Protecting Your Business from Identity Theft

July 10, 2019 - Corporate identity theft, which has been with us for years now, remains a huge threat as businesses continue to leave themselves vulnerable to this danger. Despite everything we do to protect our corporate identity, cyber thieves are continually discovering new ways to create havoc. Why should you worry? Identity theft can put your business - and you - at risk in many different ways. Check out this week's articles to learn how to protect your company or organization from identity theft.

As business identity theft increases, what you need to do to make sure that your company is secure? (Item #1)   How do you prevent business identity theft? (Item #2)   Don't let your company become an easy target for crafty cyberthieves; take control now to protect all that you've built today for tomorrow. (Item #3)

Here are some tips from BusinessIDTheft.org on protecting your business from fraud and identity thieves. (Item #4)   Unfortunately, thanks to business identity theft, there are new unexpected risks to you and your business - risks they don't teach you about in business school. (Item #5)   Here are some signs that indicate your business has been hacked, as well as the number one way to help put a stop to all attempts of cybercrime against your company. (Item #6)

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Cloud Computing

June 26, 2019 - Cloud computing is growing by leaps and bounds and will continue to do so through the year and longer. If you haven't jumped on the cloud computing bandwagon yet, there are some benefits as well as risks you should be aware of. This week's articles provide some info on the state of cloud computing, the trends we are seeing, and the dangers lurking out there.

As multicloud strategies, 5G and containerization take hold, cloud computing is set to see some major disruption. (Item #1)   A Forrester study predicts that enterprises must respond nimbly to address changing cloud markets and technologies. (Item #2)   While today, it sometimes seems like we've seen the main components of cloud operations and all that's left to do is optimize them, history tells us that's not the case. (Item #3)

In its second decade, cloud computing has become a mature and reliable technology, but we still have only scratched the surface of the cloud's full potential as an enabler of digital business transformation. (Item #4)   The white paper points out that cloud-based solutions can reap great rewards but also harbor hidden dangers. (Item #5)   Chances are if you are in the events industry you have used AV at your events. There are proactive steps you can take to protect your data in the cloud. (Item #6)


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Cyberattacks

March 20, 2019 - Every year recently seems to be the year of the cyberattack, and 2019 will be no exception. We no sooner figure out how to fend off one cyberattack than a new one is on the horizon. This week's articles focus on what types of attacks you need to look out for, how to strengthen your defenses, and even writing a cyberattack playbook. We think you'll find some helpful information here.

To better prepare one's company and employees for cyberattacks in this article, look to implement cybersecurity processes and strategies that are both layered, automatic and dynamic. (Item #1)   Threat-based cybersecurity is a journey spanning the entire corporate lifecycle and requiring an ongoing commitment to cyber defense. (Item #2)   There are ways to strengthen your systems against hackers, but first, you've got to know your threats. (Item #3)

If 2018 was the year of the ransomware attacks, 2019 will likely be known as the year our over-reliance on technology was tested. (Item #4)   Business owners and web developers must prepare for the worst and take steps securing their web sites from the smartest hackers out there. (Item #5)   The sort of cyber incident playbooks should be written for are the basic attacks including ransomware, DDoS attacks and data loss (this might want to be segregated into the different types of data the organization holds). (Item #6)

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Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October 10, 2018 - This October is the 15th observation of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, an initiative to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity. The theme for 2018 is "Cybersecurity is our shared responsibility and we all must work together to improve our Nation's cybersecurity." These articles focus on the five Cybersecurity Framework Function areas: identify, protect, detect, respond and recover.

The first step in protecting a business from cyber threats is to identify the "crown jewels" of your business – those assets and systems that are critical to your business. (Item #1)   Here is a cybersecurity toolkit created for small and medium-size businesses. (Item #2)   Market pressure to adopt online security will come from these major factors. (Item #3)

To help organizations identify breaches sooner, breach detection platform provider Lastline lists seven tips. (Item #4)   Experts weigh in on the most important considerations when developing a cybersecurity incident response plan. (Item #5)   66 percent of organizations would not recover from a cyberattack if it occurred today. Is your organization prepared? (Item #6)

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Recovering from a Data Breach or other Cyber Attack

September 19, 2018 - Statistically speaking, as you read this, you could become the victim of a data breach or cyber attack. We hope that is not the case. But, given the prevalence of such attacks, you should certainly have a plan of how to deal with one should an attack happen. If you have been hacked, you might want to read Item #6. If not, this week’s other articles could be helpful to you.

