At this point, many in business are fully aware of the target on their backs. This target placed on backs of businesses—sometimes targeting CEOs, CFOs, and other key roles in organizations, or even targeting entire business networks—from cybercriminals looking to use and exploit sensitive information on your network for financial gain.
The issue with many business networks is they continue to rely on legacy infrastructure, are inadequately staffed for their IT security—either internally or outsourced—and are consumed with too many insider threats from unsuspecting users, all making a difficult security threat landscape even more threatening.
Some of the biggest threats to business security lie within your infrastructure itself. This includes devices on your network that either have outdated operating systems and platforms, all of which can easily compromise your ENTIRE network (and ALL of your data).
Threats to your business continuity
But scarier than just the attack is the threat of an attack completely shutting down your business. That means clients not getting ANY services. Your billing department not getting ANY invoices paid. Your operations team not getting ANYthing done.
If you don’t think a cyberattack can shutter your business, realize that 60% of organizations that have survived ransomware attacks in the last 3 years closed within a year of the attack. That’s not mentioning all of the additional costs that you may be obligated to invest in before going out of business. For a refresher on these and what to think about when considering cyber insurance, consider our recent discussion.
What most businesses fail to come to terms with is that cybercrime can and very likely will put them out of business. The upfront investment in preventative maintenance, business continuity plans and cybersecurity prevention training for your staff may be the difference between closing in a year and being resistant in an ever changing cyber landscape.
And one of my biggest concerns? The potential attacks targeting basic network infrastructure are doubling year by year. Cybercriminals are doubling down on the easy stuff. If you’re a low hanging fruit, you’re their prime target for ransomware attacks—some of which can take months to remediate—and cost organizations big bills—in the MILLIONS of dollars (if you’re not careful!).
Security risks go beyond simply a data breach
In business—but especially healthcare—when a hacker gets into your patient records, it’s more than just some credit card numbers or financial identity theft. You are the protector of information that might mean life or death.
If your records get compromised in a ransom attack—the breach itself might not matter as much as doctors working round the clock trying to get every last bit of information on your patient’s medical records to figure out how to treat life threatening conditions.
If your records are encrypted and being ransomed, will they get the treatment needed to survive?
You might say, “that’s what our electronic medical record (EMR) software is for”, but did you know most EMR systems DO NOT ensure your data is secure and some do not even back up your data or allow you to recover from it?
Even if you’re not directly in healthcare, downtime can be the life or death to your livelihood. Clients have options and if you cannot deliver, rest assured they are likely looking at alternatives.
What can be done given the severity of the cyber threat landscape of a network breach or cyberattack?
Some very prominent cybersecurity experts have laid out viewpoints that organizations should act as if they are going to be compromised. Focus their efforts on detection and response for when an attack inevitably happens.
But the problem with this is it’s completely reactive. While I would fully agree that preparing for the unexpected (including cyberattacks, natural disasters and other types of business disasters) should be done through backup recovery and business continuity planning, your organization critically needs preventative steps to avoid becoming a cyber victim.
Note: if you have concerns about your business’ continuity plan, ask us for a free network security planning session.
But detection and response to security breaches and attacks is only half the equation
Understand your vulnerabilities: One thing that many organizations have a hard time with is understanding where their vulnerabilities lie and prioritizing their security issues. Many think that physical security measures like cameras and badges are some of the most impactful investments in keeping bad guys out of their sensitive data. Some potential clients even go as far as testing their staff to see if they’d let scammers physically into their buildings.
While none of this work is bad or meaningless, I like to ask folks where their biggest threats lie. Is it really in scammers and hackers walking through their doors prying into physical files or cracking into computers on site? While these are very tangible concerns, some of the biggest risks or out of sight and out of mind lingering on your network.
You see, hackers are not the type of people that would ever want to expose their identity to a camera onsite. And most likely they’re not the type that would exert energy into breaking into a locked room. Rather, they’re on the hunt for easy vulnerabilities lingering on your network—unpatched computers and network vulnerabilities—anything at all that would get them in the door. These hackers are craftily exploiting your computer systems for big payloads—not thinking about cracking your physical safe.
We recommend evaluating (at least annually) your network security. Determine what is at most risk of being attacked or being compromised by a disaster. If you’re unsure, ask us about a FREE network security assessment.
Be inclusive in security: Part of what your organization needs to do is to integrate security as part of your culture. Make identifying and responding to phishing attacks as rewarding. Learn from your mistakes when security issues pop up. By creating a culture where awareness is critical to progress, your team will become more empowered to help out in keeping your business data and network safe from attacks.
Not sure about training? Ask us how to effectively keep all of your team engaged in protecting your network.
The bottom line: you cannot be too careful. Detecting problems takes both proactive and reactive security measures. Identify and mitigate threats before they become disasters, but understand how to mitigate threats to your business continuity when threats become attacks.
Are you prepared in the current threat landscape? Contact us TODAY for a free ransomware vulnerability assessment.
