GPSJ - SPRING 2025 - Flipbook - Page 23
IT & IT SECURITY
GPSJ
Left: David Trossell. Right: Graham Jarvis.
are increasingly prone to cyberattacks. It’s worth noting that
cloud backups are cheaper than
backing up data on-premise, but
their lack of separation, shared
responsibility the potential for
attacks on cloud infrastructure
and interfaces makes them
signi昀椀cantly vulnerable. Attackers
exploit their vulnerabilities to gain
unauthorised access, encrypt
data or disrupt services.
With GDPR 昀椀nes for serious
data breaches equating to 4%
of a company’s global annual
turnover or up to €20 million whichever is greater - and lesser
昀椀nes for less serious breaches
equating to 2% of annual
global turnover or €10 million,
organisations avoid backing up
data at their peril. Corporations,
in particular, need to watch out
because Meta has received one
of the highest GDPR 昀椀nes to
data of €1.2 billion. So, whether
you’re a public or private sector
organisation – large or small –
Trossell advises you to back up
your data regularly, and in realtime where possible.
Marks & Spencer attacked
The future is uncertain for the
organisations that fail to protect
their data in this digital age,
concludes Trossell. When an
organisation works with a third-
party provider, such as Marks &
Spencer does, it’s also vital to
ensure that their systems and
cyber-security practices are both
in place and secure, particularly
as the number of attacks and
their sophistication is expected
to increase with the growing use
of arti昀椀cial intelligence to launch
cyber-attacks. However, not all
attacks are the same, and some
of them will be launched using
other methods of attack.
M&S found itself the target of
ransomware group Scattered
Spider in April 2025. The cybercriminals gained access to
the retailer’s systems by using
the login credentials of two
employees from their business
partner, Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS). While there are
thoughts that social engineering
played a role in the attack,
Cybernews.com says it caused
system-wide shutdowns,
customer data theft, thousands
of cancelled online orders and
empty shelves across hundreds
of stores. To avoid this disruption,
Trossell advises that it still pays to
back up data.
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SPRING 2025
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