Businesses look to ex-cyber criminals for security help

One fifth of business in the UK have asked cyber criminals to evaluate their systems and cyber security. Another 37% remain open minded to doing the same, according to a recent report.

The report, which was published by cyber security solutions company Radware, found that 60% of those who responded had been the victim of cyber crime within the past year.

Worries over a growing threat resulted in 80% saying that cyber security concerns have been promoted to CEO-level, while 33% said that C-level awareness needs to improve to combat the latest threats.

One of the main concerns troubling executives is the Internet of Things (IoT). Connected devices were named by 29% of respondents as carrying a highly probability of being a viable target for hackers within the next few years.

While businesses are aware of the threat, there remain many that are unsure of how to deal with it, resulting in some playing with the idea of working with ex-cyber criminals.

Radware’s Adrian Crawley believes that employing the services of ex-cyber criminals will ultimately be a normal procedure among companies, as they up their game in staying one step ahead of increasingly sophisticated hackers.

He said:

“Businesses need to get prepared fast, and there’s no better way than to see an attack than through the eyes of a hacker. I think we’ll see the trend to seek the opinion of an ex-hacker grow exponentially in the next year as businesses review their blind spots.”

This may eventually be a worthwhile approach for companies but certainly, in the meantime at least, the best strategy is to create cyber security jobs to ensure that they are doing the very best they can to thwart immediate threats.