Akita has already deployed the relevant patches within our cloud infrastructure to protect and secure its cloud customers against potential attacks with no disruption to their businesses. We are also working with non-cloud customers to ensure their systems are safeguarded against these security flaws, and continue to monitor new developments in this story.
Spectre
The newly identified weaknesses, nicknamed ‘Spectre’ and ‘Meltdown’, offer up the potential for hackers to be able to steal data from computers and networks by taking advantage of the operation of kernel memory. As the weaknesses aren’t actually malware, but rather hardware security vulnerabilities, unfortunately, it’s unlikely that traditional antivirus software would be able to detect them. As Intel chips are used in approximately 85% of all desktop and laptop computers, the potential threat is widespread, with affected chips dating back as far as 1995.
The news is another reminder of the threat that cyber crime poses to businesses following on from 2017’s devastating WannaCry Ransomware attack. Research from Beaming indicates that in 2016, almost half of British companies were victim to some form of cyber crime, ranging from phishing through to advanced DDOS-level attacks. The annual cost of cyber crime to British business is estimated at almost £30bn a year.
Cyber Security At Akita
At Akita, we take cyber security very seriously. Out-of-date software, older hardware and lax office security practices are some of the common sources of cyber threats we see in businesses. We can provide companies a Security Audit to help them determine points of weakness in their IT, providing suggestions for improvements to both technology and working practices.
Akita can also help assist companies that wish to undertake the Government-recommended Cyber Essentials scheme. Cyber Essentials is designed to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks, and can help improve a company’s overall approach to Internet security.
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