When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s one of the rare scenarios where pessimism is crucial. Businesses are being told they should assume the worst when it comes to the possibility of a disruptive, distressing and potentially disastrous cyber breach.
Increasingly sophisticated methods of detection coupled with easier monetisation of stolen data thanks to digital currencies means that the number of cyber breaches increases almost every single day. Yet what businesses spend on cybersecurity may merely be a fraction of what they spend on insurance, for example. With the number of data breaches on track to reach a record high this year, experts say how organisations prepare for the inevitability of cyberattacks and build their cyber resilience should be top of the priority list for 2022.
The good news is that following a spate of high-profile cyber breaches in recent months, awareness is peaking among business leaders regarding the practical, financial and reputational damage a potential cyberattack could wreak. “Cyber risk was cited as the single biggest risk to growth by Irish business leaders in KPMG’s recently published 2021 CEO Outlook survey. That reinforces the clear recognition of the likelihood of cyber breaches for every organisation,” explains Dani Michaux, KPMG’s EMA cyber leader.
“We all know the world has changed, we know the threats are out there, but many Irish businesses big and small still think that if they have a fire-wall, they are safe in the event of a cyber-attack,” says Cormac Reid, Founder and CEO of ROCTEL. “Your business needs to be secure, as the threat landscape has fundamentally changed, and it can no longer be left to the IT department or even the CIO or CSO, to ensure the business defences are rock solid. Like Covid-19, cyber-attacks are invisible to the human eye, but steps can be taken to mitigate and greatly reduce the risk. You can use all the technology you want to protect your business, but proper management of that technology enables you to reap the benefits. Your cyber defence strategy needs to have the same focus for the business as your main business systems do; always remembering that cyber defence is a system.”
“Zero trust needs to be applied across the business with multi and two factor authentication at every application access point for users required as a minimum,” he adds.
Full article here
https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/business-ireland-magazine/prepare-for-the-inevitability-of-cyberattacks-1.4730521
