Cyber security news round-up

This month’s round up from the world of cyber security features news that analysis has suggested the US healthcare cyber security market could hit £6.75bn ($8.7bn) by 2023. Elsewhere in the UK, government statistics have shown a reduction in the percentage of businesses suffering a cyber breach or attack in the last year.

Analysis suggests US healthcare cyber security market to reach £6.75bn ($8.7bn) by 2023

Analysis by Frost & Sullivan has suggested the US healthcare cyber security market could reach £6.75bn ($8.7bn) by 2023.

The research concludes that this figure will be pushed by the fact that new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasing the points of vulnerability, compelling healthcare organisations to adopt new security systems.

Mike Jude, digital health research manager at Frost & Sullivan, said: “The healthcare market is a prime target for hackers looking for protected health information (PHI). The lack of cyber security expertise is prompting healthcare IT organisations to seek managed support, which, in turn, is accelerating the move to cloud-based computing services.

“To make optimum use of the opportunities, cyber security vendors need to develop solutions that integrate with existing healthcare IT systems and applications. The solutions must be able to accommodate and scale with new technologies such as IoT, cloud, and Big Data.”

Government statistics suggest reduction in businesses suffering from cyber attacks

Statistics from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have shown a reduction in the percentage of businesses suffering a cyber breach or attack in the last year.

The 2019 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows that 32% of businesses identified a cyber security attack in the last 12 months – down from 43% the previous year.

The most common breaches or attacks were phishing emails, followed by instances of others impersonating their organisation online, viruses or other malware including ransomware.

Digital Minister Margot James said: “Following the introduction of new data protection laws in the UK it’s encouraging to see that business and charity leaders are taking cyber security more seriously than ever before. However, with less than three in ten of those companies having trained staff to deal with cyber threats, there’s still a long way to go to make sure that organisations are better protected.

“We know that tackling cyber threats is not always at the top of business and charities list of things to do, but with the rising costs of attacks, it’s not something organisations can choose to ignore any longer.”

Report reveals finance is the most attacked sector

A report by NTT Security has revealed finance as the most attacked sector in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), accounting for 30% of all attacks.

The 2019 Global Threat Intelligence Report also revealed that the finance sector is joined by business and professional services (24%), technology (17%) and manufacturing (9%) in the list of top four attacked industries in EMEA.

Kai Grunwitz, senior vice-president at NTT Security EMEA, says: “Finance is yet again on the top spot when it comes to targeted attacks, which surely is enough evidence to convince the board that cyber security is a must-have investment. Sadly, many financial organisations are moving forward with digital transformation but without security built-in.

“While legacy methods and tools are still quite effective at providing a solid foundation for mitigation, new attack methods are constantly being developed by malicious actors. Security leaders should ensure basic controls remain effective, but they must also embrace innovative solutions if they provide a good fit and true value.”