The Datamax Thinking Blog

Organizations must be accountable for guarding against cybersecurity, they must be fully aware of current risks, and they must be proactive about Cybersecurity education.

As cybersecurity increasingly becomes an agenda item inside the executive boardroom, organizations continue to recognize their own accountability in guarding against cyberattack.

But what about end users? How accountable are they?

It’s an interesting question raised in a recent news article published in KnowBe4’s Security Awareness Training Blog.

Paired with a barrage of potential threats, yet brimming with productive potential, technology plays an intimate role in the routines of today’s business workday. When well harnessed, it can unlock unforeseen competitive advantages.

Henry Ford once said, "I don't read history. That's in the past. I'm thinking of the future."

Ford, of course, was the Michigan-born engineer who developed a petrol-driven quadricycle into a small car; this proved the basis for the famous Model T motor car introduced in 1908. Just as Ford’s ingenuity forever transformed the auto industry, technology has been a driving force in business transformation for years.

As we look at the state of technology as it relates to business in 2019, Ford’s quote has a profound foreshadowing effect.

Organizations today need an IT strategy that acts as a belayer, a trusted entity of support to prevent malicious attack. 

Rock climbing is an endeavor built entirely around trust: Trust in your belayer.  Trust in your equipment.  Trust in the terrain surrounding you. And, of course, trust in yourself.

Likewise, your organization’s online security often comes down to a matter of trust. But trust in this manner should never be earned without scrutiny, verification and due diligence.

Your plan should begin with a Security Risk Analysis. It should also continue with the construction of a long-term compliance framework, one that offers visibility into current risks and reinforces firm security-related policies and procedures. 

When it comes to your healthcare organization and HIPAA, failure (to comply) is not an option.

It cannot be a one-time snapshot, or a one-time risk assessment. It has to be a continuous, ongoing process." -  Navin Balakrishnaraja, National Practice Director, Healthcare IT Services for All Covered (IT Services, Konica Minolta)

All organizations are guilty of just “going through the motions” at times.

A client services specialist leaning too heavily on his company script. The sales representative who meets her quota but fails to concentrate on continued professional development (aka, the learning zone). There are countless scenarios within a work place where crucial tasks are tackled without enthusiasm or a particular level of involvement.

But few, if any, carry the level of risk of a healthcare facility just going through the motions with its cybersecurity plan. The organization must navigate this landscape carefully, and with a trusted map that leads to long-term security and compliance for the unpredictable journey ahead.

Social engineering is really no different than any old-school scam from the past, other than modern technology is the setting (for the modern attack). 

Infamous hacker turned computer security consultant Kevin Mitnick, featured in the Werner Herzog documentary “Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World,” very much embodies the dark art of the Social Engineered Attack.

Mitnick is perhaps best known for breaking into the networks of IBM, Nokia and Motorola (in the case of Motorola, he stole their source code simply by talking an employee there into emailing it to him). He also claims to have compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes that he gained by social engineering.

In other words, the one-time cyber criminal’s most dangerous weapon was his gift of gab, manipulating his victims just as a puppeteer would his marionette.

Build strong roots from within your organization: Continue to empower employees to be proactive about cybersecurity risks and encourage them to report questionable content or activity.

An old Malay proverb states that “A tree with strong roots laughs at storms.”

Today’s workforce continues to grow remotely, with Businesswire estimating that remote workers will account for 72 percent of the US Workforce by 2020.  With more bring-your-own-devices out  in the field, endpoints continue to multiply and extend further beyond a traditional office, just like  branches on a tree.

A Managed Network Services program fine tunes and establishes control over all the moving components of your network. 

Your business's network steadily hums along, serving its intended purpose with what seems like relative ease. That is, until an unexpected breakdown occurs and you begin to feel the weight of every IT issue bearing down on your office's productivity.

What seems effortless can quickly become overwhelming. What traditionally seemed like a routine method for handling IT could today be more a beast of burden for your business.

So, consider this bit of recent history ... 29% of IT professionals report their clients have encountered ransomware that specifically targeted Office 365.

I must say, I love history. For humanity's sake, I deeply hope it’s never rewritten.  I’m not entirely sure whether my interest lies in the fun and fascination of discovery, or the fear of repeating failures it documents.  One thing’s for sure, as summed up by Edmund Burke, “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”  

No doubt, a truth proven over and over again.

So here’s a bit of history (2,000 years in the making) every business should consider as it prepares to compete and/or to defend its resources — the focus of this blog.

Every business needs to be secure today. Data backup and disaster recovery are key tools to keep your office safe and in business.

If you’re reading this, you understand that your business or office depends on information technology (IT) to function.

As businesses of every size rely ever more on IT, there are two functions IT performs essential to a business’ ability to function:

1. a robust, secure data network
2. continued access to vital business information and documents

No network and no access to information equals no business.