Organizations are at risk, fortunately, Bill Conner, executive chair of the board at SonicWall has some ideas.
Cybersecurity attacks have been highly publicized of late.
Discover why you need to take heed of these warnings.
And what you can do to protect your organization.
Cybersecurity is a pressing issue. Many businesses are struggling to balance the experience of tools with safety and as a result, they are vulnerable to cyber threats.
According to cybersecurity company SonicWall, the healthcare sector is at particular risk. The business recently published its annual cyber threat report that outlined some alarming statistics.
Naturally, UNLEASH was keen to find out what steps security teams and employees can take to protect their organization.
To cut through the data, UNLEASH spoke to industry veteran Bill Conner, executive chair of the board at SonicWall about what all companies can do to keep safe on the back of the findings.
One of the report’s most shocking statistics was that there has been a 775% increase in global ransomware attacks in the health sector.
Conner warns that this number of incidents is likely to go up again in the next 12 months before adding context into what is happening: ”COVID-19 challenged the resilience of the health care information systems – and bad actors were aware of this fact.
“Hospitals, and the healthcare sector in general, became the potential target for ransomware attacks.”
This is because “they store huge amounts of encrypted data that impact the hospitals’ ability to function, they have sufficient funds to pay a potential ransom and compared to other industries healthcare IT teams lack the resources and budget to ward off malicious attacks”.
On top of that, Conner shares the issues that legacy IT causes for healthcare systems. He expands: “‘Fixing’ legacy solutions results in temporary repairs and workarounds that never fully address the problem, widening gaps for hackers to exploit.
“Hospitals need to start segmenting their networks (network, users, applications, and roles) at any cost. Until these networks are protected, bad actors will keep coming.”
Ultimately, “as a sector that also revolves around looking after the time horizon of human lives, bad actors will exploit the opportunity to make some money when presenting an already crippled sector with potentially real life or death situations.”
In terms of what bad actors look for when considering an attack, Conner says they look for three key elements “money, a business/life critical use-case, and easy entry”.
Reflecting on the current state of cybercrime in all sectors and where it could lead, Conner comments: “Cybercrime is a very profitable business for digital criminals and the dollar amounts continue to rise.
“High-profile attacks become bragging rights and serve as chum in the water for the sharks of the dark web.”
On this note, Conner adds: “Global security is an issue that impacts businesses of all sizes, global governments, national defenses, and economies.
“Recent high-profile attacks blasted across the media landscape have helped bring light to this huge issue – but it has been a longstanding global crisis.”
Part of the threat is that hackers are changing their behavior rapidly to overcome security measures. Not only that, but the remote work environment has posed new exploits for threats to uncover.
Conner comments: “Bad actors will continue to exploit these technological changes amidst the new norm of hybrid working environments.
“The occurrence and variety of cyberattacks are also consistently evolving, as bad actors become more sophisticated against cybersecurity implementations.”
To combat these mutating threats, Conner recommends investment in educating staff.
Conner states: “Education continues to be a key to help thwart criminal activity. The average employee now knows what the term ‘phishing’ is and has even heard of ‘ransomware’ and ‘malware’.
“This is a step in the right direction, as businesses, organizations, and consumers all grow in awareness of how vulnerable their cybersecurity is – especially upon seeing some of the biggest global organizations with the strongest layers of cybersecurity falling victim.”
Evidently, there’s a fluid threat at large with huge financial backing. However, there are steps that can be taken now, which can help organizations in the future.
The C-suite must have a bulletproof incident response plan.
Of course, this is easier said than done, Conner offers his advice on how organizations can protect themselves by “implementing best security practices, like a layered approach to protection and updating any out-of-date security devices”.
Additionally, “organizations must work closely with their trusted security provider to understand current security risks, implement a customized plan, simulate potential threats, and educate your employees to ensure protection for all stakeholders.”
Going forward, Conner shares what to watch out for: “Unknown and previously unseen threats are going to continue to climb. With so many questions in the geopolitical landscape, cybercrime has become a global security issue.
“It’s likely we’ll see a continued climb of ransomware gangs, and advanced persistent threats (APTs), as the cybercrime scene continues to cross borders.”
With this in mind, it is time for cybersecurity to become a top priority for all organizations.
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Senior Journalist
Dan combines his first-hand experience alongside the latest news and opinions in the HR Technology space.
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