As a small business owner, learning from others’ mistakes is crucial. With 2021 coming to a close, let’s take a look at some of the most shocking cybersecurity incidents of the year.
These incidents and summaries were inspired by the Dark Reading article by Jai Vijayan.
Even as a small business, it’s essential to practice cyber safety, have robust cybersecurity measures in place, and have reliable cyber insurance. If your business is hacked, the effects can spread beyond yourself, as seen in the examples above.
Log4j
Being a logging framework existing far and wide in Java software means that this vulnerability certainly sounded blaring alarms within the tech industry. So, what was this breach? A flaw in the code for all previous versions of Log4j gave attackers the means to remotely take control of any servers, PCs, and other devices with the logging tool. Log4j is “used pervasively across enterprise, operational technology (OT), software-as-a-service (SaaS), and cloud service provider (CSP) environments and is also relatively easy to exploit.” Considering all these factors, there was more than enough reason for the cybersecurity industry to panic.Colonial Pipeline
The ransomware attack on this US pipeline operator was not necessarily extraordinary; however, the impact on fuel transportation did. In May, this cybersecurity incident generated a temporary gas shortage along the East Coast. Even having reached government concern, this event caused President Biden to mandate “federal agencies to implement new controls for strengthening cybersecurity.”Florida Water Treatment
The scariest of these cybersecurity incidents? In February, “an attacker broke into a system at a water treatment facility in Oldsmar, Fla., and attempted to change the level of a chemical called lye that is applied to water to control acidity.” Luckily, workers were able to reverse the attack before any harm was done. Nonetheless, the attacker was able to gain control due to the utility’s usage of obsolete software, such as Windows 7, and its remote access password posted in a public Google Doc.Even as a small business, it’s essential to practice cyber safety, have robust cybersecurity measures in place, and have reliable cyber insurance. If your business is hacked, the effects can spread beyond yourself, as seen in the examples above.