Top 5 Cyber Security Concerns 2021 [Infographic]

Cyber criminals have a few brand-new doors through which to enter, as well as some familiar means of attacking businesses. While companies navigate constantly evolving work environments, it’s more important than ever to prioritize cyber security. Here’s what you need to know about securing your business in 2021.

Managed security services will give you the tools you need to take on the cyber security concerns of 2021.

Source: https://www.exemplifygroup.com/

Data Protection Concerns And How To Protect It

 In general terms, data protection concerns three areas:

• securing data, especially personal data such as bank account numbers, TANs and PINs, against theft and misuse;
• protecting data against viruses and other malware; and
• protecting data in case of a hardware failure.

So, data protection is more than just virus protection and passwords. But many users ignore the protection of their data. You probably know someone who has four or five broken cellphones at home. Of the data that used to be on those phones, what was saved on the SIM card may have been saved. It’s similar with laptops and tablets. Whenever a device fails, data is lost. It might just be letters and e-mails, but mostly it’s photos – and when they’re gone, beautiful memories are lost forever. But contracts and other documents can also be lost. Data losses are therefore both material and non-material.

The most important tips for protecting against spying on passwords – in other words, the basic rules for data protection – are:

• Never use the same password for multiple accounts.
• Never use words that are in a dictionary or that consist of numbers (birthdays or lottery numbers) as passwords, because these can easily be generated by a generator.
• Change your password regularly.
• Don’t keep a list of passwords on one of your computers or smartphones.

Advantages of backup solutions

The advantages of backup solutions are obvious.

• The data backup is carried out automatically so that the user cannot forget to back up his pictures, contacts, telephone numbers, emails, and documents.
• The backup runs in the background and doesn’t interfere with the computer, smartphone, or tablet as much as direct copying.
• With a cloud backup, secure storage systems are used in a data centre of the backup solution provider and the user doesn’t have to worry about the procurement and operation of the backup drives.
• Thanks to convenient setup wizards, users don’t have to learn how to operate additional software, but can concentrate on what’s important.

A backup is therefore more than just a copy of the data. But the backup must also be planned. Once planned, the data can be restored in almost any situation.

The three golden rules of data protection

Rule 1: An important prerequisite for data protection is the awareness of the correct handling of passwords, the appropriate selection of devices (from PCs to tablets to smartphones), and the correct selection of cloud services.

Rule 2: Assess what data you have, where it is currently stored, how important it is, and whether you have access to this data. Such an inventory will reveal vulnerabilities in data protection, from passwords stored in files to external hard drives that are no longer accessible.

Rule 3: Use backup software. Especially if you want to back up many different devices, backup software, including cloud storage, is recommended. You should also use this backup software to regularly test whether the data can be restored.

Source: B2C

Organizations Can Share Cyber-Threat Data

Organizations can share cyber-threat information with each another without having a fear  of prosecution for violation of anti-trust laws as stated by two U.S. government agencies have announced. U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission said in a joint policy statement that such information is shared for the right reasons and also the agencies added, it is unlikely to raise anti-trust concerns.

Image Source : Internet

Assistant attorney general Bill Baer who is in charge of the Department of Justice’s anti-trust division, said in a press release that “Cyber threats are increasing in number and sophistication, and sharing information about these threats, such as incident reports, indicators and threat signatures, is something companies can do to protect their information systems and help secure our nation’s infrastructure. With proper safeguards in place, cyber-threat information sharing can occur without posing competitive concerns.”

The policy statement lays out what types of information sharing between private entities is permissible. It also explains the difference between acceptable sharing of cyber-threat information and divulging of competitively sensitive data such as current or future prices and output or business plans. Agencies described cyber-threat information as technical in nature and limited in scope so that the dissemination of the information is unlikely to raise competitive concerns.

FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez said that “Because of the FTC’s long experience promoting data security, we understand the serious threat posed by cyber-attacks. This statement should help private businesses by making it clear that antitrust laws do not stand in the way of legitimate sharing of cyber-security threat information.

White House Launches Cyber-security Framework

The Obama administration launches its Cyber-security Framework which was released for the businesses to take more precautions against hackers or cyber security threats.

Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology framed the guidelines where they explain the steps companies can take to both prevent as well as respond to the cyber-attacks.

Image Credit : wikimedia.org

Obama signed the executive order following his State of the Union address last February and also stated that it was a move to force Congress to pass wide-ranging cyber-security legislation and this will increase information sharing between the government and private companies and organizations.

White House press release stated that “Over the past year, individuals and organizations throughout the country and across the globe have provided their thoughts on the kinds of standards, best practices, and guidelines that would meaningfully improve critical infrastructure cyber-security. The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) consolidated that input into the voluntary Cyber-security Framework that we are releasing today.”

There are three components in the Framework. 'The Framework Core', 'The Profiles', and 'The Tiers' components would be in use to determine organizations' own security practices are lacking.

The components are described below:

• The Framework Core - A collection of cyber-security activities and instructive recommendations that are common across critical infrastructure sectors. The activities are classified as: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover. They are to provide “a high-level view of an organization’s management of cyber risks.”

• The Profiles - This will help companies align their cyber-security activities with business requirements, risk tolerances and resources. The firms can use the Profiles to better comprehend their existing cyber-security state, support prioritization, and to measure progress toward meeting targets.

• The Tiers - It provide a means for companies to view their methods and processes for managing cyber-risk. The Tiers range from Partial (Tier 1) to Adaptive (Tier 4) and layout a mounting degree of precision in risk management practices, “the extent to which cyber-security risk management is informed by business needs, and its integration into an organization’s overall risk management practices.”