MailGuard Blog

In the final weeks of 2020, news of the SolarWinds hack broke – a cyber-attack that has been dubbed as “the Pearl Harbor of American IT”.   

This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, a public awareness campaign by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) dedicated to mitigating the impact of identity theft. The week comprises a series of events organized by the FTC and its partners that focus on reducing the risk of identity theft and on concrete steps to recover if identity theft occurs.

While challenging, 2020 drove a long-overdue review of our approach to cybersecurity for many, especially with the explosion of COVID-19 themed cybercrime targeting remote workforces.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation among many businesses, but also simultaneously exposed their cyber vulnerabilities and levels of unpreparedness against insidious, targeted cyber threats. 

Among other things, 2020 reminded us how fundamental cybersecurity is to business continuity.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the need for Australian businesses to step up their efforts in defending themselves from Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks.

One of the biggest challenges in cybersecurity is keeping up with the new attacks that criminals are creating.

In a year gutted by a worldwide pandemic, the 2020 year-end holiday and shopping season will be unlike any other.

It’s October again, an important month on the cybersecurity calendar as the world marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM).

“Service NSW confirms 180,000 customers' personal details exposed in cyber security breach” 
“A cyber-crime is reported every ten minutes in Australia” 
“NAB flags cyber-attacks during the pandemic have intensified” 

Suzanne Collins, author of the famous trilogy, The Hunger Games, once wrote: “For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.”  

In a year we would all rather forget; an unfortunate side effect has been a rise in ransomware incidents and opportunistic cyber-attacks. Our current situation has been unexpectedly thrust upon us, forcing a rapid change to our ways of working, and a more vulnerable remote workforce. One positive that’s close to my own heart though, is a growing awareness of cybercrime, and a shared responsibility across the entire organisation from the Board and the CEO, through to the front line, to boost cyber resilience.

“In a year already marred by natural and biological crises, cybersecurity failures remain a critical threat. 

Tax refunds supposedly from national taxation bodies. Requests to verify accounts from well-known banks via a link. Attachments containing delayed invoices from suppliers. 

The End of Financial Year (EOFY) is approaching – a period that notoriously witnesses a spike in finance and tax-related scams affecting business worldwide. Just this past month, we’ve intercepted several such email scams, including those brandjacking banks like ANZ & other financial institutions, and those containing statements of accounts.