Roadblocks to Cyber Risk Management
Today, it's clear most businesses are victims of cybercrime.
There are numbers in the area of 70% of businesses that reported an incident. During surveys of Information Professionals, someone in management told 40% of those surveyed not to report incidents. Reputations are at stake. Too many American's private information is available for bad actors to leverage. The Government is enacting laws that result in fines for companies not reporting cybercrime. So, why are so many businesses easy targets?
Bad actors are well organized, and word spreads quickly that Public sector organizations lack adequate budgets or expertise to protect themselves. Most companies use the same IT infrastructure setup the same way, so one successful attack leads to many more.
Plenty of companies have risks in check, and let's run down the legitimate reasons for companies at high risk.
Yes, expertise is in short supply, and prices rise as competition for business-savvy cyber experts grows.
Budgeting issues for technology in industries such as the Public sector, non-profit, and education make for easy targets.
Historically, slow adopters of technology, such as Medical facilities, make them easy targets.
IT companies have remote access to many targets, making them a goldmine for attackers.
Finance is known to pay large sums to recover data and stay a prized target.
Small companies do not believe they are targets and generally do nothing until the attack materializes.
A common thread I noticed over many years is that companies shortly after the attack have open wallets while those suspecting compromise are all ears. Those not experiencing data loss will tell you, "No thanks, we are okay; we don't need any help with cyber security." We only call them because we already know from the outside they are low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals.
The cyber security industry tracks all attacks and does a great job with forensics and documenting how attacks occur. Now, to prevent and respond quickly exposes roadblocks.
We have used AI in Cyber Defense for years, and it allows us to scale in a few ways. Monitoring networks, sorting through millions of alerts, and acting to isolate infected areas work well with the help of AI.
Identifying risks mapped to industry-documented attack methods is becoming more accessible and faster.
People are still the easiest to target, so awareness and training are essential.
To gain access to login credentials, you have to trick someone into clicking a link. Removing phishing as the most significant attack vector does wonders for your security posture.
Today, we deploy hardware keys that produce one-time use passcodes.
The person sitting at the device with a passcode is not a phishing target.
The bottom line is small companies can dramatically reduce cyber risk with little expense. Moving their networks under the umbrella of a top-notch AI-assisted monitoring system also moves the needle further into the safe zone.
Deciding to move the needle is a proper business decision.
Call us to get the roadmap to manage cyber risk. 713-917-7777