Cork cyber security expert says threat of repeat attacks is 'real'

There is a real threat of repeat cyber attacks such as the one on US company and Cork-based Stryker last week, a cybersecurity expert has warned.

The Handala group, with links to the regime in Iran, claimed responsibility for the global cyberattack that severely impacted Stryker’s operations in Cork and beyond last week.

With regard to possible further strikes on American and global companies, including the many US firms with offices in Cork, UCC's Stephen Treacy, lecturer in business information systems, told  The Echo that organisations need to be prepared for the prospect of such attacks.

“The more complicated your working environment and your infrastructure, the more surface area you are offering bad actors to get inside that infrastructure," he explained.

“It's difficult to make sure that you are completely bullet-proof. But the best thing organisations can do really is plan in advance. I probably can offer them the perspective of it is not necessarily if it happens, it is when it happens.” 

Mr Treacy added: 

“Say for example like a fire drill, they are not necessarily done for the fun of it. They are done because in the event of an emergency, you know what to do, you know where to go and you know who to contact. There are processes in place to make sure the organisation gets back up to speed pretty quickly.

“It is the exact same here with a cyber attack. If an attack happens, there have to be steps taken in advance to prepare for this occurrence," he said.

He added that, from an employee perspective, it is a case of what to do and who we contact, if we have a suspicion there has been a vulnerability or devices have been compromised.

“If you don’t have that in advance, all of a sudden you are finding these things out then in real life, and you are making decisions on the fly.

You could actually set yourself back quite a bit by making the wrong decisions.” 

Mr Treacy added that he feels the recent cyber attack on Stryker was fully intent on causing disruption. Given the current escalation of tensions in the Middle East, it did not come as a surprise to him.

“We have seen attacks like this. The most vivid example is recent memory would be the HSE attack on ransomware. It crippled the health industry and made people stand up."

He believes the comparison is relevant. "Stryker is a medical company, it is American and has a large presence. It seems like an attractive target.

“To showcase that they are capable of hitting an organisation of that scale and crippling them to this extent, suddenly it causes people to stand up a little bit.”