Page 9 - EngineerIt July 2021

CYBERSECURITY

Multiple ways to attack
“There are multiple ways to initiate these types of attacks,
but they typically start with email or the web. However, things
become more complex from there. For instance, threat actors
could infect a known website in a stealthy and subtle manner,
making it difficult to detect. You get a multi-chain reaction
once a user clicks on an infected link and the dominos start to
fall one by one.”
He explains that blended threats are essentially a subset
of normal cybersecurity threats. Cyber threats can typically
be classified as either low-sophistication and high-volume, or
high-sophistication and low-volume. Blended threats fall into
the latter category and often target specific organisations or
industry sectors, such as healthcare, for example.
Simeon Tassev, QSA and MD at Galix, says the impact
of blended threats on a business would largely depend on
the ultimate intentions of the threat actor. If it is a massive
DoS attack, it could bring down some digital component of
an organisation, which could affect its ability to transact and Industrial Water
operate. Alternatively, the intention could be to monetise the
attack through ransomware. Quality Condition
“However, blended attacks could also be used to install
a ‘backdoor’ into a system which can be used for different
activities by the threat actor, such as cryptocurrency mining. Monitoring
While not specifically malicious, this type of attack will exploit
your resources and render your IT infrastructure inefficient.
Whatever the intention, blended attacks can potentially be
very disruptive and destructive,” he says. Silicon Labs is a leading supplier of intelligent sensors
that are characterized by superb reliability, compact
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Tassev also warns that blended attacks are not only of use.
a threat to large organisations, explaining that anyone
could be at risk. While larger organisations have more to OUR SOLUTION IS USE CASE
lose, which makes them more attractive targets, smaller PERFECT FOR USE IN: INDUSTRIES
organisations could be more severely affected, to the point
of going out of business. INCLUDE:
Blended threats are quite difficult to prevent from > Contamination Identification > Oil & Gas
occurring, but there are technologies that can be
implemented. Organisations must ensure that their security > Water Quality Assessment > Chemicals
controls all work together so that they can threat-share, while > Semiconductor
also orchestrating and automating responses to these kinds > Regulatory Compliance > Medical
of attacks. > Food/Beverage
Tassev notes that cloud service providers are best suited > Improved Product Yield
to intercept blended threat activities, as they offer this as a > Power
> Water Purity
service to protect organisations from attacks and abnormal > Aquaculture
user behaviour. However, he urges companies not to > Recycling > Metal/Mining
underestimate the power of creating awareness among users. > Paper/Pulp
“Cyber threat awareness training is key to creating > Savings
a human firewall. Many of these attacks require human > Manufacturing
intervention at some point, so they can be mitigated to an > Textile
extent through proper training and awareness,” he says. > Maritime
Importantly, he adds, organisations must have a good
understanding of context and what is relevant to them when
defending against blended threats. This means understanding Contact Conrad Coetzee on +27 83 746 2616 or
their risk and managing this risk by working with the right ccoetzee@arrow.altech.co.za for expert advice
technology or service provider to ensure they have in place and quotes.
the right methodology, framework and processes to protect
their environments and users. n

For more information email simeon@galix.com

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