A National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) report details cyber incident trends in the UK from October 2018 to April 2019. In the report, NCSC highlighted five cyber incident trends that are affecting UK organizations:
1. Microsoft Office 365
There has been "significant" use of tools and scripts to try and guess Office 365 users' passwords, according to NCSC. To minimize risk, Office 365 users can follow NCSC's recent advisory and Microsoft's security best practices.
2. Ransomware
Cybercriminals are using ransomware to attack UK organizations of all sizes and across all industries, NCSC noted. UK organizations can develop and deploy security best practices and use email authentication and URL reputation services to combat ransomware attacks.
3. Phishing
Phishing is the most prevalent attack method used by cybercriminals, NCSC stated. With a multi-layered cybersecurity strategy, UK organizations are well-equipped to stop phishing attacks before they escalate.
4. Vulnerability Scanning
Effective vulnerability scanning requires UK organizations to search for open network ports and identify unpatched, legacy or other vulnerable software and misconfigurations, NCSC said. In doing so, UK organizations can close security gaps across their networks and systems.
5. Supply Chain or Trusted Relationships
Outsourced IT sometimes exposes UK organizations to cyber threats, NCSC indicated. By working with a service provider to maintain secure access to data, assets and systems, a UK organization can limit cyber risk.
MSSPs can offer managed security services and support to help UK organizations address cyber threats. That way, UK organizations can partner with MSSPs to find ways to prevent data breaches.
