Increase in number of cyberattacks on Waterford businesses amid AI advancements
Vitamin has said there has been an increase in the number of cyberattacks on Waterford businesses
There has been an increase in the number of cyberattacks on Waterford businesses over the past few months, a local firm has said.
Web development firm Vitamin has said there has been a marked increase in the number of cyberattacks on local businesses.
The Waterford-based firm, which builds and maintains websites for businesses, believes this increase in cyberattacks has resulted from advancements in AI.
Vitamin said that such advancements make it quicker and easier for bad actors to exploit website vulnerabilities.
Dave Manser, Managing Director of Vitamin, said: “We’re entering uncharted waters with AI. While AI tools are a great help in many day-to-day business activities, most use cases only skim the surface of their capabilities.
“Cybercriminals are benefiting hugely from this technology by using open-source AI models to craft sophisticated digital attacks.”
While attacks on larger organisations are the most widely documented, smaller firms are not excluded from the risk of a cyberthreat.
Vitamin has said that it has observed more and more smaller businesses being targeted this year.
It added that what used to take several weeks of scanning to compromise just one website now takes minutes to exploit many websites at once.
Mr Manser continued: “Most of the time, cyberattackers don’t have a specific target.
“Instead, they automate the whole process and direct AI bots to search for easy openings across thousands of sites at one time.
“They can quickly uncover anything from outdated software to weak login credentials and can find their way into the backend of a website pretty quickly from there.”
Other than the risks of losing access to websites and associated reputational damage, these cyberattacks often lead to the injection of webpages with scam content and phishing scams.
This can start a chain reaction that may actually put genuine visitors to the website at risk of being compromised, too.
There is also a GDPR dimension, whereby any threat to personal data, such as from contact enquiry forms, could result in potential legal implications for that organisation.
Mr Manser urged all local businesses to periodically review whether their websites are up-to-date, regularly maintained or in need of a full rebuild of their website to mitigate against any risks.
“As AI becomes more and more sophisticated, the pace at which these types of cyberattacks occur is only set to increase.
“Businesses should take a proactive approach in protecting their digital presence, as the damage in not doing so can prove costly.
“As a general rule of thumb, we recommend that our clients consider a full review of their website at least every four years, to ensure their website is running on the latest technologies, and to avoid leaving their websites vulnerable due to threats from cyberattackers.”
He also advised firms to do their due diligence in finding a reputable web developer who understands the threats involved and codes and maintains websites with this in mind.
“We’re proud of the fact that we build our websites custom-coded from the ground up.
“This means that we don’t use off-the-shelf templates with inherited vulnerabilities or bloated plugin stacks.
“We understand the nuts and bolts that make up the websites we build.”
“If anyone is unsure about how secure or up-to-date their website is, absolutely reach out to your local developer for an independent assessment.”
Founded in 2005, Vitamin builds and maintains websites for businesses locally and across the country.
Its Waterford-based team includes web developers, graphic/web designers and digital marketing personnel.