Week of October 27th, 2023
Welcome to Your Cybersecurity Recap: a bite-sized weekly newsletter by cybersecurity enthusiasts, for cybersecurity enthusiasts.
Here are this week’s top takeaways:
The Link Between Food Chain Supply Disruptions and Cyberattacks
Did you hear? A cyberattack on Clorox triggered a butterfly effect that has resulted in a Hidden Valley Ranch shortage.
Let’s explain:
As reported by ABC News, Clorox first detected "unauthorized activity on some of its Information Technology'' on August 14th. Quickly, the company took steps to "remediate the activity, including taking certain systems offline," per a September securities filing; however, although Clorox has since resumed production at the majority of its manufacturing sites–and has declared their intention to ramp back up to full production as soon as they are able–they are still not disclosing how long they estimate until they will be able to normalize their productions.
In mid-September, Clorox-owned brands such as PineSol and Fresh Step cat litter began to by shortages across the United States due to this scale-down in production; now, at the tail-end of October, these shortages have begun creeping into other Clorox-owned brands such as (you guessed it!) Hidden Valley Ranch.
In an interview with ABC, Clorox stated that they anticipate that this cybersecurity attack will impact 2023 and potentially 2024 profits. "Due to the order processing delays and elevated level of product outages, the Company now believes the impact will be material on Q1 financial results," they said. "It is premature for the Company to determine longer-term impact, including fiscal year outlook, given the ongoing recovery."
With an estimated 800,000 cyberattacks happening per year as of 2023, stories like this will, unfortunately, only become more common–and will continue to prompt organizations of all sizes to proactively invest in both cyber insurance and overall enhanced security posture.
Microsoft to Invest 5 Billion Dollars in Australia’s Cybersecurity Infrastructure
Over the next two years, Microsoft has declared its intent to invest $5 billion USD in Australia's cybersecurity infrastructure–while collaborating with the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) in an attempt to boost domestic protection against cyberattacks.
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Microsoft says the collaboration with the Australian government to boost domestic cybersecurity will enhance “joint capability to identify, prevent and respond to cyber threats, which are growing in both frequency and severity”.
A recent threat report from the Australian Cyber Security Centre found one incident is reported on average every seven minutes. More than 76,000 incidents of cybercrime were reported in 2021-22. Australia’s Prime Minister characterized Microsoft’s commitments as “a major investment in the skills and workers of the future, which will help Australia to strengthen our position as a world-leading economy”.
In a statement, the computing giant stated that the exchange of cyber threat information leads to better protection for Australian residents, businesses, and government entities, and that the focus of their activities would orbit around detecting and defending against nation-state cyberattacks.
Thanks to Everyone Who Visited Us at SecTor 2023!
SecTor 2023 was a success! Read up on our top takeaways.
Our team was thrilled to participate as both a sponsor and attendees: getting acquainted with so many new SecTor attendees, catching up with returning ones, chatting with students at the Careers Fair, and, of course, taking advantage of SecTor’s many learning opportunities was a fantastic experience. Thank you to each and everyone of you for making it so memorable.
As an event, SecTor grants unparalleled opportunities for managers, executives, and IT security professionals to network and learn from one another. Some of these opportunities included, but weren’t limited to:
Did you attend? If so, what were your standouts from SecTor 2023?