ArticlesC2 Fall 2020CybersecurityDataFBI A Cybersecurity Sit-Down with Former FBI Computer Scientist James Morrison by Shannon Gillenwater September 21, 2021 written by Shannon Gillenwater $10.5 trillion. That’s what cybercrime is estimated to cost the world economy by 2025. $10.5 trillion…with a ‘T’. That’s roughly a 75% increase from the $6 trillion that cybercriminals and hacker organizations are already costing us in 2021. Hence why cybersecurity, unpleasant a topic of conversation as it may be, needs to be discussed and dealt with in every boardroom across the country. James Morrison We couldn’t think of anyone better to talk about the growing threat to our digital security than James Morrison. A self-taught programmer in the early days of computer technology, James went on to a stellar 22-year career with the FBI, seven of which were spent as a senior computer scientist. Now a cybersecurity technologist and consultant with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, James possesses an intimate knowledge of the cybercrimes that are affecting an increasing number of businesses and individuals worldwide. He recently joined us for a webinar turned podcast to discuss the current state of cybersecurity, where companies are most prone to attack and how to mitigate the risk of a data breach. We’re pleased to share three primary takeaways from James’ perspective on where cybersecurity stands in 2021. 1. Ransomware is the current biggest threat to our cybersecurity, and EVERYONE is a target. Unsurprisingly, ransomware poses a major risk to our most sensitive data. What is essentially digital extortion is becoming increasingly common. Not two months ago, we all watched as the Colonial Pipeline fell victim to a ransomware attack that cost it $5 million in ransom and all but halted our domestic oil industry. Although the ransom was paid, only a fraction of the data from the breach has been recovered. In fact, on average, hackers only restore 65% of encrypted data after a ransom has been paid, and only 8% of organizations surveyed globally ever see all of their data restored. Colonial Pipeline’s experience serves as a sobering reminder that ransomware is on the rise. In the past year alone, the average ransomware payment has more than doubled from $761,106 in early 2020 to $1.85 million in 2021. It isn’t just major corporations or organizations that are affected. Many smaller companies are being extorted to the tune of $10,000+ dollars. Further, with workers now shifting to hybrid or fully remote environments, data security has become all the more important to companies of every size. 2. Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated. There are more than 300 different cybercriminal groups operating today, and with cybercrime becoming more lucrative, that number is only going to go up. Like any burgeoning “industry,” the processes and operating procedures of cybercriminals have evolved over time. In the last year, we’ve seen considerably more sophisticated attacks. Standard data breaches have now turned into double and triple extortion in which hackers not only encrypt your data but also steal it. As many as 75% of attacks in 2021 have included some degree of data theft. Data directly equates to dollars for cybercriminals, so they’ll use any coercive actions necessary to ensure ransom payment. Mandiant, a prominent American cybersecurity firm, released a 2021 report detailing the multifaceted extortion techniques used by many modern cybercriminals. Frequently, hackers will steal a company’s sensitive data (i.e. client info) and threaten to put it out on a “name and shame” website, where they directly attribute the data breach to the company they stole from. It’s an obvious attempt to solicit more money from the business, which fears the backlash (and erosion of trust/brand equity) that would inevitably result from public exposure of a breach. Ultimately, as cybercriminals and their means of extortion evolve, so must our methods of security and protection from data breaches. 3. You Risk More by Not Making an Investment into Cybersecurity. From the perspective of a board of directors or executive team, the issue of cybersecurity is going to come back to budget. They’ll ask themselves: Do we have the capital to devote a portion of our resources to preventative security measures? What James suggests, when confronted with the budget issue, is to determine how much the risk of a data breach is worth to your company. You may think the investment isn’t worthwhile because insurance will cover you in the event of a breach; however, bear in mind that insurance companies are much less likely to provide restitution for cybercrimes because of their increasing frequency. Furthermore, you must think critically about what the total cost of a cybersecurity incident would be for your business. That includes not only the ransom paid but also the loss of productivity as the breach is dealt with and your security is being restored. Just look at this chart depicting how much downtime a ransomware