A special event was held at the Barclays Eagle Lab in Douglas recently to showcase how easy it can be to gain access to a company’s data.

Hosted by Riela Cyber - a Ballasalla-based cyber security operations centre - and the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce, a series of live cyber attacks were performed in front of an audience of professionals.

The event was designed to highlight the common attack methods used by cyber criminals in corporate settings and the common misconceptions within companies around cyber security measures.

Dr Joseph Ikhalia, one of Riela Cyber’s senior cyber security engineers kicked off the demonstration by showcasing just how easily ransomware can worm its way into a network and compromise a whole office of devices.

Dr Ikhalia used a real ransomware variant to demonstrate this effect, which served as a stark reminder to the professionals in the audience that this type of malware is readily available to anyone with a malicious intent.

Ransomware is described as low-risk with a high-reward and low-risk as without preventative measures in place before the attacker strikes, it is extremely unlikely that full file recovery will ever be achieved for a business.

This type of attack is commonly utilised by ’black-hat hackers’ - also known as the stereotypical hackers portrayed in Hollywood films.

Black-hat hackers violate computer security for their own personal profit or malice, as opposed to ’white-hat hackers’ who hack into systems to draw attention to vulnerabilities that require repair.

One audience member commented that the event was: ’Much more interesting than your usual cyber event, as I got to see a live cyber attack.

’The presenter [Dr Ikhalia] made it very intriguing and proved how easy it is for businesses to be hacked.’

Dr Ikhalia designed the world’s first social network security awareness app, ’Social Network Criminal’.

In a social media post published before the event he said: ’Having the opportunity to show business professionals what a hack looks like from a hacker’s point of view will allow attendees to understand the threat of cyber attacks better.’

The organisation hopes to host further events in the future to demonstrate cyber security measures needed in an increasingly computerised world.