Cyber ​​Attackers Don't Take Vacations

While the 9-day Eid al-Adha holiday made employees happy, experts warned companies about cyber-attackers, which are becoming a bigger threat every day.

When the Eid-al-Adha holiday was connected with July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day this year, many companies extended the holiday to 9 days. The closure of workplaces during this long holiday, which is a good alternative for those who want to take a vacation in the summer when schools are also closed, also created an opportunity for cyber attackers. It was stated that the attackers, who knew that there was no one actively working in the offices and at the head of the systems, intensified their attacks such as ransomware during the holiday periods.

Sharing his evaluations on the subject, Berqnet General Manager Hakan Hintoğlu said, “Long-term vacations provide a suitable time and environment for threat actors to increase their attacks. It is known that the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) observed an increase in effective ransomware attacks on holidays, weekends and special days when offices are closed in 2021. "Companies need to make sure they take adequate safety precautions before long vacations," he said.

Threatens businesses of all sizes

The State of Ransomware 31 research, published after a study of 5.600 IT professionals from midsize companies in 2022 countries, found that 66% of businesses were exposed to a ransomware attack in 2021. Pointing out that cybercriminals use more sophisticated attack methods and higher technologies every year, Hakan Hintoğlu said, “According to the report, 57% of companies report an increase in attack volume, while 59% say that the complexity of attacks has increased. Attackers, who specifically target holiday periods when IT support and network security personnel are limited, can carry out attacks with the effect that they cannot do during working days. This situation threatens not only large companies, but also small and medium-sized enterprises. SMEs, which do not see themselves as a target for cyber attacks and therefore do not prefer to use cyber security solutions, are at risk of being significantly affected by the attacks they will be exposed to during their holidays.

“An end-to-end security solution based on zero trust should be used”

Expressing that the increase in the methods of cyber attackers and the development of their technologies have brought new approaches in cyber security, Berqnet General Manager Hakan Hintoğlu concluded his evaluations with the following statements: “The latest point of cyber security and network management is the Secure Access Service (SASE). SASE also includes Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution, which is indispensable for network security in the hybrid working age. Working with an approach such as 'never trust, always verify', ZTNA provides the opportunity to determine the users who can access the systems remotely during periods such as holidays and the authorizations of these users in fine detail. Every user trying to connect to the network is subject to verification processes according to location, identity and other determined criteria. SASE architecture running entirely in the cloud; It also includes components such as firewall as a service and secure web gateways. In this way, businesses can control the status of their systems with remote access from a single screen and ensure that full security protocols are implemented.”