Financial hackers getting stronger, cybersecurity expert warns

Retired Colonel Ram Dor, a cybersecurity expert, says advanced cybercrime groups are biggest headache in the digital era. PHOTO Yuji Gonzales

AMID recent incidents of hacking, an international expert on Tuesday underscored the importance of taking concrete steps to combat cybercrime and strengthen online security in the country.

Retired Colonel Ram Dor, former chief information security officer of the Israeli Defense Force, said loss of sensitive data, leaking of information, breach of control, theft, fraud, ransom, deterrence and manipulation threaten security in the digital era.

“The threat is not defined by level of technology in a country,” Dor said during “Beyond the Firewall,” the first Israeli cybersecurity forum in the Philippines, in Makati City.

“The Philippines is still facing terror challenges on one hand, and advanced cybercrime groups which can be a threat both to business sectors and to the national level,” he added.

Dor highlighted the importance of evaluating attackers’ capabilities, including their motive (ego, reputation, ideology), attack mission (information gathering, intimidation), techniques (social engineering, deception) and targeted assets (email services, data base servers).

He said a collective effort consisting of government initiative, education or academic intervention and technological advantage from a tech ecosystem was needed to reinforce cybersecurity in the country.

This, Dor said, can be done by reviewing readiness, designing and adopting new strategies and policies, utilizing security means, defining critical assets, defining threat of reference, adopting awareness program, implementing proactive tech and getting management involved.

He also warned against the expansion of financial cyber attacks, blast of ransomware on the financial and private sector and terror and organized crime getting stronger, which he said, may be a “trend” in the coming years.

“Cyber have no boundaries, so go beyond your boundaries, take the initiative to build your shield,” Rod said.

Rod, who retired from military service in 2008, founded RDeye Integrated Security Solutions in 2010. He performed intelligence cooperation duty in Washington DC, which dealt with counter terror, cyber warfare, cybersecurity and information security.