Large businesses suffering cyberattacks are becoming a common theme in the news this year. Unlike the past where cybercriminals left the larger businesses alone, recent years have seen attacks on the vast businesses.
For example, McDonald’s recently suffered a data breach. We will show you what happened, why it was significant, and what you should take away from the situation.
What Happened?
Sometimes in early June, McDonald’s became aware of unauthorized activity on its network. The company immediately closed off access and hired an external security team to evaluate the situation. The third-party security team discovered that the breach had occurred a week prior.
During that time, valuable information from the U.S., Taiwan, and South Korea was stolen, including:
- Business contact information
- Individual franchise-building data (size, seating capacity, etc)
- Customer emails, addresses, and phone numbers (Taiwan and South Korea)
- Employee information such as names and contact information
All told, the data breach was not as severe as it could have been, nor did it reflect the growing trend of cyber attackers using ransomware. Yet, this attack matters for other reasons.
Cybercrime Targeting Businesses Is a Growing Concern
Although the McDonald’s cyberattack did not lead to monetary losses or significant data leaks, it aligns with a troubling trend: cybercriminals attacking larger businesses.
The most prominent businesses were long believed to be untouchable because of their vast security resources, but recent attacks on the Colonial Pipeline and JBS, both of which were ransomware attacks, demonstrate an increasing boldness among hackers.
In both cases, the effects were felt nationwide in the United States, causing a run on gasoline and a spike in the price of meats, respectively. Other companies have been targeted as well.
Volkswagen’s prospective buyer and customer data was recently stolen, resulting in a loss of information and customers’ trust. The one thing these companies have in common is their large size, and that is a sign that hackers are growing increasingly bold and have more effective means of attack than before.
Why Are Such Attacks Becoming the Norm?
Why are cyberattacks happening so often these days? A few commonalities have shed light on these once-unthinkable attacks. They include:
- The ability to operate from anywhere around the globe makes it nigh impossible to track and prosecute these individuals
- Instead of targeting systems directly, hackers are targeting individuals within the company to gain access
- The sophistication of cybercriminals’ tools is evolving faster than any means to defend against them
- The widespread availability of corporate structures and business data makes it easy for criminals to study an effective means to gain access
- A vast number of malware attacks can be launched by a single individual, and it only takes one successful infiltration to compromise a business
When considering how these attacks have become the norm, these reasons are certainly the most prominent.
How Can You Prepare?
Although it may seem impossible to defend against such sophisticated criminals, you can still do your part to prepare for a cyberattack.
You need to begin educating yourself and your team about the various threats that face your business. Everyone that has access to your systems should at least know how to identify threats, respond to them, and what to do if they are compromised by a phishing scam.
We can help educate your team and train them to react properly when they are facing cyberattack threats in the workplace and how to act according to established network security standards. To learn more about how we can help your business, reach out to us at (877) 771-2384 or [email protected].
