increased by almost 15% over the year, while the change in the distribution of damage depending on the impact vector is minimal. In 2016, high-tech organizations saw an increase in the number of cases of intentional information leaks, as well as the proportion of qualified leaks associated with fraud or abuse of access rights. while the change in the distribution of damage depending on the impact vector is minimal. In 2016, high-tech organizations saw an increase in the number of cases of intentional information leaks, as well as the proportion of qualified leaks associated with fraud or abuse of access rights. while the change in the distribution of damage depending on the impact vector is minimal. In 2016, high-tech organizations saw an increase in the number of cases of intentional information leaks, as well as the proportion of qualified leaks associated with fraud or abuse of access rights.  

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