When interviewing candidates for a position on the Systems Engineering Advisory Services team, I almost always ask, "What is the right way to assess and manage cybersecurity risk?" Even the most seasoned cybersecurity professionals will pause to think about the best way to answer. The truth is, there is no 'right way.' 

In 2020, many organizations pivoted their business models due to the pandemic. If you're one of these companies, you may have developed new processes and procedures that allowed you to safely continue operations and maintain high customer service levels. Now that the dust has begun to settle, it is an excellent opportunity to evaluate or reevaluate any new cybersecurity risks that could have been created by these changes. In this article, we offer practical guidance on how to classify and measure your cybersecurity risks for effective cybersecurity risk management.

How much are the costs of a ransomware attack? Industry experts have estimated that in 2019 alone, the cost could have exceeded $7.5 billion. This has significantly increased from 2017 when Cybercriminals extorted $5 billion from businesses. Ransomware attacks are bad for business and growing in prevalence every year. In 2020, ransomware attacks have increased on law firms, hospitals, universities, city municipalities, and school networks. In September, a hospital in Germany suffered a ransomware attack that ultimately caused someone's death.

In light of the uptick in breaches at small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), I wanted to briefly review the cyberthreat landscape and offer some cybersecurity best practices organizations can implement to better position their businesses against the bad guys.

Has your company decided to transition a portion or all your employees to work-from-home long-term? What may have started as a temporary means to an end is working well, and you have decided to embrace this new way of doing business. What you need now is to ensure your remote employees can continue to get their work done as productively and securely as possible.

As we begin the third quarter of 2020, cybercriminals are continuing to adapt and increase their COVID-19 related attacks. Small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) are being targeted through a variety of malicious tactics. According to FBI Deputy Assistant Director, Tonya Ugoretz, the number of cybercrime reports has quadrupled in the months since the pandemic began. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was previously fielding 1,000 complaints a day. They are now receiving between 3,000-4,000, with the majority of complaints related to COVID-19 (Source: The Hill.)

Every morning we log on to our corporate email and begin the day sifting through a myriad of messages, most of which are equally important and needing action. Likely, you haven't even finished your first cup of coffee and not focused on the cybercriminal who is hoping you will react to their highly sophisticated phishing email waiting in your Inbox. So how do you recognize and react to the myriad of fake emails coming at you multiple times a day? 

Many companies have made the unprecedented decision to close their doors or keep essential staff in-house temporarily. Others have instructed the entire organization to work from home (WFH) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, an entirely new set of pressures is pulling for your attention: 

The cybercriminals have small businesses in their crosshairs. Verizon's Data Breach Investigative Reports states phishing is the number one cause of data breaches and 43% of cyberattacks are targeted at small to medium-sized businesses (SMB.) The frequency of attacks is on the rise and in today's COVID-19 environment, cybercriminals see this as an advantage and are taking the opportunity to attack.

Every year, Cyber Monday brings us incredible deals and discounts; however, it's also the time of year when cybercriminals increase their efforts to steal our money and confidential information. To stay safe while shopping online, keep the following cybersafety tips in mind.