Budget bandwidth is often a strong contention point for businesses. And even with the increase in cybercrime threats, some firms still struggle to allocate proper budget allowances to meet security and regulatory requirements. According to a recent report by Accenture, organizations face on average 22 legitimate security breaches each year and the average cost of a single cyberattack is $380,000.

As institutions of higher education reel from recent cyberattacks in the United Kingdom, IT departments work tirelessly to secure sensitive student data. Student records offer a wealth of personally identifiable information (PII) from birth dates and social security numbers to bank account numbers and home addresses. In parallel, a study released by EDUCAUSE in July 2020 notes that the CIO’s Commitment on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) reports that 83.1% of respondents strongly agree that “diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace environments foster more effective and creative teams of technology professionals.” Although at first glance, these two issues appear unrelated, bringing diverse voices to the cybersecurity table may provide a way through, rather than around, the current security struggles facing remote learning models in higher education. 

The Q3 2020 Threat Landscape Report by Nuspire demonstrates threat actors becoming even more ruthless. Throughout Q3, hackers shifted focus from home networks to overburdened public entities, including the education sector and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Malware campaigns, like Emotet, utilized these events as phishing lure themes to assist in delivery.

Financial services firms are reportedly hit by security incidents 300 times more frequently than other businesses, according to ID Theft Resource Center. To help financial planners protect their data and comply with the cybersecurity requirements established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) today launched Cybersecurity for Financial Planners: An FPA Certificate Program.

The following outlines three steps the C-suite and other executive team members should take to prevent and survive a data breach. But first, it’s imperative all involved heed this initial piece of advice when planning cybersecurity; treat breaches not as a possibility, but as something that is going to happen.

The need for improved security for remote workers requires more resources; however, the ongoing economic conditions often require lowering costs. A Microsoft survey found most leaders increased budgets for security and compliance (58 and 65% noting an increase), while 81% of respondents also reported pressure to lower security costs overall. IT is therefore tasked with protecting their company’s networks from the remote work-related threats while operating with leaner budgets. Doing this effectively will require multiple strategies to make sure your network is secure with the shift to remote work. Here are three examples on how broader security can be achieved.

Building security and privacy into product development is more critical today than ever before. First introduced through the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing initiative in the early 2000s, the well-known security development lifecycle (SDL) is a framework designed to do just that. It was originally devised to enhance software security, but an SDL process can and should be applied to all types of products to help root out security and privacy vulnerabilities, while establishing long-term resilience in the rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Social engineering is a term that refers to efforts by hackers and cybercriminals to use people — rather than technology — to gain access to sensitive systems and information. It’s a problem that information security experts have been wrestling with for years and one that, in the midst of COVID-19, has become both more prevalent and more challenging.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad F. Wolf introduced two new members to the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC): Tom Jenkins and Catherine Lotrionte. Created by President George W. Bush in 2002, the HSAC is a Department of Homeland Security federal advisory committee that provides the secretary with independent, informed recommendations, and advice on a variety of homeland security issues.

Keeper Security has examined new challenges for the retail industry as part of its Cybersecurity in the Remote Work Era: A Global Risk Report. With the holiday season quickly approaching, Keeper Security is issuing an advisory for retailers.