Page 49 - Cyber Warnings - November 2015

The Human Impact of Cyber Terrorism

By Terri Howard, Senior Director, FEI Behavioral Health

The danger of a cyber-attack has grown significantly as the role of technology in the business
landscape has expanded. It seems everywhere we turn in the news today, there’s evidence of
recent attacks and their fall out. While the focus in these aftermaths may be directed at restoring
business operations, the human impact of a cyber-attack can be just as great. Understanding and
responding to this human side should be an integral part of a company’s response plan.

Types of Cyber Terrorism
There are several different categories of cyber terrorism, and the scope, style and motivations of
each play an important factor in developing the most appropriate response plan.

 Cybercriminals are motivated by money and are typically responsible for hacks like retail
data breaches and phishing attacks. There is high risk to individual customers in terms of
compromised personal or financial data, and identity theft.
 Nation states engage in cyberterrorism to gain intelligence or sow disruption. The danger
here is centered on corporate or industry infrastructure—everything from Wall Street to
transportation to the electric grid—or on massive data collection, though the ramifications
often spill over to individual consumers through city-wide loss of services.
 Hacktivists are more likely after small-scale disruption, embarrassment or justice seeking,
rather than personal financial information. Think Ashley Madison or the work of groups like
Anonymous. These types of attacks lead to deep emotional pain and privacy violations.

Impact on Victims

The wake of a cyber-attack can be stressful for victims at three levels: the hacked organization, its
employees, and consumers.

When organizations have sensitive information hacked, they face significant scrutiny. How could
you let this happen? Why weren’t you prepared for this? What are you going to do to fix this? The
operational impacts can extend across the entire enterprise and far beyond its walls to vendors,
customers and partners—who wonder how deeply their involvement and risk extends. If
unaddressed, these concerns can have a profound and long-lasting impact on the reputation and
brand identity of any company

To counter it, companies must prepare their employees through education on what to do in the
aftermath of an attack. Employees often are the first people customers talk with after an attack.
Keeping them consistently updated on the cyber-attack response and how to inform consumers, or
how the company is promising support, is imperative for the organization to regain trust and build a
positive image.

49 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – November 2015 Edition
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