This plan for recovering from a data breach will vary from business to business, but it should always contain these four essential steps. (Item #1)   Data security experts answer the question "What's the most important next step you should take following a data breach?" (Item #2)   Once a breach has been discovered, the organization should take these immediate steps to limit the impact of the breach. (Item #3)

Hidden costs of data breaches may include cybersecurity insurance premium increases, lost contract revenue, loss of intellectual property, lost customers, business disruption, devaluation of trade name, and increased cost to raise debt. (Item #4)   This article explores four major points on how to recoup your security procedures so that they're stronger than ever before --- even if you haven't suffered the embarrassment of a breach. (Item #5)   Here are the missteps executives make time and again after a data breach and advice for avoiding these pitfalls. (Item #6)


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Cyber Issues and Business Continuity

August 8, 2018 - According to many experts, it's time to integrate cybersecurity and business continuity. No longer is cybersecurity only the purview of the IT department with the rest of the organization unknowing about how or why it's done. The danger presented by cyber hacking makes it critical that business continuity plans include response to cyber issues. They are a risk to us all, and this week's articles are further proof of that.

Organizations have traditionally treated information security and business continuity management as two separate disciplines. But is the situation changing? (Item #1)  Cyber scenarios have become much more common in business continuity exercises, due to the increasing concern about the impacts of information security threats; here are seven tips for running yours. (Item #2)  It makes sense to integrate cyber security and business continuity so you can respond to attacks and data breaches faster, efficiently, and more effectively. (Item #3)

Cybersecurity is no longer just a technology issue, it's a business one too. (Item #4)  The cybersecurity solution you implement impacts ROI. (Item #5)  The reality is that although the numbers may seem large to the average person, the financial impact of data breaches on large companies is negligible. (Item #6)


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Business Identity Theft

June 6, 2018 - We hope you don't think that your business won't become the victim of identity theft. Because, according to all the experts, business ID theft is becoming more and more common as hackers try to outdo each other. While you can never be completely prepared for an identity theft attack, there are many things you can do to protect your business. Check out these articles for some things to consider.
 
Thanks to business identity theft, there are new unexpected risks to you and your business - risks they don't teach you about in business school. (Item #1)   Just as with individual income tax returns, certain business, partnership, and trust and estate return filers should be aware of these signs that their identity has been stolen. (Item #2)   Here's how to secure your sensitive information --- online and offline. (Item #3)

This article has tips for organizations under FTC jurisdiction to determine whether they need to design an identity theft prevention program. (Item #4)   While social media has created no-cost marketing opportunities, it also has created risks, including identity theft and data breach. Are you paying enough attention to the risks and costs?  (Item #5)   Employees are becoming increasingly more vulnerable to cyber threats, just as your company is as a whole. (Item #6)


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Data Breaches

April 18, 2018 - There's a data breach in your future, whether you believe it or not. As we find more ways to protect our data, hackers find better ways to steal it. The result of these breaches goes beyond the extensive financial cost. Your stock price may drop. Customer trust is eroded. Corporate reputation may be damaged. Recovering from all of these impacts is expensive and time-consuming. Your business continuity plan should include some planning for preventing and responding to these attacks.

The assertion that data breach prevention and preparedness is strictly an information technology security issue could not be further from the truth. (Item #1)   Findings of a recent survey show that there are financial and reputational benefits of having an effective BCM program when a data breach occurs. (Item #2)   58 data records are stolen every second... guess what the average cost is. (and view the IBM data breach calculator) (Item #3)

Here are the missteps executives make time and again after a data breach and advice for avoiding these pitfalls. (Item #4)   The author offers his own recommendations to help companies regain trust in the age of the data breach. (Item #5)   It's always better, if possible, to prevent a data breach than to fix it. (Item #6)


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Social Engineering

February 21, 2018 - Phishing, vishing (uses phone calls) and smishing (uses text messages) plus impersonation are the top four social engineering techniques used in more than half of the hack attacks these days. This week we're looking at what social engineering is, preventing attacks, your best defenses again these attacks and how to educate your employees about social engineering.

Here's what you need to know to protect your organization and your users from social engineers. (Item #1)   Twenty-eight infosec experts discuss how to prevent the most common social engineering attacks. (Item #2)   Cybercrooks use the dangerous weapon of social engineering to get at the weakest link: the user. (Item #3)

How social engineering works (and why you may never know you're a target). (Item #4)   But there are steps you can take to tighten your security against social engineering attacks. (Item #5)   Here's information about educating your staff to prevent them falling for social engineering scams. (Item #6)


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Email Threats

February 14, 2018 - Email will always be with us and so will all the scams, hoaxes and threats that continue to grow each year. This issue focuses on understanding some of these threats and learning to combat them.

