How to Deal with Cyber Crime

When it comes to data protection, most businesses tend to view cyber crime as an elite and sophisticated event that harms only a select few, while the rest are immune from its threats. However, recent reports on cyber crime attacks are startling and demand a serious look into data center security measures.

Research conducted by the World Federation of Exchanges and International Organization of Securities Commissions reports that more than 50% of financial exchanges have been a victim of cyber crime.  The nature of attacks is mostly in the form of disrupting services by introducing malicious code, resulting in denial of service. An attack that has been called Operation High Roller resulted in siphoning $2.5 billion from European bank accounts.

To counter the threat of cyber crime, transformation needs to take place at the board and industry level. Current techniques such as intrusion detection systems, firewalls and antivirus are falling short when it comes to the sophisticated nature of the attacks.

New direction of attacks is predicted in data centers, where physical security can be targeted. There are warnings of attacks that can disable ID card access units thus making the data center vulnerable to intruders. According to the Ponemon Institute, it is estimated that the cost of the data loss can go as high as $200 per compromised record.

So what are the solutions in dealing which such threats and how is the data center industry responding to these situations?

One of the solutions is to opt for cyber liability insurance, since cyber threat is now a reality for most online businesses. For a larger organization that can invest in a more sophisticated cyber intelligence system, the solution can involve the following:

• First analyze your business to determine the areas where the cost of such threats are the maximum.
• Follow a priority based approach to mitigating the risks, so that the majority of the security budget is allocated to counter the highest ranking risks
• Share and combine the intelligence data across the organization and external systems too so that countering cyber crime and its prevention becomes an objective of all stakeholders involved, including users.

Looking for a place to store your data safely? We, at Lifeline Data Centers, are dedicated to keeping your data safe. Take a virtual tour of our data center to see how we protect and store your data.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.