Adobe Cyber Security Attack

Cybersecurity and Risk Management

Adobe is one of the companies that faced a cyber-attack in recent years. In 2013, Adobe admitted that cyber attackers had gained access to the data of 2.9 million customers. Adobe is a software company characterised as a key target by cyber attackers. The attack led to the removal of certain information regarding its customers. The company reported the loss of customer names, encrypted credit and debit cards, as well as other details regarding the orders made by customers (Rauch, 2017). Further reports emerged that the attackers had gained hold of important source code for different software such as Adobe Acrobat and Cold Fusion. Adobe’s official announcement regarding the attack confirmed that the company was taking measures to ascertain whether the attackers were using the information on other platforms (Öbrand, Holmström, & Newman, 2018).

The company’s public disclosure made it evident that Adobe customers needed to worry because the cyber attackers had the potential of using the data in continuous and strategic attacks. The company responded effectively by highlighting the measures it was taking to protect customers from further losses (Vincent, Higgs, & Pinsker, 2017). Notably, the attack compromised some of the customers’ orders, which was a major disadvantage for the company. The other loses included the potential use of the company’s source code to stage further attacks in the future. To mitigate the risks of future attacks, Adobe adopted a more complex encryption process as a way of protecting customer information. As a business manager, I would recommend a better security system for Adobe that can protect both customer information as well as the company’s source codes (Kelly, 2017).

References

Kelly, S. (2017). Fighting the Cyber Threat. Public Utilities Fortnightly, 155(1).

Öbrand, L., Holmström, J., & Newman, M. (2018). Navigating Rumsfeld’s quadrants: A performative perspective on IT risk management. Technology in Society, 53, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TECHSOC.2017.09.009

Rauch, R. (2017). 4 keys to cyber threat detection. Retrieved February 5, 2019, from https://www.securityinfowatch.com/cybersecurity/information-security/computer-and-network-security-software/article/12294121/4-keys-to-cyber-threat-detection

Vincent, N. E., Higgs, J. L., & Pinsker, R. E. (2017). IT Governance and the Maturity of IT Risk Management Practices. Journal of Information Systems, 31(1), 59–77. https://doi.org/10.2308/isys-51365