Introduction

Examining real-world security breaches provides valuable insights for Cambodian organizations. This post analyzes notable incidents.

Case Study 1: Banking Sector Breach

Incident: Unauthorized fund transfers from multiple accounts
Cause: Compromised employee credentials + weak transaction verification
Impact: $2.3 million losses, reputational damage
Lessons:

  • Need for privileged access management
  • Multi-layer transaction verification
  • Employee security training

Case Study 2: Government Data Leak

Incident: Exposure of citizen personal data
Cause: Misconfigured cloud storage
Impact: 500,000 records exposed
Lessons:

  • Cloud security configuration reviews
  • Data classification requirements
  • Incident response planning

Case Study 3: Manufacturing Company Ransomware

Incident: Production systems encrypted
Cause: Phishing email + unpatched vulnerabilities
Impact: 3 days downtime, $1.8 million losses
Lessons:

  • Patch management programs
  • Email filtering solutions
  • Backup and recovery testing

Common Themes

  1. Human factors as primary vulnerability
  2. Lack of defense-in-depth strategies
  3. Inadequate incident response capabilities

Protective Measures

  1. Prevention

    • Security awareness training
    • Vulnerability management
    • Access controls

  2. Detection

    • Monitoring solutions
    • Anomaly detection
    • Threat intelligence

  3. Response

    • Incident response plans
    • Forensic capabilities
    • Communication protocols

Conclusion

Learning from past breaches helps organizations strengthen defenses against evolving threats in Cambodia’s digital landscape.