Malicious email authors are clever and relentless, and they are constantly developing new, or at least different ways to deceive and attack us. (Item #1)   Emails are here to stay, and companies have another problem besides handling the incoming and outgoing emails: an increasing number have to be stored for long periods of time due to laws & regulations. (Item #2)   There are at least three versions of this business email scheme. (Item #3)

Organizations need high email availability and continuity; you need an email continuity strategy. (Item #4)   Protecting the organization from email-based threats is ultimately a collaboration between all levels of an organization, from the CEO down to the rank-and-file. (Item #5)   Over 90% of all network breaches are caused by, or include a phishing attack; what can you do to protect your organization? (Item #6)


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Cyber Security

February 7, 2018 - Cybersecurity (or cybersecurity, whichever you prefer) is always in the news due to some kind of breach or another. There's no question that the next breach is probably right around the corner. And with the GDPR deadline fast approaching, organizations are more motivated to ramp up their cybersecurity. Everyone is focused on how to protect their systems and their data. This week's articles look at some past issues and some new approaches to the problem.

Companies throughout the world need to understand and ensure compliance with GDPR guidelines if they have any interaction with personal data from EU residents. (Item #1)   Business continuity and disaster recovery planning are every bit as critical to cybersecurity as application and network security. (Item #2)   A review of some of 2017's biggest cybersecurity disasters may give us a taste of what might be in store this year. (Item #3)

Blockchain tech has an inherent connection to cybersecurity. (Item #4)   Our approach to cybersecurity treats users like they are the problem, when they should be part of the solution. (Item #5)   It's time to get smarter about this lesser-known aspect of your cybersecurity program. (Item #6)


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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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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)


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Cyber Security Awareness

October 4, 2017 - October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), an annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. This is especially relevant after the recent hack of Equifax and other large companies. What are you doing to help make your employees more aware of cybersecurity practices? Do you offer regular training? Take a look at these articles, all of which are focused on ways to increase employees’ awareness of and participation in cybersecurity.

With workplace cyber attacks on the rise, industry experts are pressing businesses to train their workers to be more vigilant than ever to protect passwords and sensitive data and to recognize threats. (Item #1)   Security is everyone’s job; we need to deputize people for cybersecurity. (Item #2)   To most immediately increase an employee's ability to recognize attacks, organizations should consider security awareness training solutions to develop cybersecurity skills. (Item #3)

Here are some cyber-security tips for small business from the FCC. (Item #4)   Take a look at what password practices are putting you at risk, what trends are cropping up today, and how you can keep your accounts and data safe. (Item #5)   Here's some expert advice on how to make cybersecurity training more effective and protect your business. (Item #6)


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Recovering from a Data Breach or other Cyber Attack

September 13, 2017 - If your company has never had a data breach, consider yourself lucky. These days, such breaches are nearly inevitable and can cause considerable damage to your bottom line (at a cost of about $214 per compromised record and customer turnover) and your reputation. In order to survive such a breach, it's critical that you know what to do afterward. You can recover, but your best bet is to have a recovery plan and to follow it. These articles can help you determine what you should -- and shouldn't do -- after a breach.

Legal and technology experts shared their insights on how owners can best recover from a small business data breach. (Item #1)   Data breaches happen. Though not ideal, you can recover. Here's how to deal. (Item #2)   With a cyber-attack, an inevitable part of running any business, companies that do not have a policy in place for a post-attack recovery could face serious consequences. (Item #3) 

Being prepared and acting quickly are vital to helping your company recover from a cyber attack as effectively as possible. (Item #4)   This post focuses on the techniques to combat data breaches while containing the damage in extreme cases. (Item #5)   Here's what companies should avoid doing once they realize their systems have been breached. (Item #6)


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Cyber Issues

August 2, 2017 - As this issue's quote indicates, cyber security is no longer just the purview of the IT department. Everyone in the organization - from the C-suite down - is responsible for some aspect of this problem. These articles look at cyber security from various viewpoints and even provide information on adding cyber scenarios to your business continuity exercises. Try it!

