Payroll Data Breach of Ministry of Defence of UK

If your systems rely on digital platforms (which is inevitable today) then you cannot be an exception of cyber attacks. If you did not take necessary cybersecurity countermeasures then your end is not difficult to guess.

The cyber victim of this week was the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom.

UK Government has confirmed a cyberattack on the payroll system used by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) where hackers have accessed personal information of former armed forces personnel, including names, financial data, and in some cases home addresses.

The affected systems have been pulled offline but there is no indication as to how long the attackers had access to the data.

https://bit.ly/3JWRXAz

"UK Government has confirmed a cyberattack on the payroll system used by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) led to "malign" forces accessing data on current and a limited number of former armed forces personnel.

There is no evidence to suggest that the criminals who broke into the systems actually removed any data, but they did access personal information including names, financial data, and in some cases home addresses."

"The UK isn't formally attributing the activity to any specific individual or group, but sources speaking to Sky, which broke the news, suggested China was behind it."

Vastaamo Hack: Therapy Notes Hacker Jailed for Blackmail

Julius Kivimäki who is (was) one of Europe's most wanted cyber criminals has been jailed for attempting to blackmail 33,000 people whose confidential notes he stole.

He broke the database of Finland's largest psychotherapy company (Vastaamo). We saw once again the well-known but neglected fact: It's not important how big your company is. You can be hacked if you didn't take the necessary countermeasures against cyber attacks.

Investigations found that the databases of the company were vulnerable and open to the internet without proper protections. Yes, it can sound unbelievable but there may be too many similar companies on the world.

It is also worth to mention that the boss of Vastaamo was convicted of failing to protect his customers' sensitive data. (3-month prison) The managers DO have to be aware of that they also have a responsibility to protect the data of their customers. Otherwise they can face a prison sentence.

https://bit.ly/4abmYvl

"In terms of the number of victims, his trial was the biggest criminal case in Finnish history."

"He demanded a 400,000 Euro (£340,000) ransom from the company.

When it refused, he emailed thousands of patients asking for 200 Euros and threatening to publish their notes and personal details on the darknet which he did anyway in full."

"The boss of Vastaamo, Ville Tapio, was also convicted of failing to protect his customers' sensitive data.

Investigations found that the databases were vulnerable and open to the internet without proper protections.

He was given a suspended three-month prison sentence last year.

The company which was once a highly regarded and successful business in Finland collapsed after the hack."