Travelex cyber attack - comment from Fujitsu
January 2020 by Iain Kothari-Johnson, Financial Services Lead for Cyber Security, Fujitsu UK
It wasn’t such a happy New Year for Travelex, as it has been forced to take down its website following a cyberattack on New Year’s Eve. If you planned on writing a story about the breach and wanted any additional pieces of commentary for your story, I thought you might be interested in a comment from Iain Kothari-Johnson, Financial Services Lead for Cyber Security at Fujitsu UK.
Iain argues that it highlights that cyberattacks can happen at any point in the year and that having a well-tested resilience plan in place can make a difference in the overall impact of an attack.
Iain Kothari-Johnson, Financial Services Lead for Cyber Security, Fujitsu UK:
“The cyberattack on Travelex highlights that breaches are a threat at all times of the year and can occur when companies least expect them. The breach also demonstrates how quickly attacks can stop an organisation’s operations and impact customers that may be relying on them and the wider supply chain.
“Travelex has so far handled the incident well due to its quick response time, and it is good to see personal and customer information does not appear to have been breached. Having a well-tested resilience plan in place that covers the technical aspects, communication with the public and clear responsibilities for handling incidents can ultimately make a difference between a costly response and maintaining customer trust. Break-glass Incident Response Services where experts are on-hand to rapidly investigate and mitigate threats can also help reduce the financial and reputational impact of this type of incident and should be considered as part of any good resilience plan.”