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Better information-sharing networks will keep hackers at bay, says threat intelligence specialist Soltra

Fear of spilling corporate secrets to rivals play into hands of online saboteurs, says firm’s chief executive.

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Hacking attacks are on the rise globally and are getting cheaper to launch. The best companies can hope for is to unite to minimise rather than eradicate the threat, experts say. Photo: Reuters

The last two years have seen a series of high-profile cyber attacks on a global level, with victims including Apple, J.P. Morgan and the US government.

To combat the rise in hacking, the latest weapons of choice are not just stronger firewalls, but also improved ways of sharing information.

The finance industry has already established a network to share details on hacking cases so that companies can understand the hackers’ strategies in advance and take actions to thwart them.

Soltra, a US company that specialises in so-called threat intelligence, has come up with a network it likens to the highly placed rows of fire beacons used in medieval times to warn of invaders. The network collects and shares information on hacking attacks among its subscribers.

“Information security should no longer be comprised of disparate, disconnected silos,” said Mark Clancy, Soltra’s chief executive.

One piece of malware can be used to infiltrate hundreds of companies. Firms used to deal with each attack independently, Clancy said, but working together could greatly limit the impact of the malware and potentially make it redundant after a single attack.

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