What this lesson teaches
I can explain how being connected online exposes countries and people to cyber threats.
Syllabus K336, Issue 3, Guiding Question 4, Security impacts of globalisation. Cyber threats
Make a guess
Ransomware locks a hospital's computers, but no patient data is copied. Do you think any harm was done?
- No, because the hospital can pay the ransom to unlock its files.
- No, because harm happens mainly when data is stolen.
- Yes, blocking services is a harm, even when no data is stolen.
Show the answer
Yes, blocking services is a harm, even when no data is stolen.
Cyber threats include disruption. In 2017, WannaCry disrupted hospitals in the UK's National Health Service.
Cyber threats can steal, change or block access to digital information and services.
Picture malicious software, designed to cause harm, that locks a training provider's registration files. Staff cannot confirm course places, even though no one has found evidence the files were copied. Disruption is a security harm, just as data theft is.
Cyber threats are possible harmful actions against computer systems or data. They include breaking into systems without permission (hacking), stealing or changing information, and disrupting services, for example with ransomware that locks files. A threat exists even before an attack succeeds.
Connected systems let people work across borders, but they also let attacks reach victims anywhere. When many organisations rely on the same platform, one attack can spread to many users and countries. A server is a computer that stores data or runs a service. Where a server is located does not tell you who the attacker is or where they come from.
Not every outage, when a service stops working, is an attack; some have technical causes, so the cause needs evidence. Cybercrime is also not automatically terrorism. Stealing money or data does not show an aim to spread fear for political or ideological goals.
- Cyber threat
- A harmful action against computer systems or data.
- Examples
- Hacking, data theft, ransomware, disrupting services.
- Not all outages
- Some have technical causes, not attackers.
Real examples to use
SingHealth data breach, 2018
Attackers copied the personal data of about 1.5 million SingHealth patients, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's medicine records.
WannaCry, 2017
This ransomware locked computers in about 150 countries and demanded payment. It disrupted hospitals in the United Kingdom's National Health Service.
Worked example: Files locked by malware
A training provider's registration system, hosted overseas, is hit by malicious software that locks its files. Registration stops for a day while the system is restored. No data appears to have been stolen.
- Investigators confirmed malicious software, so this is a cyberattack. Not every outage is an attack.
- No data was stolen, but there was still harm: a day of lost service.
- Cyber threats harm availability as well as privacy. Hosting abroad explains how a problem elsewhere reached the provider, but not who carried out the attack.
Watch out for this
A cyberattack causes no harm if no personal data is stolen.
Blocking or disrupting a service is also harmful, even if no data is taken.
Check your understanding
A bank's app stops working for three hours. A friend says hackers attacked it. What is the best reply?
- It is cyberterrorism, because a key national service was disrupted.
- It may be a technical fault; we need evidence of the cause first.
- It was a foreign attack, because the bank's servers are overseas.
Show the answer
It may be a technical fault; we need evidence of the cause first.
Right. Not every outage is an attack. The cause needs evidence before anyone is blamed.
Check your understanding
In the 2018 SingHealth breach, data were copied but health services kept running. Which impact occurred?
- A shutdown of hospital services across the cluster.
- Little harm, because no one lost access to care.
- Loss of privacy for about 1.5 million patients.
Show the answer
Loss of privacy for about 1.5 million patients.
A cyberattack can harm privacy even if services keep running.