How you Could be Exposing Yourself to a Cybersecurity Attack

This equates to a cybercrime being reported every 7 minutes in Australia. With the increasing digital dependency, not just in Australia but worldwide, it is clear that cybersecurity should be more of a priority. But in what ways could you expose yourself to a cyberattack, and what should you do?

1. You assume that your employees know how to react to a cyberattack

Giving employees training once over a few days will not be enough to enable them to remember and retain all the knowledge – increasing the risk of attack exposure.

INSTEAD: Train your employees for cyberattacks at least every 4-6 months to keep them refreshed and up to date with emerging strategies. You can also identify gaps in their knowledge by testing them, where you can implement improvements.

2. You overlook the invisible systemic risk

Systemic risk has previously been described as something that only appears when we see it. This means that unfortunately, the risk isn’t seen until it is too late. Invisible systemic cyber risks are decisions businesses make daily that could negatively impact cybersecurity readiness.

INSTEAD: Identify, report, and communicate systemic risk as part of your cybersecurity strategy.

3. You don’t audit regularly

Without regular security audits, critical data may not be protected, security flaws won’t be found, new security strategies can’t be developed, and the effectiveness of security measures isn’t monitored.

INSTEAD: Regular and systematic audits can guarantee that staff members follow security procedures and can identify any new vulnerabilities. To ensure you’re as secure as you think, check your policies, systems, software, cloud solutions, and servers.

4. You don’t apply a holistic cybersecurity approach

Cybersecurity is not just the responsibility of CISOs, CIOs, or anyone with a security title – this can expose you to threats.

INSTEAD: Cybersecurity should be the responsibility of the whole business – it should be linked to all business operations as it positions it as a priority during decision-making.

5. You overinvest in cybersecurity

Even if you invest a lot in your cybersecurity strategies, you will never be 100% immune to cyberattacks.

INSTEAD: Avoid excessive security investments and increase operational costs yet decrease an organization’s capacity to fulfill its goals.

6. Lack of transparency

Only highlighting the great news about your cybersecurity and not discussing the imperfections will hinder you from growth.

INSTEAD: Recognising the gaps and chances for improvement will require you to understand the reality and constraints of cybersecurity.

Sources:

Australian Cyber Security Centre – https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/reports-and-statistics/acsc-annual-cyber-threat-report-july-2021-june-2022#:~:text=The%20ACSC%20received%20over%2076%2C000,8%20minutes%20last%20financial%20year

Gartner – https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/8-ways-you-could-be-inviting-a-cybersecurity-attack

Master classing – https://www.masterclassing.com/blog/5-ways-you-could-be-inviting-cyber-attack