You Don’t Need to Be a Genius to Launch a Successful Cyberattack, Says Cybercrime Researcher

You do not need to be a coding genius to launch a successful cyberattack, according to cybercrime researcher Ophir Harpaz. In her work, she said, Harpaz sees everything from sophisticated attacks to error-riddled attacks that were copied and pasted from Google. Harpaz, who works at Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity startup GuardiCore Ltd., spoke Monday at Calcalist’s Cyber 2020 conference in Tel Aviv.

In a conversation with Calcalist reporter Hagar Ravet, Harpaz said that her research focuses on attacks targeting servers and data centers of large and wealthy companies. But cybercrimes target the entire spectrum of businesses, she said, from organized attacks netting hundreds of millions of dollars to hackers netting just several dozens of dollars per month. “There are so many open tools on the darknet, you just have to enter the right forum,” Harpaz said.

According to Harpaz, the weak spots in organizational security are simple, easy to break passwords and outdated systems. “An organization needs to assume that at one point, a hacker will get through,” she said. “Better passwords, better servers—those will take a lot of money and time, but ultimately, that is the way to maximize protection.”