News
Webroot Comment: Vaccine research among cyber attack targets
November 2021 by Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant, Carbonite Webroot
This morning the BBC reported that organisations working on Covid-19 vaccine research were one of the main targets of cyber-attacks dealt with by UK computer security experts last year as 777 incidents occurred between August 2020 and September 2021.
In response to this, please find below a comment from Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant at Webroot on what businesses can do in order to prevent a cybersecurity attack – which you are welcome to use in any pieces you are writing on this.
Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant at Webroot:
“Cyber-attacks specifically on healthcare research institutions, are becoming increasingly targeted, so it’s more challenging for IT admins and security teams to put any single process, or technology in place to protect against threats. Information related to pioneering Covid-19 vaccine research is likely to be very valuable to criminals. It would command high prices on the dark web, as it could be used for criminal activities or sold to unscrupulous government entities, via intermediaries, who wish to enhance their knowledge of the vaccine without using the proper channels.
Therefore, organisations must step up and make sure they implement better security systems and staff training, as it is key for protection. The most important thing that users can do is back up data and ensure that this can be restored in the case of a cybersecurity attack. It’s critical that all businesses, especially those dealing with sensitive data, invest appropriately in their cyber defences as each person whose information is held by an organisation has a right to privacy and for that information to be stored securely. Having multi-layered cyber defences, tight processes, and well-trained security personnel will help to protect the business, its web properties and its data to uncover weaknesses before criminals exploit them.”
