| Massive increase in targeted attacks, deepfakes and hacktivism. The outlook for IT security is not bright | | https://aec.cz/en/news/Pages/massive-increase-in-targeted-attacks-deepfakes-and-hacktivism-the-outlook-for-it-security-is-not-bright.aspx | Massive increase in targeted attacks, deepfakes and hacktivism. The outlook for IT security is not bright | <p>
<strong style="color:#6773b6;"><span style="color:#6773b6;">According to the experts at AEC, a leader in cybersecurity, some of the most common threats in cyberspace were until recently random attacks. However, we are now seeing a significant increase in targeted attacks which are much more sophisticated. The trend is towards a combination of different types of aggressive attacks by increasingly differentiated criminal groups. Attackers, who now have cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, are also perfecting methods to put their victims under as much pressure as possible.</span></strong><br></p><p>We can still count phishing as one of the most common types of attacks, but it has changed significantly. This is also confirmed by Maroš Barabas, Head of Product Management at AEC: <em>“Phishing has become very sophisticated. We have seen the quality of phishing scams improve year on year, including the graphic appearance of the messages. Attackers are already now able to mimic any official email with such authenticity that even knowledgeable people, including IT professionals, will have trouble recognising phishing scams in the foreseeable future.”</em>
</p><p>There has also been a dramatic increase in ransomware attacks, up 200 percent from previous years. Specialists at AEC helped an unprecedented number of customers who had been attacked last year. Along with the intensity, the nature of these attacks is also changing. Hackers are focusing more on specific critical locations in the systems they attack such as network or backup drives.
</p><p>Attackers today operate like regular companies, meaning they have they own suppliers and customers. This allows them to become more specialised. As a result of this, they are perfecting techniques for gaining access to their victim’s infrastructure, delivering malware, extortion or laundering dirty cryptocurrency into dollars or euros.
</p><p>For companies, this means that they need to change their perspective on how to defend themselves effectively as quickly as possible. Maroš Barabas sums the situation up as follows: <em>“We expect to see an increasing emphasis on Cyber Resilience in the coming years. This means that companies will prepare in advance for the fact that sooner or later they will be attacked and have a strategy in place to recover effectively from that attack.”</em>
</p><p>Companies continue to recognise the need to train employees in cybersecurity using the most effective forms of education. However, they will also be forced to improve other security measures, including a greater emphasis on verifying the identity of all people concerned (e.g. the Zero Trust approach) and other related identity centralisation systems, so-called Identity-Centric Security. At the same time, we will see even greater adoption of passwordless authentication.
</p><p>Changes can also be expected in the greater emphasis on compliance, i.e. on ensuring that the company’s activities comply with the regulations. The European Union’s new NIS2 directive on network and information security will affect about six thousand domestic companies.
</p><p>Artificial intelligence is experiencing a massive boom. It is no longer difficult for hackers to access the most advanced technologies, which offer them much greater options for automation, including the opportunity to use an almost unlimited range of languages. All of this ultimately gives them a greater chance of succeeding with much faster and more powerful attacks, including deepfakes.
</p><p>Hacktivism and disinformation campaigns are becoming a major topic. The war in Ukraine has shown us that there is a growing number of groups which are assiduously organising themselves to carry out attacks, for example to execute code, overwhelm the system of a selected company and cause as much damage to it as possible. An ever-increasing threat to companies may also be posed by their own people. If employees are frustrated, for example by their economic situation, they are more likely to believe all sorts of half-truths and are more willing to harm their employer, often with fatal consequences.
</p><p>Another risk is the rapid development of digitalisation and cloud technologies, which are however being used in an old-fashioned way due to a lack of trust in the unknown. Experts agree that sooner or later companies will have to rethink this approach and start addressing API security, although many will only do so after they have been the target of an attack.
</p><p><em>“There is no doubt that we are facing extraordinary challenges today. Many solutions are already proving to be dead ends in the face of future threats, many technologies need to be abandoned and some stages skipped. It is clear then looking at the longer-term horizon that we will be forced to start looking at the issue of IT security in a completely new way,”</em> says Maroš Barabas from AEC, in conclusion.
