Why are large organizations so vulnerable to hacking?

1. Why Large Organizations
are Vulnerable to Hackers
By Judah V. Vertein

2. The problem
In 2013, Target lost $250 million dollars in after a data breach. In 2020, there was
one ransomware victim every ten seconds. Cybersecurity is clearly a big issue.
So why are large so vulnerable to such attacks, even though they have a big
incentive to defend themselves?

3. How this is relevant to Informatics
Informatics is about processing data, and how people interact with the digital
world. Keeping data secure and pointing out flaws in security systems is therefore
relevant to this subject.

4. There are many opportunities for hackers
Decades ago, when the internet was in its infancy, it was only used by a small
number of universities and the government. However, in the modern era, most
people own phones and computers, and people are constantly connected to the
internet. This gives hackers many more potential opportunities than in the past
Also, with the rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies, if an employee’s
device is hacked, they can spread malware to an organization’s servers.

5. There are many motives for cyberattacks
-A stolen identity can sell for $20, so thousands of
stolen identities are profitable.
-A company can benefit by stealing their
competitor’s information and sabotaging them.
-Political rivals may use cyberattacks to get an
enemies. Think the USA vs Russia.
With all of these potential motives for
cyberattacks, there are many hackers.

6. Hacking can be discreet
-If a hacker installs malware into a computer chip, and if it goes undetected, then
the computer chip is installed into a device, that device is then compromised.
-If a hacker steals an individual’s identity, such as a social security number, they
could sit on that information and not act on it for a while.

7. Large companies lack regular monitoring
The average company does not realize it is compromised until 3 years after a
breach. This is because many corporations assume they are not compromised
and do not go hunting for threats.

8. Individual employees often have poor cybersecurity practices
-Many people use weak passwords

9. In conclusion
There are a multitude of hackers attacking organizations for a variety of reasons,
organizations are not as vigilant as they should be, and individual people have
poor cybersecurity.

10. References
Cole, E. (2021). Cyber Crisis: Protecting Your Business From Real Threats In The Virtual World. BenBella Books.
Simplilearn. (2022, March 24). What is Digital Security: Overview, Types, and Applications Explained. Simplilearn.
https://www.simplilearn.com/what-is-digital-security-article
University of Tulsa. (2021, December 1). Why Is Cybersecurity Important? cybersecurityonline.utulsa.edu.
https://cybersecurityonline.utulsa.edu/blog/why-is-cybersecurity-important-top-six-
reasons/#:~:text=Our%20data%20and%20digital%20devices%20are%20more%20vulnerable,that%20make%20up%20the%20I
nternet%20of%20Things%20%28IoT%29.
Young, Kelli. (2021, September 13). Cyber Case Study: Target Data Breach. Coverlink. https://coverlink.com/cyber-liability-
insurance/target-data-
breach/#:~:text=During%20the%20final%20months%20of%202013%2C%20Target%E2%80%94the%20well-