If improving your company’s cybersecurity wasn’t one of your New Year’s resolutions, it should be. Cybercrime has become a big business. In 2018, the global revenue from cybercrime was $1.5 trillion. By 2021, experts project the total revenue to reach $6 trillion. If you want to protect your business from attacks, this blog will help you determine a few cybersecurity goals you can put in place this year.
Why Do You Need Cybersecurity Goals?
According to the University of Maryland, hackers attack every 39 seconds or about 2,244 times a day. Odds are a hacker will attempt to breach your company before the end of 2020. That’s why a wise resolution for 2020 is to strengthen your cybersecurity.
So, let’s go through a few key cybersecurity goals you can work towards improving this year.
Cybersecurity Goal #1: Manage Your IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) is growing at an unbelievable rate, with a projected number of connected devices to reach 75 billion worldwide by 2025. That’s a hacker’s paradise.
Each device connected to the internet is a potential point of access to your network. Most of these devices do not have strong security integrated into the design. The expectation is the security will be provided by the network.
So, the first cybersecurity goal we recommend is managing your IoT security. Here are a few things you can do to secure a network:
- Map and monitor all connected devices
- Segment the network
- Ensure network architecture is secure
- Follow best-practices for router configuration
- Disable features that are not required
If your business is planning to deploy more devices, resolve to re-evaluate your network security, and look for outside help if needed.
Cybersecurity Goal #2: Prepare for Ransomware
Malware, specifically ransomware, is not going away. Businesses have become the favored target for ransomware attacks. Detections rose from 2.8 million in the first quarter of 2018 to 9.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. That’s nearly a 340% increase.
And throughout the past few years, ransomware has changed. One of the latest versions, Ryuk, tries to encrypt network backups, servers, and then endpoints. The ransomware covers its tracks, wiping out shadow volumes and security event logs. When the ransom demand is issued, the primary countermeasure has already been disabled. In the past, having a backup of the system helped thwart a ransomware attack. Not anymore.
Today, your backup or at least a copy of it should be maintained offsite. This makes it possible to recover your data without paying a ransom. The typical targets are hospitals, government agencies, and professional services that rely heavily on customer or patient data.
So, for your next cybersecurity goal, resolve to prepare for ransomware attacks and maintain an offsite backup of your system data.
Cybersecurity Goal #3: Create a Business Continuity Plan
In the unfortunate event that your business is hacked, do you have a plan explaining how you will continue to operate? If not, that should be your next cybersecurity goal.
According to an IBM report, lost business is the largest cost category after a breach. The report shows that most companies realize a 45% increase in customer turnover. And the cost of a breach goes beyond the breach itself. About 67% of breach costs occur in the year of the breach, but about one-third of the costs occurred more than one year after the breach.
The time between when a data breach happens and when it is contained averaged 279 days in 2019. That’s an increase of almost three weeks. Unfortunately, the longer it takes to identify a breach and contain it, the higher the costs of the breach.
Resolve to create a business continuity plan in case of a cyberattack. It can help minimize your costs.
Cybersecurity Goal #4: Get Executive Buy-In
If you are looking for a way to improve your internal security processes, executive buy-in is one of the most effective places to start. Executive buy-in needs to be a priority across the enterprise because when leaders are on board, systems and employees follow.
Executives must be willing to pay for, and participate in, ongoing training. Whatever your corporate culture, make it a goal to integrate cybersecurity awareness into everyday activities. Make security a part of your company’s DNA.
Protect Your Business Today
All in all, it’s 2020, and you need to prepare your organization for cyber attacks. Securing your organization can seem like an overwhelming task. However, by making a few cybersecurity goals that you can work towards, you will be on your way to a better-protected future.
