With companies’ reputations and futures becoming more inherently tied to their cybersecurity efforts, Security magazine connected with Kevin Richards, managing director of North American Security and global lead for Security Strategy and Risk at Accenture, to discuss the outcomes of negligent cybersecurity oversight during mergers and acquisitions.
Today, cybersecurity is on all our minds. Every other day, we get news of another cyberattack. As more organizations struggle to keep up with the onslaught of these new threats, many are asking: “What can we do to strengthen our cybersecurity posture?” When we want to quantify it, consider the concept of risk. In its simplest form, the risk associated with a system is the impact of it malfunctioning, multiplied by the likelihood that a malfunction will occur.
Though there are big benefits to having a BYOD program, including boosting employee productivity and morale, as well as possible cost savings, security risks are a critical concern.
The Equifax breach in particular may prove a game-changer. As a credit reporting agency, the company sits on some of the most sensitive personal data. The breach sent a powerful message: Even the gatekeepers themselves are vulnerable.
The natural trend in the cybersecurity industry is that spending money means you’re more secure; however, this isn’t always the case. While cybersecurity budgets will continue to increase in 2018, they will be increasingly focused on areas that will be most effective.
Legacy systems – hardware and software – can double the risk of a data breach. More than 8,500 organizations have over 50 percent of their computers running an out-of-date version of an internet browser, doubling their risk of attack.