Page 5 - Cybersecurity Career Guide for North Dakota

Safeguarding Our Money
No need for masks, weapons, or demand notes. Bank robbers today can often get inside financial institutions undetected. In one such heist, discovered in May 2019, cybercriminals stole 885 million records dating back to 2003 from First America Financial right out from under the mortgage title insurance company’s nose. By tapping into FAF’s poorly secured database—slowly, so as to not raise alarms—hackers and their bots were able to collect sensitive customer data, including bank account numbers, tax documents, wire transfer receipts, Social Security numbers, and photos of driver’s licenses.
FAF’s vulnerability isn’t unusual: A 2017 study by IBS Intelligence found that 65 percent of the top 100 U.S. banks failed web security testing. Indeed, the same study found that the largest U.S. banks have some of the worst security. What’s more, 92 percent of ATMs are vulnerable to hacks, according to a report by Positive Technologies. It’s no wonder that the costs of cyberattacks in the banking industry now run to $18.3 million a year per company.
ENTRY-LEVEL SALARY RANGE FOR THE CYBERSECURITY INDUSTRY:
$89,000 – $98,000
SOURCE: CYBER SEEK
Protecting Our Electrical Infrastructure
Having weathered countless cyberattacks, including the breaches that targeted SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange software in early 2021, the country’s electrical infrastructure is increasingly at risk, says Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “The U.S. faces a well-documented and increasing cyber threat from malicious actors seeking to disrupt the electricity Ameri- cans rely on to power our homes and businesses,” said the secretary in a statement announcing a 100-day initiative
to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. “It’s up to both government and industry to prevent possible harms.”
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