Enterprise, Internet Security

How do companies protect against a security breach?

It is no secret that any criminal will have his eyes on the biggest piece of cake he can acquire….

It is no secret that any criminal will have his eyes on the biggest piece of cake he can acquire. It is no different when it comes to cybercriminals. And for them, their favorite desserts are the big tech companies. That is why it is so important for every company to do what they can to protect against a security breach.

With huge amounts of sensitive/customer data around, exploiting just one company can give access to information worth millions of dollars!

No matter how protected business databases tend to be, hackers have very often been able to effectively slip through corporate security defense systems.

One recent example is the Petya Ransomware, a cyber attack predominantly targeted on Ukraine that caused havoc all across Europe and various other parts of the world with an estimated damage of more than $300 million to businesses – most of them being government organizations.

While large tech-companies invest millions of dollars on advanced defense systems, they are often defeated by stronger players in the wilds of the internet. It’s events like these that have pushed tech companies in stepping up their cybersecurity game like never before.

 

So, what do companies do to protect against a security breach?

 

Identity and access management (IAM) systems

Traditionally, identity management has been broadly defined as the set of policies, processes, and technologies used for managing access to information systems through the right individuals. It is the core network responsible for safeguarding digital data while effectively tracking system activities.

Even though the system itself is quite complex, the concept is simple – enhancing the privacy of data by limiting the various associated attributes to certain interactions.

 

Restricting use of unnecessary hardware and software

The higher the number of software or hardware connected to the network- the higher the number of possible exploits. Even though, software companies that sell their products to various IT firms make sure they are immune to cyber attacks, using a redundant program just isn’t worth taking the risk.

More often than not, giant tech firms make sure that different departments of their organization have devices connected to different servers, so that, even if one gets breached, the rest stay secured.

 

Background checks and constant monitoring

While IT firms carefully monitor for possible malware trying to attack their systems, there have been a good number of instances of intrusion from inside the network. No matter how high-caliber cybersecurity a company has, nothing can stop sensitive data from being stolen if it is operated by someone having a different purpose.

Lately, tech-firms have started resorting to serious background checks and screenings before giving access to important information to their employees.

 

IT training

Tech-firms and hackers, both, are well aware of each others’ goals! What that means is hackers know that their potential targets have taken the mandatory measures to try to keep them at bay from attacking their servers. Cyber culprits, however, have more than a dozen ways of sneaking into systems which they successfully achieve by capitalizing on human error.

Tech-firms have paid significant attention on developing a corporate culture focusing on security training programs aimed at teaching their employees the risks of negligent use of networks, phishing content, careless password management and improper disposal of information.

 

Encrypting Data

While having sensitive data stolen is a nightmare itself, things get a lot worse when this stolen data can be used for the wrong purposes. One way to keep data safer is by converting it into a code which can be decoded only by the entity with the decryption key. This doesn’t mean hackers might not have a solution of converting encoded information into a readable form. However, it certainly makes things harder for someone trying to obtain unauthorized access.

 

Strong Passwords and Password Managers

Using strong usernames and passwords should be a no-brainer. However, what is more important is properly storing them and that is where a password manager comes to play.

Password managers are software that saves usernames/passwords and keeps them encrypted. However, the risk here is the software itself as it is the master program containing all the passkeys. A security issue with it is enough to create a potential security risk.

 

Having information stolen is the last thing any organization would want to happen, especially if it is that of their clients. Not only it is a matter of reputation, a company might face serious legal issues for not being able to protect their customer’s information.

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Internet Security

Singaporean, 16, under ISA restriction order after being radicalised by far-right extremist ideology

Advertisement Singapore Singaporean teen who identified as white supremacist placed under ISA restrictions for far-right extremism The teenager strongly identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks overseas, says the Internal Security Department. File photo of a person using a laptop. (File photo: iStock/Chainarong Prasertthai) New: You can now listen to articles. Sorry

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Singaporean teen who identified as white supremacist placed under ISA restrictions for far-right extremism

The teenager strongly identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks overseas, says the Internal Security Department.

