Back in the 90’s we (as in security teams) were having discussions on the very scary possibility that an attacker could capture the contents on your monitor or screen from outside a building. This scare was mainly driven from companies concerned about their competitors gleaning information from their businesses.
My take on those concerns in the 90’s was if they’re actually spending enough money to pack a surveillance team outside of your house or company, they’re really making an effort. What we were faced with in the 90’s—the days of Mission Impossible and Tom Cruise—was entirely different than today. Different fears and what if’s. Most of them were probably not substantiated with any clear and present danger. Those Mission Impossible risks and attacks were (at least in retrospect) not well-founded.
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Just as everything has changed since the mid-nineties when the internet started, so too have phishing attacks. I’m sure you remember getting those Nigerian Prince scams or a widow asking you for help a while back? Well, those scams simply seeking money are not by any means the same as they are today (and to become in 2019).
You see, as people started expecting more from the internet, so too have the attacks gotten more sophisticated and deceptive. They are more creative and have become especially difficult to recognize.
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Countless businesses large and small have been involved in data breaches over the past year. From Delta to Best Buy, a huge number of big names have made headlines—the majority of these breaches stemming from third-party vendors not doing their security due diligence.
Across industries from healthcare to distribution to manufacturing, companies have started to worry about the devastating effects of cyberattacks and data breaches.
Not only will you have to pay hefty fines or face consequences to whoever is regulating your industry, but you’ll have to answer to clients and deal with eroded trust. The fact is that more than three-quarters of business go out of business within a year of a cyber event.
Be Wary Of Your Business Partnerships!
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From experience I can say that the most destructive disasters come when you aren’t expecting. Before we were able to understand weather patterns, big storms or hurricanes took us by surprise. With little preparation, no one was able to evacuate, protect their homes, or mitigate effects. In many cases, some of the worst natural disasters occurred because we either did not think anything could ever happen that bad or we simply had not taken precautions to confront such possibilities.
While cybersecurity by no means requires the same steps of preparation like a hurricane, cyberattacks can wreak equal if not greater impacts on our businesses if we’re not careful. And like many natural disasters, many of us aren’t prepared or even thinking about preparedness until it’s too late—until the last loaf of bread or gallon of milk is getting fought over in the barren store during the blizzard.
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Remember that old proverb “teach a man to fish”? Well, we had been thinking phishing went the same way for many cybercriminals. Once they learned how to effectively phish users, they’d be set for a good pay day that might provide enough phished users to be set for life.
My thoughts on this have changed…
A new slew of email attacks don’t even depend on you clicking a link! What cybersecurity experts are finding is that email archives is a new and effective way for a criminal to get into your inbox without you even doing anything at all.
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Looking at the numbers, most businesses aren’t prepared and may not be anytime soon. In fact, nearly a third of organizations don’t even have a comprehensive security plan put together in the event of a data breach or cyberattack.
Think about that for a minute. One in three organizations doesn’t even have a solid plan of how to deal with an attack and have no infrastructure in place to protect themselves from a cyberattack.
Of the rest, only 9 percent are fully prepared. What does fully prepared mean?
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