Cybercriminals know you are on holiday

We spoke to Francisco Armada, Director of Corporate Security (CSO) at COFARES, Spain’s leading pharmaceutical distribution company, with an annual turnover of more than 3.6 billion euros.

Is there a seasonality to cyber-attacks? There is undoubtedly seasonality in cybercriminals; they take advantage of the times when we are more relaxed and, therefore, more vulnerable. During holidays, dates or very special times (Christmas, Easter, special seasonal campaigns and promotions, for example), when we relax our guard more, they take advantage of this to increase the number of cyber-attacks.

What are today’s security challenges for a company? One of the main challenges of a company’s digital security is awareness, training and prevention of cyber attacks from the point of view of the social engineering used, applying corporate intelligence adapted to each level of the company.

And on holidays, what security tips or measures should a company have in place?  Prevention and more prevention, to anticipate as much as possible these desirable times, which help us to relax our state of alertness.

The company’s security measures must be invariable, regardless of the time of year, increasing the vigilance of its own security and increasing the state of alertness of the workers themselves.

If an SME does not have a large budget for cybersecurity, what are the unquestionable minimums? Of course, SMEs have to be covered equally. Today, there are ad-hoc solutions, regardless of the size of the company concerned, with technological solutions of equal value to them.

The unquestionable minimums are the same pillars outlined above, where awareness, training, and prevention must always be present.

Are there specific risks in the pharmaceutical sector? All sectors have specific risks that must be properly assessed by means of a risk matrix, adapting security measures accordingly. Identity theft, attacks on the supply chain and third parties are risks to be considered in this sector.