Winning the Cybersecurity Fight – Why Knowing the Rules is Essential

Posted on 07/06/202315/05/2023 by admin

The saying “You cannot win a fight if you do not know the rules” applies to many aspects of life, including cybersecurity.

In today’s digital world, we are constantly under threat from cybercriminals who seek to steal our sensitive information, disrupt our systems, and cause chaos.

To protect ourselves and our organizations, we must understand the rules of the game.

Cybersecurity is a complex field that involves various technologies, policies, and practices.

It is not enough to simply install antivirus software or use strong passwords.

To truly protect ourselves, we must understand the nature of the threats we face and the strategies that cybercriminals use to exploit our vulnerabilities.

This means staying up-to-date with the latest security trends and best practices, regularly reviewing and updating our security policies, and investing in ongoing cybersecurity training for ourselves and our staff.

It also means understanding the regulatory landscape and compliance requirements that apply to our organizations, such as the Australian Privacy Principles and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

Ultimately, the key to winning the cybersecurity fight is knowledge.

By staying informed and understanding the rules of the game, we can take proactive steps to protect ourselves and our organizations from cyber threats.

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The Four Challenges Often Overlooked in Securing Organizations

Posted on 21/05/202315/05/2023 by admin

Organizations are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, and often, the challenges involved in securing them are not addressed correctly.

By neglecting these four crucial challenges, organizations may inadvertently expose themselves to threats, despite believing they are well protected.

Challenge 1 – Technical:

Technical challenges involve keeping up with the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

With new malware, viruses, and attack vectors emerging regularly, organizations must continually update their security software and infrastructure.

Additionally, the increasing complexity of networks and the widespread adoption of cloud services further complicate the task of implementing robust security measures.

To counter these challenges, organizations must invest in advanced threat detection systems, proactive network monitoring, and rigorous vulnerability testing.

Challenge 2 – Political:

The political challenge refers to the complexities that arise from the interplay of internal and external stakeholders.

Organizations must navigate the competing interests of executives, shareholders, regulators, and customers when implementing cybersecurity measures.

Striking a balance between security, privacy, and business objectives can be difficult, especially when adhering to industry-specific regulations and privacy laws.

To mitigate this challenge, organizations must foster a culture of collaboration and transparency, ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned in their cybersecurity goals.

Challenge 3 – Skills and Capabilities:

The global shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals presents a significant challenge for organizations seeking to bolster their security posture.

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, the need for highly trained experts is paramount.

This skills gap, coupled with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, makes it challenging for organizations to maintain a strong security stance.

To address this challenge, organizations must invest in employee training, professional development, and talent acquisition strategies that prioritize security expertise.

Challenge 4 – Clearance and Need-to-Know:

A robust security strategy must consider the balance between granting employees access to sensitive information and maintaining strict access controls.

The principle of ‘need-to-know’ dictates that employees should only have access to information essential for their role. However, enforcing this principle can be challenging, as it requires organizations to assess and classify data accurately, and regularly review access privileges.

To tackle this challenge, organizations must implement strict access control policies, conduct regular audits, and embrace a culture of security awareness throughout the workforce.

Securing organizations is a complex endeavour that goes beyond merely deploying security software.

By addressing the technical, political, skills and capabilities, and clearance challenges, organizations can significantly strengthen their cybersecurity posture and reduce the likelihood of successful cyber attacks.

The only action is inaction and why companies get hacked

Posted on 30/04/202315/05/2023 by admin

Cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly common and severe, and the cost of these attacks can be devastating for businesses.

Despite this, many organizations seem to be slow to take action and invest in cybersecurity measures.

This inaction can be attributed to a variety of factors, including a lack of understanding of the risks, limited resources, and competing priorities.

One of the primary reasons for inaction when it comes to cybersecurity is a lack of understanding of the risks involved.

Many boards and C-suite executives may not be fully aware of the potential consequences of a cyberattack or the extent of the vulnerabilities within their organization.

Cybersecurity threats can be complex and constantly evolving, making it difficult for non-technical executives to keep up.

Another factor that contributes to inaction is limited resources.

Many organizations, especially smaller ones, may struggle to allocate the necessary budget and personnel to adequately address cybersecurity concerns.

This is especially true in industries where profit margins are thin, and there is intense pressure to prioritize cost-cutting measures over investing in cybersecurity.

