CYBERSECURITY | PBN SUMMIT Companies at a loss to handle ransom threats BY MARY LHOWE | Contributing Writer
INTERNATIONAL CYBERCRIME IS RISING dramatically, driven by sophisticated operatives holed up in places such as Russia and North Korea who use advanced technology and even psychological tricks to penetrate computer systems, and then steal, lock up or even disseminate private data of all kinds. Criminals are targeting businesses large and small, along with municipalities and colleges, with tools such as ransomware, in which an institution’s computers are entered and locked until a ransom is paid, and phishing, when an innocuous-looking incoming email, for instance, can release an invasive virus into a computer system. Discussion at the Cybersecurity Summit co-hosted virtually on Oct. 7 by Providence Business News and Tech Collective verged on the ominous tone of a John le Carré novel as a Boston-based FBI analyst and Rhode Island experts described the range and growth of cybercrime, spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom Doyle, a cyber analyst in the Boston office of the FBI and the summit’s keynote speaker, referred to an Oct. 1 advisory from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that indicates the department may look to sanction Americans who pay ransom or facilitate ransom payments to nations and individuals designated by the federal government as special threats. Panelists urged listeners to protect their com-
‘They are getting entire network penetration, with a great impact on victims.’
puter systems early, a project that has become more fraught as workers scatter to their home offices during quarantine, thereby exposing the entire business’s cyber footprint to weak protections and careless practices at homes. Buying cyber insurance is on the way to becoming a normal cost of business, said panelists in one of three breakout sessions that followed the keynote speech. In the wake of a cybercrime, insurance companies’ cyber panels handle a myriad of urgent tasks: detection, forensics, legal matters, public relations, and notification of customers and law enforcement. Doyle, whose FBI office also covers Rhode Island, said cyberattacks increased by 94% in the Boston area and 81% in Rhode Island in the first half of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. Doyle said ransomware attacks increased by 250% in the Boston area in the fiscal year ending SPONSORED CONTENT BY COX BUSINESS TOM DOYLE, September 2020. After Doyle’s talk, three breakout panels tackled 7 TipsThe When Migrating Your aspects of the cybersecurity challenge. first panel examined a recent cyberattack and discussed
Business to the Cloud
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igrating to the cloud is one of the most powerful things your business can use do to increase your flexibility, resilience, and efficiency. Here are seven key steps you need to take to migrate your business to the cloud. 1. Understand the Business Needs That Drive a Migration to the Cloud Before we talk about what you need to do, an excellent place to start is understanding why you need to make a move in the first place. That means looking at what parts of your business stand to gain the most from moving to the cloud. This is, of course, entirely dependent on what industry you’re in. An excellent place to start is to follow the data. What information do you have, how do you access it, and where is it stored? The usual suspects for migrating to the cloud include marketing (email lists, segmentation, targeted offers), HR (payroll, benefits), finance (invoicing, finance, and customer service interactions), but there are many more. Take a thorough look at your business processes and data on hand to find the best solution.
Did you know that most employees are responsible for remembering as many as 80 passwords used to authentic to network and system resources?* How do you ensure they are secure and more importantly, what happens when users leave the company or are terminated? Are you 100% certain that those authenticating to your network resources are really who they say they are?
FBI cyber analyst
2. Start with a SWOT Analysis One of the best, most organized ways of taking stock of where you are is to perform a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. This gives you a solid basis for understanding where you need to improve and what migrating to the cloud can do for your business.
5. Choose the Right Cloud Partner Choosing the right cloud partner comes down to a combination of your needs and your budget. You want to find someone who has experience working in a similar area or industry and understands the needs and nuances of your business. Cox Business Cloud Solutions powered by RapidScale technology, for example, is one such company and assists clients with a comprehensive cloud roadmap that makes migration simple.
6. Plan Your Migration When it comes to transitioning key business processes to the cloud, your number one priority should be to minimize disruption time for your team. Take a close look at your schedule and figure out how to best time your transition. Determine the order of migration and set some deadlines and metrics to define success.
With Identity as a Service (IDaaS) from Cox Business Cloud Solutions the answer is simple! Our managed identity solution securely consolidates all identities and access management into one place, allowing you to secure your network and add/remove users with ease. 3. Identify Which Applications to Migrate The main point of SWOT analysis is to narrow your focus and identify which applications to migrate. Now, you should have a good idea of why you’re moving to the cloud, so it’s just a question of priorities.
7. Actively Monitor How It’s Going As you make your transition to the cloud, make sure you’re actively monitoring how it’s going. Be ready to address any issues as they come up.
4. Look at the Numbers Once you have your priorities, it’s a good idea to look at the numbers of what it will cost to migrate your business to the cloud. By now, you know what you want to do and how you stand to benefit from it, so the obvious course of action is to determine the cost.
The full article originally appeared on CoxBLUE.com To learn more visit: coxbusiness.com
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