Chapter 2 Cyber Threats in Focus: Common Cyber Threats in Singapore WEBSITE DEFACEMENT “1 IN 10 WEBSITES FOUND HOSTED ON OUTDATED OPERATING SYSTEMS” Website owners should keep their applications (including plug-ins) and operating systems regularly updated to prevent hackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities on outdated systems. Companies that rely on third-party hosting providers for their Web hosting needs should find out from their providers about the measures that are in place to address potential vulnerabilities. 32 Definition: Definition: Much like virtual graffiti, hackers change the visual appearance of a single webpage or an entire website by gaining unauthorised access to the web hosting server. Defaced websites may also contain malicious code to infect visitors to the affected site. Websites that are compromised or created by hackers to trick Internet users into believing they are accessing a legitimate, trusted website. Motivation: Promote political or religious agendas through “hacktivism”, achieve online fame in hacker communities, and/or distract victims from the “real” cyber-attack such as a data breach. Target(s): Usually opportunistic, involving websites and/or web servers with known vulnerabilities. Number of defaced Singapore websites In Singapore, 1,750 website defacements were reported in 2016. The majority of the affected websites belonged to SMEs from a range of businesses, including interior design, logistics, manufacturing and construction. One in 10 defaced websites were hosted on outdated operating systems such as Windows Server 2003 for which Microsoft ended its support in July 2015. Such operating systems may no longer have security patches 10 PHISHING WEBSITE / URLS Motivation: Obtain personal information, which can be used for future cyber-attacks, and/or financial gain. Target(s): Usually opportunistic, involving potentially anybody and everybody. for new vulnerabilities and hence are easier for hackers to exploit. According to Sucuri10, an American website security company, WordPress was the most targeted content management system (CMS) in 2016 globally. Popular CMS such as Joomla and WordPress, which most websites run on, can be infiltrated by hackers due to vulnerabilities, and improper deployment, configuration or maintenance by their webmasters. Sucuri is a security company which focused on detecting and remediating compromised websites. Most targeted brands for phishing campaigns Users should always seek to verify the URL and e-mail address of senders, and look out for warning signs such as poor spelling or grammar. When in doubt, users should always verify the website’s address before submitting any sensitive information online. Number of phishing URLs linked to Singapore In 2016, 2,512 phishing URLs with a Singapore-link were found. Banking and financial services websites appeared to be the most commonly spoofed websites in Singapore. They represented more than 30 per cent of the phishing websites found. File-hosting service providers such as Dropbox and Google Drive, and technology companies such as Apple and Google are commonly spoofed by hackers. Government organisations such as Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) were also spoofed in 2016. Online payment service provider PayPal was the most targeted brand, likely due its widespread use among online merchants and its customers11. File-hosting and Cloud storage service providers are becoming popular targets as well. 11 PayPal holds 77 per cent of the market share in online payment industry. Source: https://www. datanyze.com/market-share/payments/ 33