Warning after spike in cyber-attacks

The Office of the Data Protection Authority said organisations should take extra measures to protect IT systems

Authorities have warned organisations to take extra measures to protect their IT systems after a spike in cyber-attacks in Guernsey.

The Office of the Data Protection Authority (ODPA) said some Microsoft 365 systems had been compromised by phishing attacks, where someone is tricked into giving out information over email.

It warned criminals were becoming increasingly adept at bypassing common security measures including multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Organisations were advised to adopt a layered approach to security to reduce the risk of attacks.

Microsoft said multi-factor authentication - in which a user needs to go through two or more steps of verification - could block more than 99% of account compromise attacks.

But the ODPA said it had seen examples where MFA had been bypassed.

It advised organisations to have multiple layers of protection, including mail filtering, web filtering and increasing training and awareness.

The ODPA has guidance with more information about phishing attacks on its website.