BT Announces Availability of Ethical Hacking Service

Drawing on the ethical hacking expertise gained by working closely with large financial institutions in the US, BT's new service mimics the techniques employed by cyber attackers by providing a range of tests targeted at the various entry points to a financial institution's IT systems. BT not only tests and verifies systems that can access the network, but also checks for risks of human failure, for example by using social engineering to test how employees apply their firms' policies.

BT worked with security accreditors CREST to deliver a bespoke, intelligence-led cyber-testing regime. This launch comes at a time of increased concern after a number of high-profile cyber attacks on private, public and financial institutions. In July 2014 JP Morgan Chase suffers a data breach that compromised 76 million household accounts and 7 million small business accounts, while in March of this year Chelen County Hospital sued Bank of America over a data breach in April 2013 when hackers stole $1.03 million.

"We encourage all financial institutions to put themselves through a rigorous series of cyber-security simulations, whereby our ethical hacking consultants push the cyber defences of financial institutions to the limit," says Mark Hughes, president of BT Security. "The prospect of accessing confidential financial information is a powerful lure for hackers so few companies attract as much online criminal attention as banks. Apart from direct financial loss, a serious hack could lead to irreparable reputational damage."