An analysis of social engineering cyber threats in the Maltese tertiary economic sectors

Abstract

The way we conduct business in modern times is more dependent on technology than ever before in human history. The transformation into a technology-centric world has introduced great opportunities for global enterprises to innovate in addition to an inherent risk in cybersecurity. Social engineering attacks are at an all-time high and pose a considerable threat to enterprises, resulting in tremendous financial and reputational repercussions that can often be catastrophic. This study aims to identify the social engineering threats in the Maltese Tertiary Vertical Economic sectors and identify how organisations are addressing these threats in accordance with best industry practices in the area. The research also seeks to study the importance of the very nature of every social engineering attack – the human element and how reinforcing an organisation's 'human firewall' plays a key role in an organisation's cyber defence. The findings posit that a satisfactory amount of controls are implemented in local enterprises to mitigate these attacks, however certain shortcomings were identified in the local context in comparison to global enterprises. The findings also suggest that there is a gap in cybersecurity efforts on a national level and present recommendations necessary to pave a cyber safe future for Maltese enterprises.