Cyberattacks and "white hackers": threats and trends of the new reality
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In the era of information technology, the words: cybersecurity, digital threats, digital signatures have become commonplace. And, like any process, the development of innovations has its consequences. If we see positive results every day – useful devices, the ability to work online, quick access to the desired resources, etc., the negative impact is not so obvious. And even when we learn about possible threats, we don't always take it seriously. But what previously seemed a distant future has become our reality. How to live in a new world and what we have to resist.
The problem of cybersecurity is perhaps the most pressing today in a global sense. According to the Security Service of Ukraine Cybersecurity Situation Center, cyberattacks on public authorities have been on the rise recently. In 2021 alone, 350 hacker hacks had to be localized. The information war has become more terrible than military conflicts. Any action on a local or global scale – from fake news to hacking into government systems – threatens public safety. If we talk about everyone's personal data, then, according to statistics, every second person has encountered a hacking of social media accounts or viruses on the computer. Digital threats are now a common problem and need to be addressed. That is why the number of cybersecurity service providers for businesses and large structures is increasing in the world. One of the largest developers of cybersecurity solutions in Europe is the international company Hacken with an R&D office in Ukraine, which has also become an association of "white hackers" who do not break, but reveal vulnerabilities in the system. The startup of Ukrainian specialists, launched in 2017, has become a global platform for identifying and preventing digital risks, promoting cryptocurrency in Ukraine and promoting cybersecurity in society.
Dmytro Budorin, the company's founder and CEO, says it is difficult for business owners to build a security system, as the level of threats is constantly growing. "The number of products that are leaky is growing. The same situation is repeated in the market: companies know about their cybersecurity problems, they know where their problems are, but they do not have time to fix these problems.", — tells Dmytro about the main problem, which his team works.
To work with clients, the company has developed 4 main platforms: HackenProof, CER.live, Hacken Foundation, HackenAI. Specialists work with representatives of the crypto industry and other sectors of the economy to combat digital threats in a timely manner. As of 2021, Hacken has assessed the level of cybersecurity of 290 exchanges and protected user assets worth $144 billion. With a research centre in Kyiv and head office in Tallinn, the company has worked mostly with clients from Europe, Asia and the United States, but more and more Ukrainian companies are now seeking services. This success, according to CTO Andriy Matyukhin, is due to the already mentioned ecosystem of products of the Ukrainian cyber company, and its own cryptocurrency – HAI (Hacken token) with an estimated capitalization of about $100 million, which serves as fuel for the prosperity of the white hacker ecosystem.
And although not everyone has a thorough knowledge of cybersecurity, the editors decided to prepare the Top 5 tips for personal safety on the Internet:
- setting different passwords for all accounts and updating them regularly;
- multi-factor authentication to log in to your account (Google Authenticator);
- avoiding the use of public Wi-Fi networks;
- use only licensed antivirus programs;
- providing only partial personal information on the Internet (without facts about financial status or preferences on the network).
In the 21st century, society must be prepared for new digital challenges and know how to deal with them. Business owners should carefully study the issues of information security of the company and its employees, because with the timely detection of problem areas it is much easier to deal with them. The security of personal data is a vulnerable place for domestic companies, which is why the services of cybersecurity specialists are in demand in the market. Today, Ukrainian "white hackers" are not inferior to Western competitors, which indicates good prospects for development.
