Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1179052
24.10.19 3 NEWS Close to half of Malta's businesses have been cyber attacked MALWARE, FRAUDULENT EMAILS AND SCAM CALLS FROM PAGE 1 As cyber attacks become more com- mon and increasingly dangerous for pri- vate entities, the "B Secure" scheme aims to entice local firms to evaluate and plan the enhancement of their cyber security posture, whilst creating a culture of more awareness of the risks of such attacks. e scheme was launched in the wake of a global increase in cyber attacks, with a Maltese study having shown that 40% of local businesses have fallen victim to cyber attacks. e study indicated that 83% of large organisation have suffered at least one cyber security incident. e main types of attacks are fraudu- lent emails, scam calls, and the surrep- titious installation of malicious software and ransomware. e B Secure scheme, which will re- quire an initial government investment of €250,000, was launched by Digital Economy parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri on Wednesday during Malta's first Cyber Security Summit. It will see company executives trained regarding the recent cyber threat land- scape, how they can mitigate potential breaches and how to address cyber secu- rity incidents and adapt a cyber hygiene mentality. e cyber training will include cours- es for systems auditors and managers. A tech-partner will be provided to deliver training, assess risk and draft a report listing the vulnerabilities found in the company and the mitigation measures needed. In comments to BusinessToday, Schem- bri said that, while the government was well-prepared to deal with cyber attacks, it wanted to ensure that private industry was also ready to deal with the problem "Malta is investing heavily in digital in- dustries, which makes us more prone to receiving an attack. We've also recently seen [cyber attack] incidents, locally, which could have had a devastating ef- fect on the country," he said. "Although as a government we invested heavily in cyber infrastructure through the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), and are well defended, we need to ensure the private sector is just as well protected." e scheme would be the first step for companies to be assessed for gaps which can be used as a route for cyber attacks, he said. In order to make this benefit more long-term, key people in the com- pany would also receive training. "It is then up to the company to contin- ue building up its resilience," Schembri said, noting that a large portion of com- panies which were cyber attacked had their business fail within six months. Addressing the conference, Schembri said that the government and the inter- national community at large had placed cyber security at the top of its agenda, with national funds for MITA having been increased in the recent Budget. "e government fully thinks that cy- ber security should also be on the agenda of private industry. It is an issue which affects us all," he said. "Cyber threats are constantly evolving, both in a global and local context, so we must anticipate them and be prepared," Schembri said, highlighting that compa- nies which did not build their resilience to such attacks risked losing millions of euro in the event that they are targeted. "e questions becomes: when, not if, this will this happen to me, and how much will a cyber attack cost? And you don't even want to imagine the cost… we know of a case where a business was destroyed because of a cyber attack," Schembri said. e services offered by the scheme will commence in January 2020, with 220 people expected to be trained. Registration, on a first come first served basis, opens today for all private compa- nies, and closes on 24 November. e Cyber Security Summit was organ- ised by Cyber Security Malta in collabo- ration with the Digital Economy Parlia- mentary Secretariat, MITA, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Tech.mt. Parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri 5G's multi-purpose nature brings about new security concerns 5G superfast mobile data technology will be used for critical applica- tions in various sec- tors, but this brings with it new cyber security issues, an expert in the sec- tor has said. Antoine Sciber- ras, Chief Officer for Spectrum Man- agement and Tech- nology at the Malta Communications Au- thority (MCA), said that 5G could serve as the backbone for health and transport services, and would be an essential part of smart towns and cities. Sciberras, who was speaking during a panel discussion during the Cyber Summit on Wednesday, said, how- ever, that since 5G would be a major part of essential government services, ensuring the security of such services would become all the more impor- tant. "e new technology brings about new concerns, because these services form part of critical services government provide to citizens. Secu- rity perspectives change in this context," Sciberras said. 5G, he under- scored, would bring about a new security dimension and a para- digm shift. Amongst these, 5G would raise the ques- tion of whether the entire supply chain of a service could be trusted. Telecom providers in Malta buy tel- ecommunications equipment from various international suppliers, with the issue being whether the gov- ernment could trust such overseas suppliers, in light of the fact that 5G technology would now not merely be used for mobile data – unlike 3G and 4G – but for a much wider range of important services. "When it comes to emerging tech- nology, Malta has delved into this, as demonstrated by the recently pub- lished AI strategy. Technology, includ- ing 5G and AI, can be used to develop threat factors that are increasingly sophisticated, in turn requiring a new level of sophistication in managing threats," he said. In light of this, the MCA was work- ing with key foreign institutions and counterparts, including the European Commission and the Europe- an Union Agency for Cy- bersecurity (ENISA), to develop a common guideline toolkit. is would be used to inform the industry and to protect the inter- ests of consumers and society at large, Sciberras said. Co-operation key in fight against cyber attacks Sandra Saliba, a sen- ior analyst at the Malta Financial Ser- vices Authority, who was also on the panel, underlined the importance of cooperation and intelligence sharing in the fight against cyber attacks. "Adversaries carry out profound research before attacking a target. But cooperation between regulators and industry helps us prevent and respond to attacks for adversaries," Saliba said. "Cooperation comes in the shape of sharing scare resources, threat intelligence, high-level re- sults and experiences of facing such adversar- ies," she underlined. She noted that everyone was in danger of a cyber attack, and there "are no super he- roes here." "Actively cooper- ating and discussing threats is key to being prepared and able to respond," Saliba add- ed. Antoine Sciberras Sandra Saliba