Focused cyber security is affordable for NZ business

11th July 2019

Focused cyber security is affordable for New Zealand business, says international expert

A focus on the most likely cyber security weak points in any business is the key to protection, says an international expert, in light of the recent announcement about the 2019 Cyber Security Strategy by the Hon. Kris Faafoi, Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media.

Joerg Buss, of Darkscope, a Kiwi based international cyber security specialist, says the Government's attention on cyber security is raising important awareness about the dangers, however, most New Zealand businesses find the cost prohibitive and are therefore ill-prepared for an attack.

He says focusing on the most likely weak points makes cyber security affordable.

"The usual current approach is to protect as much as possible against attack and this is likely to provide a thin layer of security over the whole business.

"A more effective and affordable approach is to protect the weakest points with a thicker layer of security. This way the budget can be focused and security increases," he says.

Joerg Buss likens this type of cyber protection to the Space Shuttle having more heat resistant material on its nose to protect it as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere compared to its fuselage.

"We need to identify the most likely vector where the next attack could come from and implement protection where it's needed most," he says.

Today’s attacks are not random, and business needs to know what information is out there about them on the internet, social media and the darkweb. If your business sticks out like a sore thumb, it is more likely that you will be targeted.

"To do this we first have to identify a business's cyber interference, score it and then put up a strong but dynamic defense based on the likelihood of an attack. This way, a business can focus its efforts to optimise its defenses, while also making it affordable."

It also requires monitoring and analysis of the dark web, the part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable.

The threat from the dark web is intensifying - a recent study, first appearing on Bromium in June 2019, revealed the overall danger to the enterprise is on the rise, and compared to 2016, there’s been a 20% increase in the number of dark net listings that can harm businesses, such as custom-built malware, which is outnumbering standard varieties by 2:1.

“The importance of monitoring threats on the dark web, using sophisticated software and artificial intelligence, is growing. This is an aspect of cyber security that most people do not know about, and this is worrying as most businesses do not have an appreciation of the potential for attack,” says Joerg Buss.

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