‘Be ready before cyber-attack impacts’, conference hears

BUSINESS owners must treat cyber-crime as a risk across their organisations and ensure they are prepared to respond before an attack takes place.

That was the message coming from a special summit organised by Shannon Chamber, which joined up with the gardai’s cyber-crime unit.

Hosted at Shannon College of Hotel Management, it also brought together expertise from Atlantic Aviation Group and Jaguar Land Rover.

It looked at the evolving cyber threat facing businesses and the practical measures organisations can take to protect themselves.

Speakers highlighted the sophistication and range of cyber threats, including ransomware, business email compromise and invoice redirection, plus the growing use of deepfakes and voice-changing technology in social engineering.

A key message from the event was that no organisation should assume it is immune from an attack.

Cyber criminals use automated tools to scan for vulnerabilities, meaning attacks can be opportunistic rather than directed at a particular company.

Atlantic Aviation Group’s interim chief information officer, David Cadenhead, demonstrated the potentially devastating impact of such an incident when he outlined how the company dealt with a ransomware attack.

He explained how senior leadership was immediately mobilised, external legal and forensic expertise was brought in, customers and regulators were informed, and manual processes were introduced while the company’s infrastructure was rebuilt from a clean base.

Javier Olarreta, cybersecurity chapter lead and senior security architect with Jaguar Land Rover, shared insights from the company’s experience of cybercrime and organised vehicle theft, including the measures it has taken in conjunction with law enforcement agencies to counter increasingly sophisticated criminal activity.

He also outlined the consequences cyber incidents can have for manufacturing and supply chains, reinforcing the need for businesses to examine the security resilience of suppliers throughout their supply chains.

Both speakers stressed that preparation can make a critical difference to how effectively a company responds and recovers.

Shannon Chamber chief executive Helen Downes said: “While it may not be possible to eliminate the risk of cybercrime, preparation, testing, strong security controls, and collaboration can significantly improve an organisation’s ability to withstand an attack.”