Competing priorities can also be a factor in inaction on cybersecurity. Boards and C-suite executives are often responsible for overseeing multiple departments and initiatives, and it can be challenging to balance all of these competing demands.

Cybersecurity may be viewed as just one of many areas that require attention, and it may not always receive the level of priority it deserves.

In addition, some organizations may feel that they are not a likely target for cyberattacks, or that their current security measures are sufficient.

This complacency can be dangerous, as cybercriminals are constantly looking for new vulnerabilities to exploit. It is essential to remain vigilant and proactive in addressing cybersecurity risks.

In conclusion, inaction on cybersecurity by boards and C-suite executives can be attributed to a variety of factors, including a lack of understanding of the risks, limited resources, competing priorities, and complacency.

It is important for organizations to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity and ensure that it is given the attention and resources it deserves to protect against cyber threats.

In light of Latitudes latest breach – Cybersecurity: When Enough is Never Enough

Posted on 23/04/202304/04/2023 by admin

In an increasingly interconnected world, digital security has become paramount.

The rapid pace of technological advancement and the ever-evolving nature of cyber threats make it challenging to stay ahead of the curve.

Despite our best efforts to safeguard our digital assets and information, the reality is that we can never fully eliminate the risks.

The main challenge in addressing cybersecurity lies in the fact that threats are constantly evolving.

Cybercriminals are continually honing their skills and devising new methods to bypass security measures.

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) has opened up new avenues for cybercriminals to exploit.

As our reliance on technology grows, so too does the number of potential vulnerabilities in our systems.

The human factor also plays a critical role in the cybersecurity equation.

People are often the weakest link in the security chain, with many breaches resulting from human error or negligence.

This underlines the importance of continuous training and education in cybersecurity best practices, as even the most sophisticated defenses can be rendered useless by simple human mistakes.

Given these challenges, what can organizations and individuals do to improve their cybersecurity posture?

While achieving complete immunity from cyber threats may be impossible, there are several steps we can take to minimize our risk:

✅ Adopt a multi-layered security approach: Implement a variety of security measures to protect digital assets, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, encryption, and strong password policies.

✅ Emphasize ongoing education and training: Ensure employees are well-versed in cybersecurity best practices to prevent human errors that lead to breaches.

✅ Foster a culture of cybersecurity: Encourage employees to take ownership of their digital security and instil a sense of shared responsibility for protecting the organization's data and systems.

✅ Continuously monitor and update security measures: Regularly assess security posture and update measures accordingly to address new and emerging threats.

✅ Collaborate and share information: Work together with other organizations, governments, and cybersecurity experts to identify and respond to threats more effectively.

While it may be impossible to eliminate all cybersecurity risks, recognizing that enough is never enough can drive us to be ever more vigilant in our efforts to protect our digital assets.

By adopting a proactive, multifaceted approach to cybersecurity, we can minimize our risk and stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Protecting Your Non-Profit or Association from Cyber Attacks: Why It Matters

Posted on 12/04/202304/04/2023 by admin

As a non-profit or association, your focus is on serving your cause and making a positive impact on society.

However, the threat of a cyber attack can undermine all the hard work you’ve put in.

Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting non-profits and associations, recognizing them as easy targets with valuable data and resources to steal.

A successful attack can compromise sensitive information, disrupt operations, and cause damage to the organization’s reputation.

It’s crucial for non-profits and associations to take steps to protect their data and intellectual property from cyber threats.

By implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity plan, you can reduce the risk of a successful attack and keep your organization running smoothly.

This includes assessing your current security posture, developing a cybersecurity policy, implementing technical controls, and training employees to detect and respond to cyber threats.

Are you ready to protect your non-profit or association from cyber attacks?

Get the comprehensive guide on securing your organization’s data and intellectual property by downloading the eBook now.

This valuable resource covers everything you need to know, including a step-by-step plan for developing a cybersecurity strategy and incident response procedures.

Why non-profits need to invest in cybersecurity

Posted on 10/02/202324/01/2023 by admin

Cybersecurity is an increasingly important concern for all organizations, including non-profits.

In the digital age, non-profits rely heavily on technology to carry out their mission and serve their constituents, making them vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Here are seven advantages of prioritizing cybersecurity for non-profits:

⚔️ Protecting sensitive information:

Non-profits often have access to sensitive information such as donor and volunteer data, financial records, and personal information.

