Tietoevry was affected – how can your company be secure?  

The cyberattack against Tietoevry has been a much-needed eye-opener for many companies. Their customer Rusta has already reported to have lost more than 80 MSEK. One of the lessons learned is that anyone can be affected, even large and reputable IT companies – but there are ways to protect yourself. All companies can do more to improve their IT protection, and there are concrete measures to start with. 

At the start of 2024, a cyberattack paralyzed large parts of Sweden. The ransomware attack against Tietoevry’s servers knocked out Filmstaden’s booking system and required cinema visitors to pay for tickets on the spot. Many companies and authorities were affected by the attack, including the Swedish central bank Riksbanken, which also reported the incident to the police. 

The Swedish home decoration company Rusta was heavily affected by the IT incident at Tietoevry. In their latest quarterly report, the effect of the attacks is described to have resulted in sales losses of about 60 MSEK and extraordinary costs of about 20 MSEK.  

A question of when – not if 

No business is completely immune to intrusions of this kind, and when they do occur, routines need to be in place to reduce the scope of the attack. In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, Venke Bordal, Sweden manager of Tietoevry tech, says that it is important that you put cyber security high on your “own agenda”. One way to do this could be to hire different companies for IT operations and IT security, respectively. Security and operation are different things that require different forms of expertise. 

NTT Security have dialogues with many organizations that are thinking about how they can improve their cyber hygiene. If a large company like Tietoevry can be affected, how can we be secure? Do we have enough protection? What actions do we need to take within the organization? 

Five important actions 

In order for companies and organizations to minimize the risk of being exposed to cyber intrusions, they need to take some basic measures. Five of the most important are: 

1. Identify and protect your most valuable data and systems 
   Start doing an inventory and do a mapping of what critical data exists within the organization. By securing this data, organizations can not only maintain business continuity but also reduce the risk of extensive damage in the event of a security incident. If you don’t know what’s going on in your network, it becomes almost impossible to detect anomalies or potential attacks. It all starts with having a clear picture of your digital environment. 

2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket 
   Regular backups of critical data are essential. Store the data securely, preferably offline, but otherwise in one or more separate environments (both on-premises and in the cloud) so that they can be recovered when needed without being compromised by the attack. A recommendation is to have a backup with several different suppliers to spread the risks. 

3. Training brings skill – for the entire organization 
   Cyberattacks often start with phishing attempts or other forms of social engineering, i.e. deceiving employees to gain access to passwords, personal information and more. By educating employees about the risks and how to identify such attempts, many attacks can be stopped before they even begin. Another part of the training is the practical part: Prepare your organization by having cybersecurity exercises. Think of it as rehearsal – the more you practice, the better you’ll handle the real attack when it comes. As with fire drills, you need to know what to do when an emergency occurs. 

4. Build a dream team with professionals 
   Building a full-scale cybersecurity defense on your own is a challenge. Not just cybersecurity systems need to be bought – the sharpest skills, which can match those of cybercriminals, are not available for most companies to recruit themselves. Leverage your own, partner or industry networks to stay up to date on new threats and best practices to counter them. 

5. Hire a cyber fire brigade 
   No matter how well we prepare, or how robust we build our defenses, the question is not if an incident will occur, but when it will occur. And when it happens, you want to know which experts will come to your aid. Instant response is insurance in getting the right help – when it is needed. 

These five tips give a good indication of how strong and agile your cyber defense is. Without basic protection, you are at high risk of becoming a victim of cyberattacks, which can lead to serious consequences such as data breaches and financial losses. 

Reach out to our experts at NTT Security to discuss how we can protect you.