Although many cyberattacks made major headlines in the US this year, most of the
customers are still not aware of the attacks. The latest study shows that users
still lack basic awareness about these attacks and their repercussions on
organizations and customers. Armis, a cybersecurity firm in its survey found
more than 21% of respondents were unaware of the colonial pipeline cyberattack
which happened in May. Whereas, 24% of the respondents believed that one of the
biggest attacks that happened on the largest US fuel pipeline wouldn't have any long
terms impact on the nation's fuel sector.
Besides this, 45% of the working
Americans didn't have any knowledge about the tampering incident on a local
drinking water supply in Florida that happened earlier this year. Armis reports,
"released new data uncovering the lack of knowledge and general awareness of
major cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and an understanding of security
hygiene. End users are not paying attention to the major cybersecurity attacks
plaguing operational technology and critical infrastructure across the country,
signaling the importance of businesses prioritizing a focus on security as
employees return to the office." "Despite the spotlight on these attacks, the data shows that many consumers are simply not taking notice — and the responsibility of security falls on the businesses themselves."
Currently, many organizations are shifting back
to the office, according to Armis, around 70% of respondents want to bring their
work from home devices to the office. Besides this, the survey also revealed
that 54% of the respondents don't think that bringing their personal devices to
the office would pose any threat to organizational security. "From the Colonial
Pipeline attack shutting down services to the Florida Water Facility hack
endangering the water supply, to the ransomware attack on JBS, which could raise
meat prices and also restrict access to necessary nutrients in developing
countries — the impact of cyber attacks on our critical infrastructure has been
evident. We’ve also seen ransomware hit healthcare in a major way, with attacks
on Scripps Health's technology systems and a chain of Las Vegas hospitals," says
Armis research. "
