Cyber security is a challenging organization and employees are being sued resulting in loss of trust. In an interesting cyber security case, an employee is being sued for sending approximately $250,000 to an online cyber security hacker. The employee of Peebles Media Group UK unfortunately was victim to a CEO phishing scam. The cyber criminals sent the employee emails pretending to be her boss.
The lawsuit alleges that the employee was warned by financial institutions about cyber criminals using phishing scams to trick employees into making payments online. Unfortunately, the employee released over $250,000 (£193,250) of the organizations funds to cyber criminals. It took a few days for this to alert the organization.
Lawyers for the organization accuse the employee of being negligent while the employee is accusing the organization of lack of training. The financial institutions were able to refund the organization £85,268.28 however they are suing the former employee for the remaining sum. The employee was dismissed from the firm for her actions in being negligent. The case is ongoing in court.
This case is in line with a recent study that shows just over 20% of Canadians don’t trust anyone to protect their data properly. The study was released from a hardware security organization that reveals that many people and organizations want more control over their personal data and privacy including tighter controls on how others handle and safeguard their data.
Here are some alarming numbers that were produced in the security study:
- 18 percent have been victims of a cyberattack
- 68 percent have an ongoing fear identity theft
- 34 percent want control of their personal data
- 34 percent stated having control of their personal data helps them trust that organization
- 38 percent stated organizations should fire their Chief Information Security CIS following a cyberattack
- 31 percent stated organizations should fire their Chief Information Officer CIO in the same situation
- 38 percent stated a cyberattack or hack should be a federal offense
The ultimate bottom line is if organizations continue to fall short on training employees as well as proactively managing their IT security, cyberattacks and breaches will affect their business.
The best defense in cybersecurity is a proactive one which includes hardware, software and education.
For help putting an end to cyber attacks on your business, contact BrickHost.