Cyber Security Risks

Posted by mctracy On August 31, 2022

Some cyber security methods increase risk instead of discouraging cybercrime. Here are some risky cyber security methods and how to avoid them.

“Since the pandemic the cyber world has become a far riskier place. According to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022, almost half (48%) of organizations across the U.S. and Europe experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months. Even more alarming is that these attacks are happening despite businesses doubling down on their cybersecurity spend.” (CSO).

Cyber risk is evolving constantly, so assessments of risk must also evolve.

“More specifically, the many components of cyberrisk must be understood and prioritized for enterprise cybersecurity efforts. While this approach to cybersecurity is complex, best practices for achieving it are emerging.” (McKinsey).

There is a cyber risk based approach to achieving this.

“The risk-based approach does two critical things at once. First, it designates risk reduction as the primary goal. This enables the organization to prioritize investment—including in implementation-related problem solving—based squarely on a cyber program’s effectiveness in reducing risk. Second, the program distills top management’s risk-reduction targets into precise, pragmatic implementation programs with clear alignment from the board to the front line. Following the risk-based approach, a company will no longer “build the control everywhere”; rather, the focus will be on building the appropriate controls for the worst vulnerabilities, to defeat the most significant threats—those that target the business’s most critical areas.” (McKinsey).

Risk increases as companies expand to work with other industries and organizations.

“Organizations are opening their infrastructure and resources to an extended body of manufacturers, supply-chain suppliers, and partners to share information and make trade barriers less obtrusive. Such changes are posing cyber risks for organizations because it is challenging to manage, secure, and regulate an entire ecosystem that is beyond the control of the enterprise. Cyberattacks in the supply chain jumped 51% last year according to an NCC Group study.” (CSO).

The increase in technology use in our everyday lives also increases risk.

“The emergence of technologies like internet of things, multi-cloud, 5G, and edge computing will create tens of billions of hackable devices and numerous entry points that attackers can exploit. Artificial intelligence will be subject to manipulation which can even institutionalize bias and make unfair or even unsafe judgments. The more connectivity the world has, the more widespread is the potential for disruption.” (CSO).

One must research cyber risk management intensively to find the best fit for their company with the most protection and benefits.

“A risk-based cyber program must be fully embedded in the enterprise-risk-management framework. The framework should not be used as a general guideline, but rather as the organizing principle. In other words, the risks the enterprise faces in the digital domain should be analyzed and categorized into a cyberrisk framework. This approach demystifies cyberrisk management and roots it in the language, structure, and expectations of enterprise-risk management. Once cyberrisk is understood more clearly as business risk that happens in the digital domain, the organization will be rightly oriented to begin implementing the risk-based approach.” (McKinsey).

Have any questions about cyber-security? Responsive Technology Partners is the leading cyber-security expert in the Athens, Metter, Milledgeville, Vidalia, and Atlanta, Georgia areas. We also have locations in Tampa, Florida, Roanoke, Virginia, and Raleigh South Carolina. Service offerings include I.T. support, cyber-security and compliance, telephony, cloud services, cabling, access control, and camera systems. Our company’s mission is to provide world-class customer service through industry leading I.T. solutions that make every customer feel as if they are our only customer. Please visit our website to learn more: https://www.responsivetechnologypartners.com/.