Companies everywhere are looking into potential solutions to their cyber security issues. (Item #1)   Fostering a culture of cyber security focuses on strengthening employees' understanding of security issues. (Item #2)   Protecting your company online begins with ensuring your employees are prepared to assist in keeping your computers and networks safe. (Item #3)

It is time make cyber security a priority for every C-suite. (Item #4)   Here are some lessons learned from practical experience of running cyber exercises. (Item #5)   While insider threats in cyber security are often associated with malicious users, in truth, employees are inadvertently causing corporate data breaches and leaks daily. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity Awareness Week 2017: Cyber Resilience

May 3, 2017 - This year Business Continuity Awareness Week occurs between March 15 and 19, and the theme is cyber resilience. The BCI's Cyber Resilience Report revealed that two-thirds of organizations had experienced at least one cybersecurity incident during the previous year, and 15% had experienced at least ten. So this week we'll focus on cyber resilience so you can think what you will do to raise awareness of business continuity and the importance of cyber resilience? (Item #6 has a link to download posters to display throughout your workplace.)

Perhaps you'll want to do this cyber resilience review from US-CERT. (Item #1)   Check out these seven steps of cyber resilience from a Cisco white paper. (Item #2)   Proper cyber security resilience requires proper planning and proper testing. (Item #3)

A cyber-resilient law firm should have the capacity across the business to maintain their core purpose, operations, and integrity in the face of cyber attacks and cyber security breaches. (Item #4)   In response to the challenges of cyber resilience, the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently published an exclusive cyber-risks tool-kit marking it as a one of a kind innovation tool in the cyber resilience landscape. (Item #5)   These posters can be posted in your workplace to let everyone know how they can improve cyber resilience. (Item #6)


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Cyber Security

Feb 8, 2017 - We hope there isn't anyone walking around thinking they are immune to cyber attacks because it just isn't so. As we've said before, it's not if, it's when. But how do you protect your organization? This week's articles offer information and some suggestions on how to improve your cyber security... and recognize that insiders can cause more vulnerability than outsiders.

If you consider all these crazy trends, blips in the news about attacks, and the patterns -- from password re-use to the rise in usage of end of life systems -- predicting the future for cyber security is really not that outrageous. (Item #1)   The role that insiders play in the vulnerability of all sizes of corporations is massive and growing. (Item #2)   Finance leaders now have a leading role to play in data security. (Item #3)

Here's an overview of everything you need to know to protect yourself from cyber attacks. (Item #4)  To help you protect your business, here are 13 small-business-friendly cyber-security solutions to get you started. (Item #5)   This article's purpose is to share the defense department's approach to cyber attacks so that business leaders can apply it in their own organizations. (Item #6)


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Data Privacy

Feb 1, 2017 - Are you doing the best job possible to manage your users' privacy? Yes, your data is likely secure but privacy is another matter. The dangers to data privacy often are more likely to come from your authorized users -- employees, vendors, etc. This issue looks at data privacy and discuss what we should be doing to maintain that privacy.

The difference between security and privacy is critical, and it's when we confuse them that we reveal more information than we intended. (Item #1)   The collection and manipulation of Big Data can result in real-world benefits, but it also can lead to big privacy problems. (Item #2)   Here are some key areas where planners need to be concerned with private and personally identifiable information when creating, updating, and testing disaster recovery plans. (Item #3)

In the digital economy, our personal information is the New Money to pay for services. (Item #4)   With organizations collecting increasing amounts of data, customers and the governments that represent them have evolving expectations about the transparency surrounding data collection, and the laws that govern the usage and reporting of it.  (Item #5)   Companies are increasing technology investments to protect against external data breaches, but employees pose a bigger threat than hackers. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity and the Cloud

Jan 18, 2017 - Does your business continuity plan leverage the advantages of the Cloud? If not, perhaps you should consider if it should. While there are some security issues to consider when moving to the Cloud, there also are many benefits that may be derived. Take a look at this week’s articles to see if a move to the Cloud might help strengthen your business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

An emerging viable tool for disaster recovery is the cloud. (Item #1)   Business continuity may be taking on a new flavor as the cloud gains prominence. (Item #2)   New disaster recovery as-a-service (DRaaS) solutions designed for the public cloud have changed the business resiliency game. (Item #3)

No insurance policy will help employees continue working if they don’t have access to business-critical applications. (Item #4)   The next generation of firewalls can be used as effective business continuity tools (Item #5)   The jury is still out on whether using cloud-based services increases or decreases the likelihood of business interruptions. (Item #6)

If you are interested in more info about Cloud Computing and some things to consider about it, you can review the July 27th issue of the NewsBriefs at http://attainium.net/newsbriefs/2016-07-27-BC-Newsbriefs.html.


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