On October 30th, 2021, a cyberattack which targeted Newfoundland and Labrador’s MEDITECH system took place. This cyberattack was incredibly severe. Patient data, including names, social insurance numbers, addresses, and more were stolen.
Over a month after the attack took place, the government of N.L. was still being cautious about details regarding the attack. As a cybersecurity precaution, this is understandable - if the vulnerabilities exploited to conduct the cyber attack are still present in the province’s healthcare system, they need to be certain those vulnerabilities are fixed before providing information about why the attack transpired.
Nonetheless, both the government and its opposition seem to agree that the MEDITECH system itself was outdated.
With so little information on the attack available, you may be wondering how it relates to Canadian businesses. The answer is fairly straightforward: it’s a cautionary tale. Your business should put in the time and effort needed to secure your network.
Governments move slowly - your business doesn’t have to
Cyber criminals will attack any target without sufficient protection. They’re like burglars - they stake out sites to find out who is leaving their proverbial doors unlocked, then sneak in to take any valuables they can find. They’ll usually sell these valuables - in this case, personal data - to the highest bidder. They can always find someone willing to buy data.
1 in 5 small business owners have been affected by a cyber attack or data breach. There are a number of ways to keep your network protected, however - you can implement two-factor authentication (2FA), or even get managed detection and response (MDR) to protect your business. Cyber awareness training, regular backups, and a plethora of other cybersecurity options are at your fingertips.
This is one of the core differences between cybersecurity for governments and cybersecurity for businesses. Though a government may want to implement changes to its network in order to make it more secure, there are a lot of hoops to jump through. It can take governments years to implement changes that it would take your business days to complete.
Your business can hire a cybersecurity firm today
For governments, hiring a third party to conduct cybersecurity investigations can take ages. This is necessary for some level of accountability - there are processes in place to ensure that politicians aren’t too closely connected to the firms they hire, and to ensure that firms don’t swindle the government.
That’s all wonderful news for citizens, but it can lead to governments that are very reticent to make changes.
Your business doesn’t have that same weakness. You can vet firms and choose one to hire in no time at all - if you’re reading this on a Monday, you could hire a cybersecurity firm by Friday.
The value of cybersecurity
Businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to resolve cyber attacks. The cost of hiring a cybersecurity firm is a fraction of that. And a cybersecurity firm can do more than just protect your network - they can make it more efficient, helping you work more productively all while lowering your risk of being targeted by cyber criminals.
Looking for a cybersecurity firm to bolster your network defences? Contact us today.
