SCMP: Organizations Need an Offline Backup Plan in Case of Cyberattacks
In an opinion piece published on the South China Morning Post, Prof Kai-Lung Hui, Faculty Associate of the Institute, says organisations providing critical services must have a backup plan that does not rely on the internet in case of a crippling cyberattack.
The latest ransomware attack, WannaCry, infected more than 200,000 computers worldwide, locking out users unless they paid a ransom in bitcoins to the attackers. Some of these locked computers are used in hospitals, petrol stations, schools and power companies.
'we should prepare for a scenario when the operating system is unavailable or critical data is not accessible from a computer,' wrote Hui, 'Preparing for such alternative systems is inevitably costly.' continued Hui, 'But when IT is used as an integral part of services that affect people’s lives, we need to ensure that these services can continue when the system fails.'
Read full article here: WannaCry ransomware attack shows the wisdom of having an offline Plan B
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