Cybersecurity Threats

 

If you’re not living under a rock, you know that the internet is dominating our world. In a philosophical sense, the internet has completely altered global culture forever. Constant connectivity and the mind-blowing speed at which ideas are disseminated have changed forever the way in which nearly all populations think and communicate.

Unfortunately, the internet can be a dangerous place. Organizations all around the world are suffering through cyberattacks, many unsuccessfully.  Nation and corporate sponsored espionage and “Hacktivism” are on the rise. Defending against today’s cyber threat landscape requires a Proactive Cyber Security strategy with a real-time approach to assessing and managing risks. In this fast evolving environment, the challenge is for private and public sector organizations to manage risks proactively rather than reactively. This calls for making informed, predictive, risk-based decisions rather than implementing controls after a breach has already happened.

Companies are being breached seemingly at-will by hackers, malicious insiders, business competitors and nation-states. Companies and consumers seem to be losing the battle and here are a few of the reasons why:

· 83% of organizations have no formal cyber security plan. (Source: National Cyber Security Alliance)
· 96% of breaches were avoidable through simple or intermediate controls. (Source: US Secret Service)
· Thousands of breaches have occurred over the last 12 months. (Source: US Secret Service)
· 48% of breaches were caused by insiders, which means employees and trusted business partners. (Source: US Secret Service)
· 67% of security professionals are unqualified to do the job. (HP Cyber-security study)

Organizations could find themselves in serious jeopardy if a successful breach occurs, both financially and through brand and reputation damage. Businesses that do not take Pro-Active risk management and security seriously in our globally connected market could suffer severely.

Michael Frost-Founder and President-TelPlus Communications, Inc
Michael Frost-Founder and President-TelPlus Communications, Inc