attack causes: This graphic doesn’t even account for the loss of business that will result from a public data exposure. It’s human nature to want to avoid thinking about the worst-case scenario, but when by James’s estimation roughly three quarters of attacks occur from weak spots in software that could have been patched, the issue has to be addressed. In Closing… Click here to watch our full conversation with James. We’d also love the opportunity to talk with you about transforming your approach to cybersecurity and protecting yourself from an attack. Together, we’ll find the solution you need. Until then, check out the NSA’s top ten security mitigation strategies to keep yourself and your business safe. September 21, 2021 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020Editors' Picks Five steps to transform to on-premises cloud services by Erik Vogel September 23, 2020 by Erik Vogel September 23, 2020 Not all applications can be run in the public cloud. Here’s how to get the cloud to come to you. By now, the benefits of the cloud are well known: reduced costs, improved scalability, increased efficiency, and more agility. But not all enterprise applications, workloads, and data are suited … 1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020Leader's notes Editor’s Letter – Fall 2020 by Stacie Neall September 22, 2020 by Stacie Neall September 22, 2020 Perspective is a funny thing these days. In the long run, no matter how much life has changed, I hope we all have the opportunity to learn something new, brush up on a skill set and throw in a few random acts of kindness. I love the quote by … 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020Storage Around The Storage Block by Calvin Zito September 22, 2020 by Calvin Zito September 22, 2020 We spend a lot of time and energy talking about HPE Primera and HPE Nimble Storage – for good reason as I really believe they are the best one-two punch of mid-range and Tier-0 mission critical storage in the industry. 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020Digital TransformationEducation and Training Working—and Thriving—in the Age of Digital Transformation by John Clark September 22, 2020 by John Clark September 22, 2020 In the past decade, we’ve experienced a global acceleration of digital transformation as many things that we once did in-person are now routinely done online—communicating, shopping, dating, finding entertainment, and applying for jobs, to name a few. One area that has undergone a particularly dramatic change is employment as … 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020 Möbius Partners Success Story: Improving Cluster Management and System Updates by Kevin D. Hall September 22, 2020 by Kevin D. Hall September 22, 2020 Recently Möbius Partners worked with a client who lacked high-performance computing (HPC) cluster manageability tools that resulted in non-standardized operating systems and patching inconsistencies. This customer entrusted our team to provide a solution that would be “easy to use and manage” by their own staff. To overcome these challenges, … 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020 Lisa Partridge of XYPRO Technology Corporation: How We Plan To Rebuild In The Post COVID Economy by Charlie Katz September 22, 2020 by Charlie Katz September 22, 2020 Everything that happens is ultimately my responsibility. Period. However, one cannot and should not do it all alone. No one person has all the answers and think of all the perspectives to consider when making decisions. 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020 Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset Demands A New Approach To Cybersecurity by Cohesity September 22, 2020 by Cohesity September 22, 2020 Today, data is likely your most valuable and vulnerable strategic asset, and yet many of the methods for storing and protecting it are decades old. Data is not only a record of what has happened; it can also be used to anticipate the future and train machines to make … 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020 Software development reset – A remote DevOps epiphany by Mario Devargas September 22, 2020 by Mario Devargas September 22, 2020 No aspect of society seems able to escape being altered by the tragic outbreak of COVID-19. The now well-known slogan “Stay-at-Home” has given rise to a future where working from home has become the norm rather than the exception. Even the IT sector has felt its impact. New ways … 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
C2 Fall 2020 AI: Living on the Edge by Frederic Van Haren September 22, 2020 by Frederic Van Haren September 22, 2020 Every day, new users join a growing group of consumers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. Innovative applications such as voice assistants, self-driving cars, smart cities are all contributing to the democratization of AI. The amount of data generated from those applications, as well as wireless devices such as phones … 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail