Code obfuscation prevents the reverse-engineering of programs and is used to protect sensitive intellectual property (IP) such as algorithms that a company doesn’t want bad actors or competitors to see; the foremost example of this being security code.
Cyber Security
Cyber criminals, state-sponsored hackers and even the occasional disgruntled employee are constantly looking to gain unauthorized access for a variety of purposes: theft of money, cyber espionage, personal information for sale or for use in scams, and damage to critical infrastructure for just a few of the most common.
So how does an organization mitigate an entire world full of continual cyber attacks? Just as buildings have a number of necessary elements of physical security: access control, cameras, alarms and so on; there are similar key elements of cyber security that are absolutely vital for just about any modern business.
It starts with identifying and closing the most common doors that attackers use. For example, phishing attacks on employees are far and away the most common initial point of entry. The breach of even a low-level employee account can quickly turn into an escalation in access privileges and the ability to reach sensitive information. This is also true of smart devices, which are generally more poorly secured than computers and phones.
While the wheels of digital transformation were set in motion much earlier, the pandemic accelerated their speed. It significantly impacted how organisations approach their IT ecosystem and security. Today’s landscape, with no perimeter, requires a Zero Trust approach.
Nation-state attacks on critical infrastructure and cyberespionage, and password attacks from ordinary cybercriminals increased tremendously within a year, according to Microsoft report.
Given the ongoing prevalence of advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks, organisations have every right to be wary. To prevent APT attacks, they simply need to practise basic cyber hygiene.
Microsoft appears to be erecting new barriers for partners who want to deploy Microsoft products on certain other cloud computing providers, like AWS or Google Cloud Services in proposed reform to their Partner Licensing Agreement (SPLA).
The "OPERA1ER" APT group is known for targeted spear phishing emails, but is unique in targeting less economically developed nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
UK has launched a vulnerability scanning program that will monitor all of the country's internet devices for potential unpatched issues, in a bid to both bolster national security and help individual organizations protect themselves.
Covid highlighted the need for organizations to fully understand the world of their information and to mature their information governance program. While we are still reevaluating where we work, it is the perfect time to also reevaluate how we work.
Many IT professionals are also starting to recognise the ability of Shadow IT to maximise operations; IT departments now set aside 40% of its enterprise budget for Shadow IT and this is only going to increase.
Medibank has opted to ignore demands for ransom payments for the recent data breach of about 9.7 million health data records. Criminals have published a fraction of the stolen data on the dark web, including those of high-profile politicians.










