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March-April 2016

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allet manufacturers hearing endless reports of hacker break-ins last year should brace for even more sophisticated capers in 2016, according to a string of reports released by top cyber-security firms. Security experts say the image of yesteryear's hacker – the pimply faced teen on a lark for grins-and-giggles – has given way to organized crime teams, which systematically break into computer networks, hell-bent on stealing and monetizing stolen data. Moreover, while top retailers have often grabbed the biggest headlines when it comes to mass-scale hack attacks, security experts say manufacturers, too, are a prime target of cyber-thieves. Consider: Earlier this year, aerospace parts manufacturer FACC AG was hacked, enabling cybercriminals to make off with $55 million in company funds. Last year, a high voltage power supply manufacturer on Long Island was hacked by a former disgruntled employee. The former IT staffer hacked into computers at his old job, deliberately creating mistakes in work order costs and purging a purchase order table, which prevented the company from converting purchase requisitions to purchase orders, according to the FBI. "Select any economic sector at random, and the chances are high that you'll find something in the media about a cyber-security incident or problem," says Aleks Gostev, chief security expert, Kaspersky Lab, a security software maker. Essentially, cyber-security experts say pallet manufacturers need to ask questions like: • Do I have an IT person on staff who could later become and disgruntled employee and wreak havoc on my computer network? • Do I have trade secrets in my computer database that a competitor who love to get a hold of? • Do I have employees working at computers who could inadvertently click on a malicious link in an email, leading to the infiltration of my computer network, and a possible theft of company funds or other losses? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, you need to get up-to-speed on the current vulnerability of your computer network – and neutralize it before you pop-up on hacker radar as a sitting duck, according to cyber-security experts. Specifically, high on the list of hacks pallet manufacturers need to watch out for in 2016 will be a spike in ransomware showing up on Apple computers – which previously had been bypassed by hackers in favor of more prevalent Windows machines, according to Kaspersky. Generally, ransomware enters a company via a malicious link embedded in an email. Once inside your network firewall, it encrypts all your files – making that data unusable – and demands Cyber-Security Outlook 2016: Pallet Industry Still Chasing the Ever-Nimble Hacker Guest Editorial by Joe Dysart BUSINESS Smartphone apps like Viper can unlock a vehicle, disarm its security system, and more from virtually anywhere. P 28 PalletCentral • March-April 2016 palletcentral.com

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