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As cybersecurity incidents rise, businesses need to be ready for attacks and an increasingly tight regulatory environment.
By Reggie Gresham
There’s no stopping the number of cyberattacks on businesses worldwide, and they continue to increase. More than 86 percent of businesses were affected by a cyberattack in 2020, compared to 80 percent in 2019.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the perfect time to reflect on your own company’s cybersecurity plan and evaluate how it stands up to the current threat environment. Some major trends that Matrix has noted over the past year include:
- Finding qualified cybersecurity professionals is difficult. According to the Information Systems Security Association – ISSA International – there’s a shortage of cybersecurity experts, negatively impacting more than half of businesses worldwide.
- Customers and partners are requiring cybersecurity transparency. The prevalence of cybercrime means that everyone your company works with – vendors, partners, and customers – want to know that their data is safe when they interact with your network. At Matrix Integration, we’ve seen manufacturers outline specific cybersecurity requirements for their suppliers, asking them to provide specific information about their cybersecurity plan.
- Government and industry cybersecurity regulations are increasing too. There are more, but a few examples include:
- Healthcare institutions need to ensure that their data security plans adhere to HIPPA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) guidelines.
- Educational organizations need to comply with the FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974), and follow the FERPA guidelines for data security.
- Financial businesses have to demonstrate compliance with the GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999).
- Cybersecurity insurance has its own requirements. Purchasing cybersecurity insurance can help defray the costs of a cyberattack, such as lost revenues due to downtime, but insurers have been upping the requirements on their cybersecurity readiness checklists. Getting a cybersecurity insurance policy is only going to get more difficult in the future.
During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, is your company taking the time to review the issues you might face in 2022 and beyond? Are you able to demonstrate to regulators, customers and suppliers how your company addresses cyberattacks, and how quickly you could get back up to speed if an attack occurs?
Learn more about Matrix’s IT security services here. If you have specific questions or would like to learn more, please contact us!
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