CHAMBER VOICES
CYBERSECURITY
Security check PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS FROM CYBERATTACK CALLS FOR A TEAM APPROACH
By Jason W. Dallas iCorps Technologies
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he Trojan horse is said to have been a tactic used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the battle. Metaphorically, a “Trojan horse” has come to mean any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place. Today, “Trojan horses” lurk in every facet of our digital world, waiting for the opportunity to create havoc on unsuspecting victims. The largest cybersecurity risk a business has is also a resource without which it cannot succeed — its people. In fact, 52 percent of organizations admit their people are their biggest weakness when it comes to cybersecurity, according to Kaspersky Labs. Verizon concluded in its 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report that 85 percent of security breaches involved a human element. These breaches could be caused by malicious intent, but also could simply result from employees’ carelessness or their lack of knowledge. For example, 20 percent of breaches in 2021 were initially caused due to compromised credentials, according to an IBM report, reenforcing the importance of strong passwords and multifactor authentication. The statistics highlight the importance for organizations of all types to implement cybersecurity awareness training for their entire team. The training serves to help educate and empower employees to lower an organization’s risk profile by detecting and avoiding obvious and common threats. There are numerous benefits to equipping your team with the insight and knowledge to help protect against attacks.
CREATING A SECURITY-FIRST CULTURE
Being informed creates a better organizational culture. By establishing cybersecurity as a priority, employees can help keep each other accountable for best practices and support each other in technology use. Employees can be proactive in identifying suspicious phishing attempts, whether it be dubious links, impersonation emails and other threats. Heightened awareness benefits employees in their professional as well as personal lives, from increased employee morale to satisfaction and retention.
IMPROVING CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE
A Ponemon Institute study showed that 31 percent of consumers said they discontinued their relationships with an organization following a data breach, while 65 percent said they lost trust in the entity after being affected by one or more breaches. Our customers and clients are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about cybersecurity risks, according to KPMG, a multinational professional services network. As they become more knowledgeable, organizations must respond by implementing tools and technologies that prove their resiliency to threats. When potential customers see that you are taking a more proactive approach with your cybersecurity posture, they will be more likely to do business with you.
SAVING TIME AND MONEY
Cybersecurity incidents don’t just harm valuable data. They can affect other resources such as time, money and SEE PAGE 16
Jason W. Dallas is cybersecurity manager at iCorps Technologies. NORTHSHORECHAMBER.ORG
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