Hello ️🎒,
I'll see you again for the September edition of Récap'IT.
The start of the new school year has been marked by cyberattacks and the [long-awaited] announcement of the new government.
We also have lots of news to share, so why not join us for our upcoming webinar on October 10 or visit us at the Identity Days trade show on October 22? Come and meet us!
📅 Today's agenda:
French companies are prime targets
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As you have seen recently, and as you will see again in this newsletter, the number of cyberattacks in France is increasing significantly.
In 2024, the cybersecurity situation of French companies is cause for concern.
Approximately 49% of French SMEs have already been victims of a cyberattack. The sectors most affected are commerce (75%), industry (65%), and agriculture (58%), while the service sector appears to be less affected (30%). These attacks have serious consequences, with 29% of affected SMEs reporting disruption or a complete shutdown of their services.
The types of attacks vary, including ransomware and financial data theft. The impact of these attacks is considerable, with 92% of French companies reporting that they have paid a ransom to recover their data. This is often a dangerous game, as companies may recover some of their data (or none at all). In some cases, they do not have time to identify and patch the initial vulnerability, which is then exploited again in a new cyberattack. In addition, 80% of organizations have been affected by data loss within a year.
Faced with these threats, SMEs are adopting various protection strategies:
Despite these measures, significant challenges remain:
Although French companies are becoming increasingly aware of cyber risks and adopting protective measures, the threat remains high and constantly evolving, requiring continuous vigilance and adaptation.
Sources: Le Siècle Digital article 1, article 2, and article 3, L'informaticien
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Market trends, IT trends, cyberattacks in France... a summary of the news
This is a bit of a special section. I couldn't decide on a specific topic, as there were several small points that seemed important to me. So let's get started with the latest news!
NIS 2 :
Transposition into French law is coming soon, on October 17. Vincent Strubel, Director General of ANSSI, explained that he did not want to rush into applying sanctions. He said that there would be no sanctions during the first three years.
A portal has been set up but is still under construction. Its purpose is to help companies and organizations take ownership of the implementation of NIS2.
Kaspersky:
Kaspersky is banned from US soil and is no longer allowed to send updates after September 29. They were required to transfer their US customers to a US company... Users were surprised to see a somewhat abrupt update from Kaspersky on their computers, which disappeared and was replaced overnight by UltraAV, a completely unknown brand. To top it all off and reassure everyone, Kaspersky uninstalled itself and UltraAV installed itself without asking for consent. This shows how much control Kaspersky had over computers. The former director of cybersecurity at the US National Security Agency tweeted: "They had total control of your machine."
You will have noticed that Transport for London (TfL) suffered a major cyberattack this month.
On September 1, the transport organization fell victim to a major cyberattack. Cybercriminals successfully deployed ransomware on TfL's systems, compromising the security of its IT infrastructure. As is often the case, the company downplayed the attack but was forced to revise its position a few days later and admit that sensitive information had been stolen.
The internal investigation revealed that the hackers managed to obtain:
This data leak is massive, given that London's public transport system carries more than one billion passengers annually.
The transportation agency responded quickly by blocking access to its systems to prevent further intrusion, collaborating with government agencies, and restricting access to internal systems for staff.
The investigation is still ongoing, but a 17-year-old man was quickly arrested following the attack.
Transportation was not affected by this cyberattack, but the administrative side was.
This case highlights the importance for organizations such as Transport for London to prepare in advance, as they are prime targets. Their responsiveness, communication, and ability to surround themselves with government agencies enabled them to weather this crisis while minimizing the impact on their operations and public confidence.
Source: tflemployee, BBC, The Register
In 1986, a simple accounting error of 75 cents triggered one of the first hacker hunts in history.
Clifford Stoll, an astronomer turned system administrator, embarked on an investigation that would last 10 months and uncover an international espionage operation. Stoll implemented pioneering techniques to track down the intruder:
The investigation reveals that the hacker, later identified as Markus Hess based in Hanover, exploits a flaw in GNU Emacs to gain superuser access. He targets sensitive military information, particularly on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, and sells this data to the KGB.
This case marks a turning point in the awareness of cyber threats. It demonstrates the vulnerability of computer systems at the time, when default passwords sometimes allowed access to sensitive military networks.
It was one of the world's first cyberattacks, and both the hacker and the administrator took actions that were incredibly innovative for the time!
Source: LinkedIn
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Meilleurstaux: The brokerage specialist has just alerted its customers to a cyberattack. The company reports that it has detected an external attack in which hackers were able to steal sensitive data.
Boulanger: 27 million customer records are for sale following a cyberattack. Although Boulanger downplayed the significance of the theft, saying that "only delivery addresses" were stolen,it turns out that the hacked data is very comprehensive.
Cultura: 2.6 million customers affected by cyberattack. Never change a winning team: it's the same hacker who attacked Boulanger. This person is also selling databases from Truffaut, Divia, and pension insurance data.
SFR: the company was the victim of a major cyberattack exposing personal data (bank details, phone numbers, order details, etc.). 50,000 files affected, weeks to notify customers... 🟥 That deserves a red card.
Cybertek and Grosbill: an intrusion has been detected, data may have been stolen. 600,000 accounts could be affected.
Kiabi: suffered a major financial fraud. Not a cyberattack, but a colossal loss of €100 million.
The municipality of Eschau: has been the victim of a cyberattack. Certain documents cannot be accessed, email services have been interrupted, and some civil registry services have been affected.
Network Rail: this government body responsible for rail infrastructure in England suffered a rather unusual cyberattack, with no data stolen. However, alarming messages about terrorist attacks were broadcast in 19 stations across the country.
User Governance: 10 Keys to Automating Account Management
We are hosting a webinar to explore the key challenges of user governance in the context of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA).
You will learn how to effectively manage the identity lifecycle, including user onboarding, transfers, and departures. We will also address security challenges related to orphan accounts and access control configuration errors.
The focus will be on the importance of a centralized identity repository and the application of the principle of least privilege to enhance security.
This webinar is designed for IT professionals and security managers, offering practical insights to optimize identity management and improve your organization's security posture.
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