So how precisely is Finland responding to cyber threats? What classes can different nations and companies study from these occasions? And how can organizations implement these actions? So can or not it’s utilized? Read on to seek out out.
Finland and its cybersecurity monitor report
Reboot Digital PR’s 2022 examine discovered that Finland’s cyber threat rating was simply 12.6, the bottom on the earth. This is in stark distinction to nations just like the United States, which scored an alarming 62.4 on cybersecurity.
Finland acquired a excessive rating as a result of it had fewer phishing websites, with solely 11 compromised computer systems per 100,000 customers. However, regardless of this spectacular rating, the nation remains to be topic to some notable information breaches.
Some of those will result in main adjustments in the way in which corporations world wide view cybersecurity. Below are a number of the information breaches we will study from.
1. Data breach concerning Finnish well being companies
One of probably the most vital information breaches in Finland was towards a healthcare facility. In 2020, hackers seized delicate information from psychotherapy service Vastaamo. More than 25 facilities had been affected, with private medical information and therapist information compromised.
It is estimated that greater than 30,000 folks have acquired extortion threats from hackers. They demanded cost by threatening to leak delicate recordsdata to the darkish net.
How did this huge information breach occur? Our investigation revealed that Vastaamo didn’t encrypt or anonymize delicate affected person information. Additionally, safety measures had been “wholly insufficient.” To make issues worse, hackers had been accessing affected person information in 2018. The safety flaw existed for six months till it was patched.
2. Cyber assault on Finnish communications
As the one industrial information company, STT is an integral a part of Finnish media. But in 2022, a distributed denial of service assault (DDoS) pressured authorities companies to take down some servers.
The assault resulted within the station’s information and picture distribution being restricted for a number of days. A report has been submitted to the Data Protection Ombudsman on account of a possible information breach of delicate data.
In response to this breach, STT shared a memo with different information organizations throughout Europe. This allowed us to strengthen our preparedness towards related cyber-attacks carried out towards information organizations.
3. Cyber assault on the Finnish banking sector
With over 180 banks and a couple of million prospects, OP Financial Group is one in every of Finland’s largest monetary organizations. It was, and continues to be, a major goal for hackers.
In 2021, there have been two main cyber assaults. The first assault concerned a DDoS assault towards a financial institution’s login service, which needed to be put into upkeep state. Thankfully, the financial institution restored service inside a number of hours later that day.
However, later that week, phishing messages had been despatched to prospects pretending to be from the financial institution. The message contained a malicious hyperlink that, when clicked, might deceive the client.
Despite thwarting these assaults, this incident leaves OP Financial Group weak to future assaults. His CISO at OP Financial Group not too long ago admitted that in 2023 he noticed a 200% improve in DDoS assaults in comparison with 2022.
4. Cyber assault on the Finnish parliament
In 2022, the Finnish parliament grew to become the sufferer of a DDoS cyberattack, bringing cybersecurity points to the general public’s consideration. The assault occurred throughout a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The assault slowed down web sites that publish the president’s speeches or made them inaccessible to customers. Although no information was seized within the assault, it induced widespread embarrassment and panic for the federal government.
The assault is believed to have been motivated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Finland’s bid to affix NATO.
5. Finnish Air Travel Data Breach
In 2021, the fundamental data of greater than 200,000 prospects of nationwide airline Finnair was compromised. This was accomplished by hacking the airline’s service firm, which handles mileage data.
Information seized included buyer names, numbers, seating, and meal requests. No monetary data was stolen, however prospects had been nonetheless requested to vary their account passwords.
Other airways affected by the breach embody United Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. This breach highlighted the significance of scrutinizing provide chain companies for information compliance.
What can we study from Finland’s response to cyber breaches?
Despite being hit by severe cyber-attacks, there’s a lot we will study from Finland. Below are some methods you need to use to strengthen your cybersecurity.
1. Use encryption software program
One motive the Vastaamo information breach was so vital is that delicate affected person data grew to become a simple goal for hackers. If the corporate had used encryption, breaches would have been considerably decreased.
Thankfully, there are numerous methods to deliver encryption into your on a regular basis enterprise. One of the best methods is to make use of a digital non-public community (VPN) all through your enterprise.
What is a VPN? It’s a cybersecurity software that encrypts your web connection. This protects the information you ship and obtain and prevents anybody from monitoring your on-line exercise. Employees can use their VPN to entry delicate information equivalent to affected person information with out compromising integrity or safety.
Moreover, premium VPN companies do extra than simply safe your web connection. They supply darkish net monitoring to inform you of compromised private data and malware detection to forestall downloads of dangerous software program.
2. Information alternate
The World Economic Forum emphasizes the necessity for corporations to share details about information breaches. This will assist enhance expertise throughout the trade and guarantee cross-country compliance.
This data sharing is important to staying one step forward of opportunistic hackers. Telecom corporations should come collectively, particularly since hackers are sometimes politically motivated.
3. Legal growth
Another core power of Finland’s cybersecurity is its authorities. They are consistently implementing robust legal guidelines and enhancing insurance policies.
For most of the information breaches investigated on this article, reporting to the Data Protection Ombudsman ensures that the federal government is stored updated on the difficulty throughout the nation.
The final phrase
Hackers don’t discriminate when launching cyber assaults. They goal corporations of all sizes and in all nations to get what they need. But by analyzing the approaches of particular nations, we will study so much about learn how to shield ourselves.
As this text has proven, Finland has confronted and overcome many assaults. By standardizing encryption know-how and exchanging data, companies world wide can take related defenses towards rising threats.
HT