The Sberbank Cyber Security Center held a large-scale hacker attack response drill. Specialists from several countries simulated attacks on the bank's web-based resources and studied counteraction methods. The goal was to increase the level of international cooperation in the field of cyber threat information exchange. 230 companies from across the world watched the online training session.
Alyona Logvinova studied the most common attack scenarios.
The Sberbank Cyber Security Center has become a battlefield for hackers. It's one of the most advanced centers in the world. Strangers are rarely allowed inside but today was a special occasion. This place hosted a kind of cyber test range, a unique event. It's the world's first online training seminar of its kind for big companies. The center itself has two floors. Right now, 15 companies are stress-testing their systems. The red team is operating on the second floor. They simulate hacker attacks on the companies. The blue team is fighting them from the first floor. This team is trying to counter the attacks.
Specialists have developed three of the most common attack scenarios. The first is an attack on the official website, a so-called DDoS-attack. It's like all users try to use the website simultaneously and it can't handle the load, so it shuts down for an indefinite period. The second type is a hacking attack on a database. Hackers steal private client data or a company's proprietary information. Then, they use it for personal gain. The third type is fishing. A user gets an email, clicks the link, and automatically downloads some malware. However, these attacks can be successfully countered, especially when combining the experience of companies from various countries.
Dmitry Samartsev, CEO of Bizon: "Imagine a situation when all corporations on the planet begin exchanging data on the activities of cyber criminals and begin to collaborate. No country would have to spend a penny to make this happen. It doesn't violate any international laws. If this collaboration gets established, then, according to our estimates, the result will be a multifold decrease in the potential damage caused by cyber attacks, possibly by tenfolds".
State borders don't exist for hackers. Their attacks aren't limited to banks, as many people tend to believe. The criminals can interfere in any area, for example, airport operations.
Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy CEO of Sberbank: "This scenario is associated with the risk of using airport facilities and air traffic in an event in which a cyber threat becomes a reality, in an event in which the infrastructure of this rather sensitive industry gets infected".
230 companies from across the world watch the training broadcast. The potential audience is twelve million people. At the center, the drill is observed by World Economic Forum cybersecurity specialists, experts from Interpol, and specialists from various countries. Criminals inflict 1.5 trillion dollars worth of damage to the world economy. By the end of 2022, the figure may increase up to eight trillion dollars. That's why this issue receives so much attention, especially in the context of digitalization.
Menny Barzilay, CEO of Cytactic: "It's very important to work together because we all are interconnected. We see that cyber attacks against one company harm other companies as well in the end and that harms our consumers, especially now, when technologies are present in many areas of our lives. We must share information with each other".
All security tools operated properly during the training session. 19 potential attacks of different types were successfully repelled. By the way, Sberbank plans to make it an annual drill.
Alyona Logvinova and Dmitry Mugayskikh, Vesti.
