1. Healthcare

Online crime and fraud continue to hit those most vulnerable members of society, and hospitals in Australia and globally are under attack from ever-evolving and increased COVID related scams.

Common targets of theft are government documents, test results, and other sensitive patient data that can be sold on the dark web. Hospitals are also frequent victims of ransomware attacks that prevent staff from accessing their systems and vital information until a ransom is paid.

Cyberattacks against the healthcare industry are always damaging. Still, they have been especially devastating during the COVID-19 crisis when services were already under pressure, and remote working created more vulnerabilities for criminals to exploit.

2. Government

Government departments at all levels remain prone to ransomware attacks, particularly state and local organizations, that often have legacy IT and applications, lack advanced cyber in-house talent and the resources needed to effectively address resilience gaps and vulnerabilities continuously. This can result in expensive payouts, as was the case with the recent Microsoft Exchange hack.

Government systems also contain a wealth of personally identifiable information (PII) on citizens that can be lucrative for cybercriminals, while other sensitive information may be sought after by nation-state adversaries employing expert hacker talent and methods.

3. Higher Education

Universities are favorite targets of cybercriminals for several reasons. They have a wealth of financial data on file that can be exploited and those with large research departments frequently have valuable intellectual property to steal or ransom, and criminals may be able to exploit a facility's computer processing power.

In a population of high turnover and often trusting student bodies, password protection is also likely to be poorer than in a professional organisation where employees are trained in cyber hygiene.

4. Energy and Utilities

Some of the most likely ransomware targets are services that people can't afford to live without. This has made utilities such as electricity, gas, and water companies frequent victims of these attacks, along with power plants that serve large civilian populations and business concentrations that drive the economy or support national defence.

Utilities can be particularly vulnerable to attacks as many rely on operational technology (OT) to manage processes, and these are now frequently connected to IT networks or wireless devices. On a whole, these control systems and technologies need a resilience review and as appropriate a complete overhaul.

Take the Cyber Risk Program Challenge

If you're in a vulnerable industry and want to take action to identify your current Cyber Risk Baseline and develop a smart focused plan to address your key risks, then as an Executive or Board Member take the Cyber Risk Program Challenge, thereby kicking off the process immediately and affordably: https://www.whitehawk.com/cyber-risk-program and start to:

• Know the truth about your cyber resilience
• Get a "Hacker's View" of your cyber risks
• Validate where to place your next cyber resilience investment.
• Get a sanity check on your inside team, managed service provider or solution vendor - none are infallible.

WhiteHawk Limited (ASX: WHK), a Barclay Pearce Capital client, is focused on next-generation approaches that leverage publicly available data sets, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based analytics, and online risk platforms that scale to identify, prioritise and mitigate a breadth of digital age risks in near real-time.  Their methods have been tested and evolved with government departments and Fortune 500 companies.

Leveraging the WhiteHawk globally accessible platform and virtual consult, any business can take smart action and protect your revenue and reputation, thereby owning your Digital Age success story.

To keep up to date with what's happening with WhiteHawk and the cybersecurity industry as a whole, subscribe to the Whitehawk Chairman’s List.