Vulnerability to cyberattacks is the price we pay for our increased interconnected dependency. Cyber threats have been ramping up in intensity and complexity for decades, choosing their targets with decreasing discrimination. Even so, some sectors are more at risk than others. Which ones, why, and what countermeasures are available? Continue reading to find the answers.
Manufacturing
Most sources agree that the manufacturing industry bears the brunt of cyberattack incidents.
While manufacturing doesn’t produce as much personally identifiable or financial information as other industries, it’s relatively easy to attack and extract other lucrative information like patents and other secrets. The widespread integration of IoT devices dramatically increases manufacturers’ attack surfaces. Moreover, larger companies that may invest in a more robust cybersecurity infrastructure can still lose much due to attacks that target logistics or third parties instrumental in maintaining the supply chain.
Financial & Insurance Sector
Vast wealth management and the associated droves of personal, financial, and other sensitive data naturally make the financial and insurance sector a prime hacking target. Leading companies have long since recognized the threat. They’ve already invested considerable money and effort in developing technological resilience to cyber threats.
Such institutions fare well against ordinary hackers. However, they’re still susceptible to spear phishing and other forms of sophisticated social engineering that rely on research and deception to exploit humans’ lack of cybersecurity awareness to gain unauthorized access. Insider threats are also more prevalent than in other sectors, whether due to grudges or corporate espionage.
Healthcare
The rising number of data breaches and other attacks in the healthcare industry take the top spot in terms of heinousness. Cybercriminals have no qualms about stealing confidential patient data and either selling it on the black market or using it to gain access to medication.
On the other hand, medical institutions themselves are vulnerable to ransomware attacks. They’re also most likely to give in to cyber crook’s demands since halting normal operations can endanger patients’ lives. An increased integration of IoT devices and aging IT infrastructure isn’t helping either.
Energy and Utilities
Crippling a hospital can tragically impact individuals. Doing the same to a region or country’s power or infrastructure may have more far-reaching and devastating consequences. The lion’s share of attacks target the energy sector, hoping to disrupt the widest possible range of services while spreading fear and demoralizing the population.
Unsurprisingly, state-sponsored actors are responsible for infrastructure attacks. While it’s certainly possible to profit financially from such attacks, espionage, and cyberwarfare are also significant factors.
Retail & E-Commerce
The retail industry, and especially its e-commerce segment, generates, accumulates, and leverages large amounts of data on individuals. Its scope extends far beyond purchase histories and shopping preferences. Depending on the invasiveness of their practices, retail companies may possess detailed information on customers’ demographic characteristics, political & moral views, purchasing power, and more.
Some brick-and-mortar operations don’t see themselves as interesting cyberattack targets and may not take cybersecurity seriously enough as a result. E-commerce businesses depend on third-party services for customer relationship management, marketing automation, analytics, etc. Not vetting such partners can undermine an otherwise conscientious online retailer’s cybersecurity efforts.
How to Improve Cyber Threat Resilience across Sectors?
The above sectors are just the top five. When one also accounts for educational institutions, government infrastructure, logistics, and media, it’s impossible to offer a one-size-fits-all solution. Still, multiple sectors can benefit by focusing more on some overarching cybersecurity principles.
Unaware and careless employees are a universal weak point that can make the most sophisticated cybersecurity technologies ineffective. Continually investing in cybersecurity awareness training leads to greater awareness and mitigates risks.
Employees who undergo cybersecurity training know how to recognize and avoid phishing scams and social engineering. They’re also aware of dangers like public Wi-Fi and are likely to know what tools like VPN means. If you are not aware of what a VPN is, it’s a tool you can use to protect sensitive communication when connecting to company networks through untrustworthy sources.
Data creation and storage are ubiquitous. Safeguarding data and insights gained from it is a top priority for all. Encrypting it while at rest and in transit minimizes the impact breaches have on security and the public’s trust since stealing data doesn’t lead to its exposure. Keeping backups and redundancies is also vital, especially for the infrastructure, healthcare, and government sectors.
Insider threats are particularly insidious. Strong access controls are an effective deterrent. Access controls are most effective when they’re multifaceted. This includes regular outside auditing, access hierarchies, and upholding a Zero Trust policy that prevents users without the right permissions from accessing sensitive data.
A secure password policy is also a core part of access control. Password managers are indispensable for enforcing such policies. The best password managers help you automate password generation and storage while also offering multi-factor authentication as a welcome safeguard and account retrieval measure.
Conclusion
Cybercrime cares little for law, ethics, or even human life. As long as an industry is either lucrative or has strategic value, hackers will see it as a valid target and exploit its weaknesses. Industries, institutions, and governments need to ramp up and coordinate their cybersecurity efforts, especially now that technologies like artificial intelligence are poised to transform the threat landscape thoroughly.
