Security Sandstorm’s Rippling Effects in 2021

Part of our January 2021 Cloud Forecast

There’s a lot to unbuckle already in 2021, and one thing’s certain: the cloud is here to stay. Expect severe thunderstorms and cloudy security measures as we ring in the new year.  

If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that you have to expect the unexpected. Cloud-based data-centric defense is paramount to protecting assets from theft or data loss. We’ve seen what can happen when vulnerabilities are exploited, and it’s imperative you stay ahead of the game to deter future attacks on your IT estate. Much like the cyberespionage campaign that took place early last year with SolarWinds’ Orion software, several other attacks have made headlines bringing rain and deluge to the IT enterprise. 

Companies like Gartner forecast global expenditures on cybersecurity will grow to nearly $585 million, which is a 33% increase from that of 2019. The question arises: how are you managing your security in the cloud? 

Poor cyber hygiene efforts pose big threats to the health and wellbeing of everyday citizens. Trending since last month, threats disclosed by European hackers have surfaced after cyber attackers targeting the European Medical Agency (EMA) gained unlawful access to information about COVID-19 medicines. Luckily, the breach had no impact on the effects and distribution of the vaccine; however, with the proliferation of new healthcare application workloads, it’s inevitable that an organization runs into compliance and threat detection complications. It’s been reported that one in every three cybersecurity attacks are coronavirus-related. Another example of this is Jefferson Healthcare, which reportedly experienced a phishing attack on an employee’s email that compromised the data of nearly 2,500 people earlier this week. Despite a low number of high-risk breaches, there have been 84 cases of stolen financial information and Social Security.

Not only is security of high relevance in 2021, but it’s important to think about pivoting your cyber defense mechanisms specifically towards the healthcare sector. Internal cybersecurity training for staff members and managed threat detection and response is where eCloud steps in. Continuous risk assessment, recovery planning, and risk mitigation are all facets of a robust network.

Read more

Author: Eric Sanders, Managing Partner

Links:
ZDNET – Hackers have leaked the COVID-19 vaccine data they stole in a cyberattack

Jefferson Healthcare hit by ‘phishing’ cyber attack