Darren Gale, vice-president of IronNet Cyber Security, told delegates at the 2023 TTI Travel Tech Summit on Thursday (23 March) all businesses – no matter the size – are under threat from "more sophisticated" digital attacks.
"If you’re a small company, you’re not excluded from being attacked, it’s the same risk as if you were a large company," Gale warned.
"I can guarantee travel is being focussed on by these threats because of the industry’s data sets and their desirability, as well as the transaction volumes associated with holiday bookings."
Gale said fake software embedded in online adverts is becoming a more popular means used by hackers to gain access to businesses’ data.
"It is becoming much harder to defend against the human element as [hackers] go for the softest underbelly of your organisation, your people," Gale continued.
"People are the lifeblood of an organisation, but they are also the single weakest point of failure. We have to be aware of this, and your security programmes should focus on employee education as well as defensive tools."
He further warned attackers are becoming more sophisticated with the advent of new technology, such as AI software and QR codes.
"Strategies are really sophisticated – phishing attacks, spear phishing attacks, drive by downloads, SMS-phishing, QR codes – all of which can be used maliciously," Gale advised.
"When people click on this stuff, they’re trying to deliver a payload which gives them access to your environment, which they will then use or sell access to to a third party."
