Today’s senior executives must deploy a cyber-defense that is secure, vigilant, and resilient, according to a report recently released by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global). The report ‘Global Cyber Executive Briefing’ finds that virtually all organisations will be attacked; that is why senior executives need to better understand their biggest threats and which assets – typically those at the heart of their business’s mission – are at the greatest risk.

The report examines threats and vulnerabilities across seven key sectors: high technology, online media, telecommunications, e-commerce, insurance, manufacturing and retail. It outlines potential for attacks, reasons and possible scenarios as well as possible impacts on business.

“Cyber-attacks should be a crucial concern for any company as they are not – as widely assumed – restricted to particular industries. All businesses with valuable data might be a future target for these threats having evolved with the Information Age,” states Roland Bastin, partner at Deloitte Luxembourg. “Therefore, it is important to be aware of potential risks, by not only knowing the value of your data but also by detecting potential adversaries and their operating methods, in order to ensure the most appropriate protection possible.”

According to the report, being secure starts with tackling weaknesses in applications and reinforcing the digital infrastructure. Organisations that are vigilant should subsequently be alert and identify any attacks as early as possible. Being resilient involves early-stage identification of the direction of a threat, the reason for such threat and how it will manifest itself. Rapidly detecting an attack can spur an organisation into action to isolate and remove the threat.

“Knowing the key threats for your economic sector is a first important measure in order to be one step ahead of your potential attacker. That is why the Deloitte report focused on possible threats assessed for each of the seven main industries concerned,” explains Stéphane Hurtaud, partner at Deloitte Luxembourg.

Highlights of the report, including threats by sector, involve:

• High tech – a consistent target for attacks with the biggest threats regarding the loss of intellectual property (IP) and hactivism. Threats are also used as a stepping stone to attack and infect others.
• Online media has the greatest exposure to cyber-threats with causing reputational damage topping the list. Threats are also used as a stepping stone to attack and infect others.
• The telecommunications sector is facing increased, sophisticated attacks, including those by Government agencies using Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) to establish covert surveillance for long periods of time. Another critical threat unique to the telecommunications sector is the attack of leased infrastructure equipment, such as home routers from Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
• E-commerce: Databases and online payment systems are vulnerable areas often attacked (e.g. leading to loss of customer data, including names, addresses, phone numbers). Denial-of-service attacks also top the list, particularly by hacktivists that want to disrupt an organization in a highly visible way.
• Insurance: The sector typically has a lot of sensitive data to protect. Cyber-attacks are growing exponentially as insurance companies migrate toward digital channels with sophisticated attacks combining advanced malware with other techniques such as social engineering. While current attacks appear only to be short-termed, the report predicts the number of long-term attacks to grow silently.
• Manufacturing: There is an increasing amount of attacks by hackers and cyber-criminals as well as through corporate espionage. Types of cyber-attacks in manufacturing vary widely from phishing to advanced malware, targeting not only IT but also connected industrial control systems. 
• Retail: Credit card data is the new currency for hackers and criminals. Insider threats in retail are increasing, giving rise to a new breed of criminals that focus on stealing information – especially the valuable cardholder data that flows between consumers and retailers.

A complete version of the briefing is available on the Deloitte Luxembourg website: http://www.deloitte.com/lu/global-cyber-executive-briefing.