UK Facing “Disturbing” Volume of Cyber Attacks
James Borkoles

Iain LOBBAN, Director at GCHQ, has provided a latest update on the disturbing and continued upward trend in the volume of cyber attacks on UK government and firms across all industry sectors – government, IT, technology, defence, engineering and energy sectors in particular were highlighted.

Given that the threat is clearly more focussed than simply denial-of-service and other attacks, and often is focused on stealing sensitive customer data, industrial designs and research and other forms of Intellectual Property, it is important for firms to take precautions and understand what threats they are facing.

The threat can come from inside sources as well as externally. Companies need to be careful to protect their data. When a company has suspicions that key members of staff may be taking data prior to leaving, for example customer databases or sensitive financial information, it is possible to undertake computer forensic analysis or analysis of mobile phone records to establish suspicious activity. If such investigations are handled in a forensically sound way, the evidence recovered can be used to limit damage from such incidents. Evidence can be used to prove criminal offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 or support a range of civil actions against the individuals or companies.