Brexit will present a whole host of headaches when it comes to customs processing, but the government aims to ease the transition through the use of technology. An upgrade of the HMRC customs infrastructure is planned for early 2019, but other high-tech solutions are being floated, including blockchain and AI.
With this just one of many considerations for those tasked with facilitating our exit from the EU, it is crucial that securing these critical IT systems doesn’t become a secondary concern. In light of this, David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab commented below.
David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab:
“Security by design” is a concept that should be front of mind if technology is to have a greater role at our country’s borders. It’s also a good opportunity for private and public businesses in all sectors to assess whether they have the right infrastructure and ensure that security is built in from the outset.
It’s exciting that technology will continue to inform the way we live our lives in a post-Brexit United Kingdom, but given the potential dangers of critical infrastructure attacks, if security isn’t sufficiently factored in then we’re simply inviting unnecessary risk. The prospect of increasing our country’s attack surface to malicious actors shouldn’t be underestimated, particularly when it comes to critical infrastructure.
The ExPetr attack, and even more recently the ShadowPad backdoor uncovered by Kaspersky Lab, demonstrates that the supply chain is very much in the crosshairs for would-be cyber criminals. An attack on the proposed border infrastructure may present danger not just to national security but also to the individual companies involved in trade. With any system that handles data and information en masse, security should be an integral part of the network – not an afterthought.”
