Cyber Security Month – October 2022
Declaring that a particular month should be “cyber security month” has always seemed a little misdirected. After all, shouldn’t the securing of cyber space both personally and professionally be a yearlong effort? The way we are looking at this month is the way an auto mechanic looks at your car or a dentist looks at your dental needs. Once a year, is at least a good practice to take time and review your security posture. This is especially true for local governments which oftentimes have not had the ability to fund all of the programs needed to get to an optimal level of security.
Unfortunately, hackers and ransomware criminals have targeted both private and public networks and make everyone a potential victim.
The goal should be to avoid being reactive and begin thinking of how organizations can prepare and prevent an attack and respond effectively if one should occur.
Speaking tactically, while it’s important to keep your computer and smartphone safe, it’s also important to remember that cyber security isn’t just about protecting your devices. It’s about protecting your data.
Through the years, RedLand has had the opportunity to work with major corporations and governments to exercise response plans to a cyber incident. What we have learned is that cyber security is everyone’s responsibility. We have found that different departments that never had to work together before in a crisis need to think through plans and execute them when suddenly walled off from their IT due to a ransomware attack. In addition, a well-executed response is a multidisciplinary effort that includes fiscal, public relations and human relations, not just technical responders.
The theme for this year’s Cyber Security Awareness Month is “See Yourself in Cyber,” encouraging us to move forward more concretely in the modern digital future, particularly in the workplace. There is a high degree of importance in empowering your team to protect your organization from potential threats – whether you are working onsite in the office or from a remote/hybrid scenario.
A leading cause of cyber security threats is human error, for both businesses and the personal information of individuals, which is why it can be so important to make sure you’re practicing up-to-date digital hygiene tactics to keep your data as private as possible.