Singaporean teen who identified as white supremacist placed under ISA restrictions for far-right extremism

File photo of a person using a laptop. (File photo: iStock/Chainarong Prasertthai)


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  • The student is the second Singaporean to be dealt with under the Internal Security Act for being radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies
  • He was exposed to violent extremist material online in 2022 and developed an intense hatred of communities typically targeted by far-right extremists, including African Americans, Arabs and LGBTQ individuals
  • Although he hoped to be recruited for violent attacks overseas, the student did not take steps to actualise his aspirations beyond searching online for weapons

Firdaus Hamzah

Firdaus Hamzah

Firdaus Hamzah

24 Jan 2024 02:00PM
(Updated: 25 Jan 2024 09:42AM)



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SINGAPORE: A 16-year-old Singaporean student who was self-radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies has been issued a restriction order under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The teenager, who is of Chinese ethnicity, identified as a white supremacist and aspired to conduct attacks overseas, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Wednesday (Jan 24).

“However, beyond online searches for weapons, he did not take steps to actualise his attack aspirations as he lacked the financial resources and know-how to do so,” ISD said.

It added that he had no plans to conduct any attacks in Singapore.

The student, who was not named, was in Secondary 4 when he was placed under a restriction order in November 2023. This means he is not allowed to travel out of Singapore, access the internet or social media without the approval of the ISD director, among other restrictions.

He is the second Singaporean to be dealt with under the ISA for being radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies.

The first – a 16-year-old Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity – was detained in December 2020 after planning to attack two mosques in the Woodlands area.

Authorities said at the time that he had made “detailed plans and preparations to conduct terrorist attacks” against Muslims, and that he was influenced by the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant – the man who attacked mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The youth has since been released from detention, ISD said on Wednesday, adding that he had made “good progress” in his rehabilitation and is assessed to no longer pose an imminent security threat.

SELF-RADICALISATION PROCESS

Providing details of the latest case, ISD said the teenager was exposed to violent extremist material online in 2022, after chancing upon videos by American far-right personality Paul Nicholas Miller.

Miller is known for promoting a race war and espouses white supremacist and neo-Nazi rhetoric. He has been tied to multiple far-right extremist organisations overseas, including the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo movement.

By early 2023, the teenager had developed an intense hatred of communities typically targeted by far-right extremists, including African Americans, Arabs and LGBTQ individuals, said ISD.

“Fuelled by online extremist rhetoric, he came to believe that African Americans were responsible for a significant percentage of crime in the United States, and deserved to ‘die a horrible death’,” it added.

“He also perceived illegal Arab immigrants as having committed violent attacks against white populations in Western countries.”

ISD said the teenager subscribed to the Great Replacement Theory commonly referenced by far-right terrorists like the Christchurch attacker, which propagated the idea that the indigenous white population in Western countries were in danger of being replaced by non-white immigrants. 

“Such ethno-nationalist beliefs convinced him that non-white communities such as African Americans and Arabs should be driven away from white-majority countries,” said ISD. 

“The youth participated in several far-right online chat groups and channels, where he shared violent anti-African American videos, as doing so gave him a sense of belonging to the white supremacist community.” 

When asked how this case came to light, ISD told CNA it was unable to comment due to operational concerns. 

It added that the ISA remains a “relevant and effective legislative tool” that allows for pre-emptive action to be taken to neutralise any security threats, such as in the case of the two youths.

“Regardless of the cause or extremist ideology involved, the authorities will not hesitate to take actions against any Singaporean or person residing in Singapore who supports, engages in, or attempts to engage in, armed violence,” it said. 

Growing concern with youth radicalism, terrorism threat to Singapore remains high: ISD

Terrorist groups increasingly targeting youths, Singapore a ‘prized target’: DPM Wong

ASPIRATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN ATTACKS

According to the ISD, the teenager had hoped to be recruited for violent attacks by white supremacist groups overseas to “fight for the whites”.

He considered travelling to countries such as France, Italy, the US and Russia to participate in attacks against his “vilified communities”.

“Specifically, he shared his interest to conduct a mass shooting in the US in 10 years’ time in a far-right online chat group,” said the ISD.

The agency added that while he searched online for weapons, he did not take steps to actualise his attack aspirations as he lacked the financial resources and know-how to do so. 

“The youth had no plans to conduct any attacks locally, as he felt that these communities had not caused trouble in Singapore,” said ISD.

“There was no indication that the youth had tried to influence his family or friends with his violent extremist views, nor were they aware of his attack ideations.”

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