The promise of increased productivity in the cloud continues to ring true now more than ever. Access to corporate data from anywhere at any time while simultaneously collaborating as a team has kept so many businesses productive and competitive in our remote work environments. The caveat of access from anywhere is that without sufficient cybersecurity and risk management strategies, threat actors can gain access to your sensitive corporate data. We have seen this disastrous process play out in many corporate cyberattacks, such as the recent Colonial Pipeline shutdown, which could have been avoided by implementing one commonly available cybersecurity protection.
Cybersecurity incidents are on the rise and not slowing down. This year, the nation has seen malicious cyberactivity against private sector companies such as SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and most recently, the Colonial Pipeline. Cybercriminals also took advantage of the chaos brought on by the pandemic.
Would it surprise you to know that cybercriminals aggressively target individuals over corporate infrastructures in their attacks? This is because it is easier and ultimately more profitable for hackers to target unsuspecting people. Threat actors target people in a myriad of ways in hopes of stealing credentials or uploading malicious apps into business networks to obtain a solid payday or gain access to sensitive data. According to research done by Proofpoint, a leading cybersecurity and compliance company, more than 99% of the attacks observed required human interaction to succeed.
Within the last decade, small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) have embraced cloud technologies. The promises of agility, productivity, resiliency, and scalability are appealing benefits to any business leader. If you were to look around your business today, you may find the cloud touching almost every aspect of it. While cloud technologies offer significant benefits, they also introduce new security risks. This leaves executives searching for effective cybersecurity tools and solutions to reduce chances of a high-priced, high-profile data breach.
Cybercriminals have small to medium-sized businesses in their crosshairs, and they are using phishing emails to lure them in. The reality is, any organization with sensitive data can be a target for cybercriminals. They have learned to precisely craft their phishing emails to trick spam filters and fool unsuspecting victims into clicking. Once this happens, the cybercriminals have the green light to proceed with their scam. Learn about the types of phishing emails used today and steps your organization can take to reduce the risk of phishing attacks.
Cybercrime is a persistent, complex fight against the unseen. Elusive cybercriminals continually hone their hacking skills to target millions of unsuspecting users and exploit their digital weaknesses. They are usually driven by financial gain, and it is predicted that ransomware attacks against businesses will occur every 11 seconds by the end of this year. This estimate doesn't include individual attacks which occur even more frequently (Cybersecurity Ventures). Employing the right cybersecurity strategies to stay ahead of their endless attacks can sometimes feel like the cybersecurity goalpost is moving every second.
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.'
