Data Breach Archives

Why You Need a Proactive Cybersecurity Strategy

Considering the significant financial and reputational risks involved, businesses must adopt a protective approach to safeguard their business. Here are key components to consider: 1. Risk Assessment Start by evaluating your organization's vulnerabilities and the potential impact of a cyber incident. Identify crucial assets, assess your current security measures, and understand the specific threats you face. 2. Employee Training Your employees are often your first line of defense against cyber threats. Regular training can help them recognize phishing attempts, social engineering tactics, and other common attacks. A well-informed team is less likely to fall victim to these threats. 3. Incident Response Plan Develop a comprehensive incident response plan that outlines steps to take during a breach. This should include communication strategies, roles and responsibilities, and recovery processes to minimize damage and restore operations quickly. 4. Invest in Technology Implement robust cybersecurity tools like firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems. ...

Kristy Mossoian2024-10-01T13:45:40+00:00

Cybersecurity in the Industrial Heartland

Report from the 2016 Cybersecurity Conference If you asked an average businessperson to think for a moment about efforts to stop hacking and increase digital security, their immediate thoughts would probably turn to labs in Silicon Valley or bureaus in Washington, D.C.—and they’d be right. Despite our state’s strong information technology industry, digital security still isn’t a top-of-mind concern for too many executives. Efforts to improve cybersecurity have historically been focused in the areas of highest capability and greatest perceived need – even if that may not be where the greatest security vulnerabilities are. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Detroit Regional Chamber hosted their 2016 Cybersecurity Conference in Detroit for some very good reasons. Despite the higher profile that digital security has gotten in recent years, companies and government bodies still don’t take security as seriously as they need to. That creates windows of vulnerability that hackers are ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:54+00:00

THE TECH 248 MESSAGE: TAKE SECURITY SERIOUSLY

There’s an unfortunate tendency I see all too often in some businesses: An inclination towards thinking that when it comes to data security, “good enough” is good enough. It really isn’t. The reasoning is understandable: Companies think that they’re too small or too obscure to be noticed by hackers. Or they think that bought-and-paid-for security measures they took a year ago remain airtight. Or they reckon that threats are overstated, and are largely a means of selling security products or services they don’t really need. All of these arguments are great ways to put off investing in up-to-date security measures. Unfortunately, none of these arguments are true. Tech 248, Oakland County’s program to support the growth of the technology industry in the region, understands that, and they take security seriously. Yesterday’s Tech 248-sponsored Sans Institute training session underscored the point that security threats are real, regardless of company size, and that organizations that take a ...

Robert Tessanne2023-02-16T16:01:55+00:00

U.S. Federal Government Data Breached – Can You Protect Your Organization

The U.S. federal government has joined Target, Home Depot and Sony as the latest major organization to report that their systems have been breached by hackers. The damage? Notifying up to 4 million current and former federal employees that their personal financial data may have been compromised. Gone are the days when IT could simply build up a massive, defensive wall of protection and believe that the data living behind it would be safe from attack. Organizations now need to shift their security strategies from "if" to "when" their systems will be breached— and design their cybersecurity plan accordingly. According to a 2014 report by the Ponemon Institute, a research organization specializing in privacy, data protection, and information security, some 43% of companies experienced a data breach in the preceding year. Michael Bruemmer, vice president of credit information company Experian's data breach resolution group and sponsor of the ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:59+00:00