Ransomware

January 31, 2018 - According to many recent surveys, ransomware is expected to be a (if not THE) leading cyber threat of 2018. Some report that 63% of businesses have experienced attempted ransomware attacks. Everything is vulnerable to these attacks; even our cars and home appliances can be at risk. The newest predictions say that ransomware will hit the cloud this year. Given all of this, it's time to learn all we can about this threat and how we might protect ourselves. Read on...

Ransomware is a type of malware that has become a significant threat to U.S. businesses and individuals during the past two years. (Item #1)   Ransomware was a significant threat in 2017 and is likely to become an even greater threat in 2018. (Item #2)   Did you know what ransomware can do besides encrypting your data? (Item #3)

The smartification of everything and the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) into our culture means that everyone and everything will be a target of ransomware around the clock. (Item #4)   Ransomware targeting cloud services is one of the six biggest cyber threats likely to face organizations in 2018, according to an MIT study. (Item #5)   While you might have escaped a major ransomware attack up to this point, statistics indicate it's not a matter of if you'll be attacked, but a matter of when. (Item #6)


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Risk Management & Business Continuity

January 24, 2018 - This quote by Teddy Roosevelt is indicative of his understanding of the benefits and dangers of risk.

"Risk is like fire: If controlled it will help you; if uncontrolled it will rise up and destroy you."

He was himself a risk taker, but he knew the importance of controlling risk. This week we are looking at assessing/managing risk – whether it benefits us, how it benefits us, and what are the best approaches. What are your thoughts?

Here’s how to survive and benefit from the risk assessment process. (Item #1)   This article looks at the importance of a strategic approach to risk management. (Item #2)   Does a Risk Assessment really provide any assistance in developing the ability to respond? (Item #3)

The author proposes a new approach to the standard risk equation. (Item #4)   We hear about IT systems going down but how much do we think about whether incidents could have been prevented by taking adequate risk mitigation measures? (Item #5)   Nonprofits have a duty to apply risk management principles—a look at when organizations should adopt a risk management program and how they can begin. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity and the Cloud

January 17, 2018 - Have you migrated to the cloud or are you thinking of doing so? There are lots of legitimate concerns about such a move, but there are also lots of ways to make the migration easier and safer. You should have a good business continuity plan that addresses some of your concerns (like what do you do if your cloud provider goes belly up?) so you can act if problems arise. You may find some helpful information in this week's articles.

Sometimes the decision to migrate to the cloud is put off due to fears that the process will be difficult; in this article are some tips to help smooth the migration path. (Item #1)  You must have resiliency-in-layers, meaning a secondary (or more), geographically and meteorologically diverse, off-premise recovery data centers. (Item #2)  The jury is still out on whether using cloud-based services increases or decreases the likelihood of business interruptions. (Item #3)

Business continuity may be taking on a new flavor as the cloud gains prominence. (Item #4)  Here's what you can do to mitigate the risks of vendor lock-in. (Item #5)  To the best of anyone's knowledge, no one has been killed or injured migrating to the cloud, but there are real fears; they can be overcome. (Item #6)


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What is Crisis Management? Really?

January 10, 2018 - There are so many terms that are used (and misused) for crisis management... among them disaster recovery, incident management, and business continuity. They are all unique, yet all interrelated. These articles attempt to clarify exactly what crisis management is as compared to the other terms and to provide some guidance on preparing your organization for managing a crisis.

Let's set the record straight once and for all as to what crisis management is versus disaster recovery versus business continuity. (Item #1)   This guide will help you to identify potential risks, make preparations for emergencies and test how your business is likely to cope with a disaster. (Item #2)   Making sure our organizations understand the differences between an Incident and a Crisis, and who is responsible for managing our response to them, is critical to meeting the goals of every Business Continuity Management program. (Item #3)

Here are seven critical steps to crisis management that every company should have in place regardless of its size. (Item #4)   If you don't want to end up on a list of worst PR nightmares or risk losing business over a crisis that can easily be averted, here are 13 golden rules of PR crisis management any company should stick to. (Item #5)   Here are 10 steps that can help you prepare for social media crisis management. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity Trends & Challenges in 2018

January 3, 2018 - Many experts (IT, Cybersecurity, etc.) have been making their predictions for what business continuity challenges we will face in 2018. This week, we bring some of these predictions to you... will they change the way you're handling business continuity today? Take a look and see if there are some things you need to change for 2018.

Cyberattacks will continue to expand in scope and volume, affecting critical activities such as supply chains and infrastructure. (Item #1)  Fortinet anticipates this trend in cybersecurity attacks to accelerate into 2018, enabling the destructive trends mentioned in this article. (Item #2)  Here are the "Treacherous 12," the top security threats organizations face when using cloud services. (Item #3)

Next year's trends will continue to build upon the trends we've already been seeing over the last few years. (Item #4)  The scope of terrorism risk insurance has been broadened to address expanded physical and cybersecurity attacks. (Item #5)  Here are 10 trends that have the potential to significantly alter the risk landscape for companies around the world and change how they respond to and manage risk. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.