Cybersecurity is the application of technologies, processes, devices, and controls for the protection of internet-connected systems such as hardware, software, programs, and data from cyber-attacks and unauthorized access.
In today’s world, cyber threats have evolved from mere criminal activities for the purpose of financial gain to organised targeted cyber attacks and wars not just for financial gains, but for political and socio-economic gains. In fact, since 2019, the costs of cybercrime on the global economy have more than doubled.
Over the past 12 months, the number of cyberattacks and ransomware has exploded by over 150% and the types of threats are constantly evolving.
Years ago, wars were fought on land, air, and sea; but now it includes the cyberspace as highly trained cyber experts seek ways to disarm the enemy by hacking sensitive supercomputers and accessing high-level security and economic data from the enemy, or ultimately, destroying the information with cryptic viruses.
Therefore, it is now essential to improve our knowledge and understanding of cyberattacks to fight effectively and collectively against this threat. If cyber threats are fashioned by cyber experts, it is only logical to protect and forestall the possibility of such threats with a dedicated team of highly trained cybersecurity experts.
This was well enunciated on Tuesday, May 31 at the Thales Media day 2022 with the theme: Cybersecurity: new threats, new challenges by Thales, a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations which include connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies.
Thales provides its customers which include businesses, organizations, and governments in the defence, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.
In our ultra-connected world, there is a huge increase in cybercriminal organizations and cyberattacks. An observed constant trend is the increasing sophistication of cyberattackers and the professionalization of the modus operandi at work, driven by greed and international tensions.
However, with 81,000 employees in 68 countries, Thales counters such attacks seamlessly and provides cybersecurity solutions in 3 ways:
Cybels, a comprehensive portfolio of services including risk assessment, training and simulation, and attack detection and response.
Sovereign products including encryption solutions and sensors to protect critical information systems.
The CypherTrust digital platform for data protection, cloud security and access management.
Referring to the recent global breakdown of Facebook, Thales Chairman and CEO, Patrice Caine, at the Media Day event, said the consequences of cyber threats could be bad for some companies and countries due to their dependence on technology for business as it may affect sales and prescription of drugs for patients declaring that “Cyber security issues are not going to disappear anytime soon.”
He continued: “The increase in cyberattacks is almost directly proportional to the speed of our digital transformation. The more connected the world becomes, the greater its surface of attack will be.
“For greater speed and efficiency, a growing number of companies are connecting their suppliers to their enterprise IT systems, potentially offering cybercriminals new ways to breach their data by finding weak links in the supply chain and gaining access to the information systems of major companies and State institutions.
“Cyber security is at the heart of Thales’ mission. As a major player in the world of cyber defence we also do research so we can proffer solutions with multiple options.”
Caine’s words are backed up with action as Thales’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) unit gathers, analyses, filters, and correlates data on each type of attack, the hackers behind them and the techniques, tactics, and procedures they use, to improve the ability of organisations to detect cyberattacks and fight against them leading to a cyberthreat handbook.
The 2022 Thales Cyberthreat Handbook
The Thales CTI unit, at the media day event, unveiled the 2022 edition of its Thales Cyberthreat Handbook with details about the extent of these attacks and the ways in which hacker groups are organised.
Over the last five years, experts from Thales’s CTI unit have analysed more than 20,000 attacks in nine geographic areas and 16 sectors of activity. These cyberattacks point to an impressive level of organisation within the hacker community as well as the emergence of new types of advanced persistent threats and new hybrid relationships between the public sector and private operators.
Thales serves 130 major customers worldwide, including governments, critical national infrastructure providers and public administrations. The Group provides cybersecurity for 19 of the world’s 20 largest banks, nine of the 10 Internet giants, as well as thousands of businesses of all sizes. As Cybersecurity poses new threats and new challenges, Thales has proven to be up to the task and is truly fulfilling its mantra of building a future we can all trust.
