Rick McElroy

Critical infrastructure has increasingly become a top target for cybercriminals. Over the weekend, we learned of the ransomware attack against a U.S. fuel company, Colonial Pipeline, that carries nearly half the fuel consumed along the U.S. East Coast. This is one of the largest disruptions of U.S. critical infrastructure by a cyberattack in history. It is a startling reminder of how vulnerable everything from our power grid to our water supply remains if we do not bolster our defences. “This attack will not be an isolated incident. We will continue to see destructive cyberattacks against industrial control system (ICS) environments,…

The growth in widespread, sophisticated attacks I have been following, with interest, the attacks on the Australian Government which have led to quite a bit of publicity and debate around who the culprits are behind the cyberattacks. Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, confirmed the attacks were widespread across “all levels of government” including in essential services and businesses. In July, he announced that $1.35 billion in existing defence funding would be spent over the next decade to boost the cybersecurity capabilities of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). Additionally, the Federal Government wants to create more than 500 new jobs in its highly secretive cyber intelligence agency as part of what its calling Australia’s largest-ever investment in cybersecurity. Organisations and governments are under incredible pressure during the…

Looking at the headlines around cyberattacks and security breaches, we’d be forgiven for thinking that organisations face an insurmountable cybersecurity task. However, when we delve deeper into the UK cybersecurity landscape, a more nuanced picture emerges. In fact, there is a real sense of positivity on the horizon when it comes to UK organisations’ assessment of their ability to detect and defend against cyberattacks. Despite the knowledge that the volume and complexity of attacks they’re facing continue at a sustained high level, our latest UK Threat Report found that more than three quarters of UK organisations felt more confident in…

Endpoint security is failing. There are a million attackers out there devoting all their energies to getting through the network perimeter and, right now, the odds are stacked in their favour. Network defenders are juggling multiple agents on endpoints, they don’t integrate well and each has its own management interface, placing a heavy burden on already thinly stretched staff. Breaches are up 40% as ransomware, crypto-mining and the next new variant continue to batter the network. If we are going to swing the odds back in our favour we need a different approach and the answer to at least 10…