Ride the Lightning

FBI: Over One-Third of Companies Ignore Warnings That They Are Being Targeted

May 4, 2017

On May 2^nd, SC Media reported that, according to an FBI official, over a third of companies officially notified by U.S. federal authorities that their networks and personnel are being targeted by nation-state hackers or cybercriminal groups fail to act on this intelligence. Donald Freese is the former director of the FBI's National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, now with the agency's Information Technology Branch. He ought to know what he is talking about.

According to Freese, after sending companies an official "targeted identity notification," warning them that their systems are being targeted, "we will approximately 72 hours to a week later see malware now beaconing from that same system."

While calling conventional ransomware attacks a clear nuisance, Freese expressed particular concern over attackers who make a living by extorting law firms, financial institutions and large corporations after breaching their systems, stealing their highly sensitive data, and threatening to expose or delete it.

Freese attributed companies' lack of action to a combination of disbelief, hubris, interference by in-house counsel, fear of reporting threats to the C-suite and, in a few cases, incompetence. I love this list because it rings so true. Courage, humility, non-interference and competence would go a long way toward staving off disaster!

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