Cybersecurity: A Global Responsibility

Let’s talk about cybersecurity. Though this has been a familiar and important topic in the tech world for many years, it is time we expand these conversations to all areas of life, globally. 

Cyber-attacks have been steadily increasing over the years as hackers become more sophisticated and trained. However, in the past year, we have seen a large increase in attacks on critical infrastructure that have exposed and exploited vulnerabilities in several sectors of society. As we saw in the ransomware attack on the United State’s Colonial Pipeline, these disruptions have devastating effects on humanity. 

The bad guys are getting better at what they do. However, I am hopeful that we can stop these threats before they start with the proper education and game plan.

Gone are the days when cybersecurity was the sole responsibility of an organization’s IT department. Now that IT assets and online resources have become available to most people, it is everyone’s responsibility to take proactive steps to mitigate risk. Cyber attacks will continue to explore the vulnerabilities of global infrastructure as long as they remain unprotected, so let’s get to work people!

The first step to managing cybercrime is to be proactive rather than reactive. Here are some tips and offensive measures to help get everyone involved in your organizations’ cyber defense strategies:

Emphasize the Need for Teamwork and Cooperation:

An organization is only as strong as its weakest link, so getting everyone involved and emphasizing the importance of cooperation is key! Continuous communication surrounding your organization’s ransomware strategy as well as effective educational and informational sessions are crucial. It is normal for employees to feel unfamiliar and unattached to cybercrime efforts at first. Thus, educating your team on the threats and consequences is key. It’s not too much to ask for everyone’s cooperation to ensure effective cybersecurity, especially when everyone can become unwitting tools for cybercriminals to break security defenses.

Establish Strong Cyber Hygiene through Education:

Building core strategies, controls, and processes to mitigate cyber risks and remain proactive is crucial. Though cybersecurity training is rarely met with enthusiasm from participants, there are ways to make this learning engaging. Utilizing gamification, or the use of gaming mechanics and elements can help boost cyber protection learning efforts.

Incentivising and Reinforcing Good Behavior

Accenture’s Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime Study reveals that fewer than a majority of companies incentivize cybersecurity. Only around 4 in 10 of the companies surveyed indicated that they offer rewards or incentives to employees or business leaders who show commitment to cybersecurity. Ideally, companies would be rewarding their employees for staying engaged and active in security efforts. Though this often means additional cost, I believe it is well worth the investment considering the average cost of cyber attacks to an enterprise is around $13 million. 

Bug bounty programs, or vulnerability rewards programs (VRP), are great ways to kick start an organization’s vulnerability management strategy while encouraging participation. These crowdsourcing initiatives reward individuals for discovering and reporting software bugs and potential attacks, which incentivizes vigilance among employees

I am hopeful that through continuous education, proactive strategies, and collaborative efforts, we can mitigate cybercrime around the world.