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| Hackers look forward to Christmas too. Don’t make it easy for them to gain access to your wallet | | https://aec.cz/en/news/Pages/hackers-look-forward-to-christmas-too-dont-make-it-easy-for-them-to-gain-access-to-your-wallet.aspx | Hackers look forward to Christmas too. Don’t make it easy for them to gain access to your wallet | <p>
<strong style="color:#6773b6;"><span style="color:#6773b6;">The Christmas holidays are a critical time from the point of view of IT security. Particularly useful to attackers is the fact that people spend much more than usual in the run-up to Christmas and often do so in a hurry and are less cautious about their transactions. However, the experts at AEC, a leading cyber security provider, point out that following a few basic rules can significantly reduce the risk of an attack.</span></strong><br></p><p>Attackers count on the fact that now is precisely that time when many of us are willing to spend a lot of the money we have been saving all year. Our bank cards, mobile phones or computers are the ideal means to achieve their goal. Countering the sophisticated tricks of hardened cybercriminals is becoming increasingly difficult, yet there are ways to avoid losing your money when shopping online.</p><p>There are many situations in which hackers can catch us. This might be when choosing an e-shop, it can happen during the ordering process, during payment or just at the moment when we are expecting delivery of our goods. The experts at AEC therefore recommend that you only buy things from verified shops. Before actually ordering the goods, you can check the credibility of the e-shop on portals such as Heureka or directly on <a href="https://www.coi.cz/pro-spotrebitele/rizikove-e-shopy/">the website of the Czech Trade Inspection</a>, which is updated on a daily basis.</p><p>Another problem is ordering goods. The general advice is to enter the name of the given shop into a search engine and read a few reviews before buying anything from it. “Whether you are ordering goods using a computer or a mobile phone, always make sure that you keep your device updated and protected by high-quality antivirus software,” warns Maroš Barabas, Head of Product Management at AEC.</p><p>You should choose unique passwords whenever you register anywhere – on social media, in e-shops or with delivery services. At the same time, you must use multi-factor authentication for all of the accounts where protection of access is important to you. Here, it is advisable to use the resources and capabilities offered by the given device (for example, password management is free of charge in iOS and Android) as these can significantly complicate a hacker attack.</p><p style="text-align:center;">
<img class="maxWidthImage" src="/cz/PublishingImages/news/2022/aec-ukazka-phishingu-04.jpg" data-themekey="#" alt="AEC" style="margin:5px;width:658px;" />
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<span style="color:#6773b6;">Sample of a fraudulent offer</span></em><br></p><p>The moment you come to pay also represents a big risk. “If you receive a message about any problem with a transaction, purchase or parcel and it asks you to click on a link, don’t do it,” warns Maroš Barabas, adding another important piece of advice: “No employee of any bank, post office or e-shop should ever ask you for your card number, username or password. If they do, hang up because the caller is not who they say they are.”</p><p>The period when you are waiting for delivery of your goods can also be a problematic moment in online shopping. The possibility of tracking the ordered goods represents a huge temptation to mindlessly click on a link or prompt, which may subsequently turn out to be a scam. Nowadays, attackers do not only hide behind global brands such as DHL or FedEx, but also behind high-quality fake versions of Zásilkovna or Česká pošta. So, make sure that you think carefully and calmly about every click, and if we want to be certain, check the request directly with the shop or delivery service.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><img class="maxWidthImage" src="/cz/PublishingImages/news/2022/aec-ukazka-phishingu-03.jpg" data-themekey="#" alt="" style="margin:5px;width:658px;" /><br><em style="color:#6773b6;"><span style="color:#6773b6;">Sample phishing message impersonating a shipping company</span></em><br><br></p>
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| The Karel Komarek Foundation assumed patronage of a Ukrainian art exhibition in Prague | | https://aec.cz/en/news/Pages/the-karel-komarek-foundation-assumed-patronage-of-a-ukrainian-art-exhibition-in-prague.aspx | The Karel Komarek Foundation assumed patronage of a Ukrainian art exhibition in Prague | <p>The “Unbreakable“ exhibition of paintings and statues by Ukrainian artists is on display in the foyer of KKCG's headquarters in Prague's Bořislavka district. The Karel Komárek Family Foundation (KKFF) has taken over patronage of this exhibition of art by contemporary Ukrainian painters and sculptors. Their pieces reflect themes related to the ongoing war.</p><p style="text-align:center;">
<img class="maxWidthImage" src="/cz/PublishingImages/news/2022/vystava-20221005_004a.jpg" data-themekey="#" alt="KKCG Unbreakable" style="margin:5px;width:658px;" />
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</p><p>The charitable fund has also decided to support the philanthropic purpose of the project with a donation of 250 000 CZK. This amount and the proceeds from the sale of the artworks themselves will purchase prosthetic limbs for Ukrainian mothers who have been injured in the war and to support children who lost their families.</p><p>“Unbreakable” is a travelling charity exhibition of fifty exhibits by twenty-six emerging and established artists. It heads to Bořislavka having been in Berlin, Vienna, Lviv, Paris, and Rome. Visitors can see or buy the artworks in Prague every weekday from 10 am to 6 pm, and on weekends from 1 pm to 6 pm, until Saturday, November 5.</p><p>You can support the exhibition, which is part of the international We and World project, without buying a painting or sculpture. You can do so through the <a href="https://lnkd.in/eF7u3p_7" target="_blank">Karel Komárek Family Foundation website</a>. The co-founder of the KKFF, Karel Komárek, is a Czech entrepreneur and philanthropist. He owns the ARICOMA Group, the largest Czech ICT holding. AEC is a member of the ARICOMA Group.</p><p style="text-align:center;">
<img class="maxWidthImage" src="/cz/PublishingImages/news/2022/vystava-20221005_029a.jpg" data-themekey="#" alt="KKCG Unbreakable" style="margin:5px;width:658px;" />
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