Last month unknown hackers breached the computer systems of the Bangladesh central bank, stole its credentials, and managed to have more than $80 million redirected from the Federal Reserve Bank in New York to Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. As unfortunate as that was, it could have been much worse. Had one of the hackers not misspelled the word “foundation” (typing in “fandation”), another $850 – $870 million would have been transferred. The typo caught the attention of someone at the Deutsche Bank, which asked for clarification of the transaction from the Bangladesh bank, which in turn stopped the transaction.
The takeaway: When it comes to cybersecurity, one diligent individual can be as effective as the stoutest firewall. In the words of legendary basketball coach John Wooden, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
Check out our series, Privacy Perils, to learn what steps you can take to guard your personal and company data. For more information about this topic and other cyber security concerns, please contact a member of our Privacy & Data Security team.