Cyber Defense eMagazine March Edition for 2022

level of concern while working remotely. This number is even higher for federal employees at 84%.
Remote work can harbor more risk for cyber attacks than for those in offices because at home
connections are generally less secure, making access easier for cybercriminals to find. The report also
notes that only 44% of employees were not confident in their existing security protocols.
For companies, organisations and government agencies, there can be legal repercussions for
cyberattacks too. According to The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, while state and federal regulations vary, there may be further reporting required
depending on the conditions of the cyberattack and the type of data that was compromised.
The impact of malware on classified files
Malware operates by infiltrating a point of weakness through a network, beginning the journey of lateral
movement. Bad actors understand this and will intrude through an organisation, undetected, attempting
to gather as much data as possible. For federal agencies, documents that enter government systems at
an unclassified point are viewable for a wider audience, however, once they enter into a classification
level -- whether confidential, secret or top secret -- there is a chance of malware being attached.
“Classified” determines information specifically designated by a U.S. government agency for limited,
restricted dissemination or distribution. When documents are being taken up or down to higher or lower
confidentiality levels, there is valuable information at stake. If files that were previously unclassified carry
hidden viruses, there is an opportunity for digital adversaries to break into top-secret networks and
infiltrate government information. This could enable them to steal trade secrets, learn about secret foreign
policies or military tactics, which in turn can put lives at risk.
SolarWinds, one of the most catastrophic cyberattacks in U.S. history, resulted in the hacking of major
enterprises and government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury
Department for over 14 months before being discovered. The hackers were able to break into the
SolarWinds systems by implementing a malicious code into a system known as “Orion” which was
commonly known by companies to handle IT resources. This code is what created an opening for the
hackers to install malware that allowed them to spy on companies. Due to the stealth movement of the
hack, some of those involved may still be unaware. Bad actors know how to identify loopholes in the
system to gain access to sensitive information. This further proves the value of implementing strict
cybersecurity methods to ensure that sensitive data is protected. There needs to be proactive, zero-trust
cybersecurity methods in place as government documents go through the confidentiality cycle to ensure
that all files are protected and monitored.
How Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) technology can help
It is imperative that federal agencies take a proactive approach in their file security methods. CDR
technology works to clean and rebuild files to a ‘known good’ industry standard by automatically removing
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