CERT-Australia says that Cyber Attacks on Businesses are Increasing in Australia

ZDNet.com reported on 30th May, 2014 quoting a report on latest Cyber Crime and Security Survey Report by Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) which is a part of the Attorney-General's Department as "The main reason of rising of online security attacks in Australia is seeking of commercial information and advantage by competitors."

George Brandis, Attorney General and Minister for Arts of Australia said: "This aligns with the cyber threat like theft or breach of confidential information or intellectual property of businesses. This has become prominent recently through the US indicting Chinese officials for the theft of IP from US companies by cyber means."

When the companies were surveyed, it was observed that many of them reported about the incidents related to computer security but many did not raise concerns that they are not aware of such happenings on their network.

According to survey report of CERT, 56% of companies reported one or more computer security attacks during last year and 44% reported no incidents which was 34% higher compared to findings of 2012 where only 22% of companies reported incidents related to cyber threats.

However CERT reported that anecdotal evidence shows that some companies were not aware of the scope of unauthorized activity on their networks.

CERT said: "Maximum incidents were in the form of targeted emails followed by computer virus or infection like Trojan or rootkit malware. It has been found consistently that respondents viewed incidents regarding cyber security to be targeted at their organization rather than random or indiscriminate."

Brandis said that "spear phishing" and sending emails to specific individuals using personal information creating credibility are most commonly reported. Theaustralian.com.au published another statement on 29th May, 2014 quoting Brandis as saying "clicking on links will download spyware."

The survey done by CERT was directed at big companies with 25% of the 135 respondent organizations belonging to defense sector.

Computerworld.com.au reported on 29th May, 2014 quoting an advice of Brandis for Australian businesses as "understand the value of information and how it can be protected on your network, create a culture of cyber security practices and awareness and ensure the identification of cyber security incidents to minimize risk of loss of business."

» SPAMfighter News - 6/9/2014