Sony breach: The new front in corporate cyber warfare?

Data breaches have unfortunately become the norm. But the now infamous Sony breach has opened the eyes of the IT world to the fact that we haven’t seen the end of what cyber attacks have in store for enterprises.

Breaches can be more than just exposing sensitive information; as the Sony hack shows, they can be personally malicious. The attack, which used “wiper” malware to steal and delete corporate data, sought to harm Sony employees, Associate Site Editor Fran Sales reports. The attack was also highly sophisticated, according to experts — sophisticated enough to get by the security defenses of 90% of the private industry, according to the FBI cyber division’s Joseph Demarest Jr.

In addition to laying out how the Sony hack was different from other corporate attacks, Sales provides tips on how to protect yourself and your company from breaches like this. Good luck.

In other news this week, IBM and Apple have released 10 of the anticipated 100 apps in the IBM MobileFirst suite; Microsoft now accepts virtual currency, The Washington Post details the demise of Pirate Bay, and more in this week’s Searchlight.