⚔️ Complying with regulations:

Many non-profits receive funding from government agencies or foundations that have strict requirements for data security.

⚔️ Maintaining donor and volunteer trust:

A data breach or cyber attack can damage a non-profit’s reputation and undermine the trust of donors and volunteers.

⚔️ Protecting against financial losses:

Cyber attacks can result in financial losses for non-profits, including costs associated with recovering from the attack and repairing damage.

⚔️ Enhancing employee productivity:

Cybersecurity measures can help employees work more efficiently by protecting against cyber threats and minimizing downtime due to cyber attacks.

⚔️ Increasing competitiveness:

In today’s digital age, non-profits that demonstrate a commitment to data security may have a competitive advantage over those that do not.

⚔️ Reducing insurance premiums:

Many insurance companies offer discounts to organizations that have implemented robust cyber security measures.

In conclusion, cybersecurity is an essential consideration for non-profits.

By prioritizing it, non-profits can protect sensitive information, preserve financial resources, maintain trust, enhance their reputation, facilitate collaboration, ensure compliance, and support their mission.

It is important for non-profits to assess their cybersecurity needs and implement appropriate measures to safeguard against potential threats.

No one waits for a car accident before investing in insurance why would cyber insurance be any different

Posted on 28/01/202324/01/2023 by admin

The use of technology has become an integral part of our daily lives.

From the way we communicate with others to the way we conduct business, technology has transformed nearly every aspect of modern society.

As a result, the risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches has also increased significantly.

Unlike car accidents, which are typically one-time events, cyber attacks can have long-term consequences.

They can result in the theft of sensitive personal and financial information, damage to a company’s reputation, and even legal action.

The costs associated with these types of attacks can be substantial.

This is where cyber insurance comes in.

We invest in car insurance to protect ourselves in the event of an accident, cyber insurance can provide protection against the financial consequences of a cyber-attack.

It can help cover the costs of recovering from an attack, such as legal fees, data restoration, and public relations efforts.

There are several reasons why people and businesses should consider investing in cyber insurance.

It provides financial protection in the event of a cyber attack.

It’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk of a cyber-attack, but having insurance can help alleviate some of the financial burdens that comes with dealing with the aftermath.

Another reason to consider cyber insurance is the increasing frequency of cyber attacks. It’s not a matter of if a company will be attacked, but when.

There are potential legal consequences to consider.

A company may be held liable for a data breach if it fails to adequately protect customer data.

Cyber insurance can help cover the costs of legal action and settlements, which can be substantial.

Despite the clear benefits of cyber insurance, many people and businesses still don’t invest in it.

This may be due to a lack of awareness about the risks of cyber-attacks and the potential consequences.

Others may believe that their company is too small to be a target or that they have sufficient in-house security measures in place.

It’s important to remember that cyber attacks can happen to anyone, regardless of size or industry.

Small businesses and non-profits are often targeted because they may have fewer resources to devote to cybersecurity.

Cyber insurance can provide an extra layer of protection against the unexpected.

No one waits for a car accident before investing in insurance, it’s important not to wait for a cyber attack before considering cyber insurance.

The risks of a cyber attack are real and the consequences can be severe.

Don’t wait until it’s too late – consider cyber insurance for your business today.

Where to start your Business Security / Cybersecurity Journey

Posted on 23/12/202201/12/2022 by Roger Smith

Start

Time

3-hour program

What is done

Audit on assets and risk management.

What you get

Report on where your organisation is in relation to business security
Roadmap to implement basic changes to your business organisation
A number of process, procedure and policy templates
A number of Plans templates

Tools we use

Care-app diagnostic tool
Questionnaire similar to basic SWOT
Proprietary diagnostic tools
Open-source intelligence gathering tools

What do you need to do

Implement changes
Discuss with management
Implement proactive responses to cybersecurity

Thinking you are immune to a cyber event is a regular occurrence for SME’s

Posted on 02/12/201902/12/2019 by Roger Smith

Even if you think you are immune to a cyber attack these ideas are critical to restricting the impact.

I want to talk about some of the problems we have encountered when being called into a cyber event situation for a new client.

Have you looked at all of our business risks?

Risk is the biggest invisible issue in today’s business world.

Most Organisation does not know how to evaluate the risks that their digital component brings to the Organisation because they cannot visualize the risk.

