Industry Reaction: UK Parliament Cyber Attack ‘Was A Matter Of Time’

The new reality

Attacks such as this have drastically increased in prevalence in recent years as data has continued to play an ever-more prominent role in both our professional and personal lives.

And, according to Commvault CCO Bill Wohl, the fact that many organisations are still using vulnerable systems means this type of news has changed from being a surprise, to a normality.

“The cyber-attack targeting the UK Parliament’s systems is yet more evidence of today’s new reality: that data systems remain vulnerable,” he said. “Data is becoming a critical strategic asset. It is imperative that public and private sector institutions have a proactive and holistic data management strategy, one that goes beyond strong firewall protection, and that includes proven disaster recovery and backup solutions.

“Whether it’s a direct attack on individual accounts and passwords, or a larger ransomware attack, it’s clear that risk reduction and business continuity are increasingly a top priority for both public and private sector leaders,” a point which the Conservative parts addressed in its manifesto before the recent general election.

“Ultimately, what this attack shows is that there is still more work to be done on the most basic level of security – password protection,” Larkins concluded. “Unfortunately, we cannot trust MPs, or the staff of any organisation, to always make the best security choices – so again there is a role for technology here.

“There has to be a system in place to enforce a stringent minimum requirement of password security, and provide more comprehensive training and incentives for staff to adopt better security practices. In order to protect the public sector from attacks that target people, organisations must get the human element under control.”

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