From an executive-level perspective, the greatest shift in cybersecurity relates to the focus and the responsibility – moving from strictly an “IT issue” to one of a business function. Look no further than the Target breach and the subsequent resignations of the company’s CEO and CIO to see how cybersecurity has escalated to the C-suite. This was unprecedented 15 years ago, when the primary cybersecurity role of IT was information assurance. So why has the philosophy changed?
Companies have encouraged their workforces to be effective regardless of their location or the time of day, making wireless Internet connectivity the latest lifeblood of workforce productivity. These gains have been accomplished primarily by embracing Wi-Fi, which is not without added risk. Cyber spies and criminals have successfully targeted wireless networks for years, which in turn, requires increased vigilance both when deploying Wi-Fi networks and when training our employees to safely use Wi-Fi.
While cyber insurance adoption is on the rise, only 26 percent of companies have policies today, according to a study on data breach preparedness from Experian and the Ponemon Institute.
As your enterprise virtualizes and leverages cyber technology to speed productivity, the incidence of cybercrime will, of course, increase. Similarly, as your employees’ behavior, as consumers, drives the technology they use (BYOD), the cybercrime cat will continue to be let out of the bag.
Home Depot said that 56 million debit and credit cards are estimated to have been breached in a data theft between April and September at its stores in the U.S. and Canada.
As critical infrastructure in the United States becomes more dependent on networked systems, such as the smart grid, the electricity industry is at risk for new avenues of attack.
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