Only by looking at the digital risks will it become apparent that more is needed to be done.

Get some good legal advice!

We regularly come across businesses that do not know what their legal obligations are when it comes to protecting data that they are the custodian of.

If your Organisation collects information about a person or a business you are now the custodian of that data. The legal implication of being the custodian need to be understood before you make the decisions concerning the information or type of information collected.

Always err on the side of less. If you cannot justify it do not collect it.

Check your response plan!

When it comes to SME’s, they think they are Bulletproof.

It will never happen to us, we are too small, yadda yadda!

Well, NO. A cyber event can happen anytime and to anything digital. When it comes to a true cyber attack you need to have a breach plan.

A plan that tells everyone in your Organisation what you expect them to do, how they will do it, who they report to and the process needed to preserve evidence and get back to business as normal. Without it, chickens missing heads, running, lots of running, come to mind!

Test your systems with a tabletop war game.

This is absolutely essential to any Organisation with more than 5 staff.

Run some hypothetical scenarios. Think of a problem and make sure that everyone knows what to do if it ever occurred. Especially test disaster recovery, business continuity and breach plans.

After testing the system do both a hot wash up (debrief) and a report.

Implement any discovered failures. Things that could be done better. Things that were done badly.

You do not want a real emergency to be the first test of these plans.

Test some “what if …” plans.

Another alternative is to come up with some unusual issues.

A fire in the building that does not impact your business but your business is in the same location and your staff can no longer get to the office, showroom, shop for a week.

What is the impact? What is your solution?

Tested our backup, we have.

We have a rule. When it comes to backups we have the 3-2-1 rule.

There are 3 copies of all data. The original data plus 2 other copies. Those 2 copies consist of an on-site incremental data copy and an off-site copy. There is always 1 copy of the data stored off-site.

Once again a backup is useless unless it has been tested. A regular restore copy of a couple of files should be documented every month. A full-blown restore of the system should be done every year from both locations.

Who do we have to report to?

When it comes to a breach there also needs to be a reporting structure. Part of your business continuity plan should be a list of people who are allowed to talk to the media, post on social media, talk to vendors or talk internally and to who.

Reputation always impacts needs to be controlled as much as possible in today’s live world. The policies, plans, and tests will ensure that everyone knows what they need to do.

Does anyone know how to preserve evidence?

If you are knee-deep in a cyber event the last thing that anyone is going to think about is the preservation of evidence.

Once again if the breach plan has been tested then you will know what has to be done. If would be cold comfort to know that someone who has ruined you life will not face the consequences because there is no evidence against them.

Preservation of digital evidence can also include the information and machine learning that comes from your System Information and Event Management system (SIEM).

Train everyone, security should be part of everyone’s role in the organisation.

Social engineering is the process of targeting people.

It is used to great effect against everyone in business. Social engineering is a 2 fold process – the bait, the email SPAM, phishing and the bad technology – link, application or attachment.

Combined together they are an effective attack system for the bad guys.

To counteract the social engineering you need to educate everyone. There are free online courses but additional resources can include competitions, posters.

Get a framework and implement it.

One of the best protective strategies any business can implement is a framework. I recommend the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity framework.

By answering the 98 questions, you get an instant base level indication of where your Organisation is in regards to the security maturity.

A framework does a number of things. It gives you a base level, it gives you a score between 0 and 4, it ensures that you do not forget anything and gives you a road map for business security within your Organisation.

As a flow-on effect, it gives you a score that you can compare apples with apples (security maturity with security maturity) against other Organisations. When it comes to data sharing you can make informed decisions on how secure the other Organisation will be in regards to data protection.

You have done a vulnerability assessment

Every device that is connected to a network has the capability of compromising the whole network. The first law of Cybersecurity is “if there is a vulnerability it will be discovered and it will be exploited – no exceptions”.

To ensure that those vulnerabilities are addressed you need to do regular vulnerability scans on the network.

This can be achieved with expensive or free systems. Either type it is important that vulnerability scans are completed and mitigated and vulnerabilities are patched and managed correctly.

Cybersecurity is not easy!

There’s no such thing as set and forget when it comes to protecting your Organisation from a cyber event.

It is a diligent and continuous process that needs to be done correctly to protect the integrity of the data within your custodianship.

Keep it safe, protect it, monitor it and ensure that if something does happen you have a way back to business as normal.