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The 3 Greatest Moments In Cybersecurity Risk History
Cybersecurity Risk Management - How to Manage Third-Party Risks

Every day, we hear about breaches of data that have exposed the private data of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. These incidents usually originate from third-party vendors, like an organization that suffers an outage to their system.

Framing cyber risk starts with precise information about your threat landscape. This information lets you prioritize threats that require immediate focus.

State-sponsored Attacks

When cyberattacks are committed by the nation-state they are likely to cause more serious damage than other attacks. Nation-state attackers usually have substantial resources and advanced hacking skills that make them difficult to detect and fight. As such, they are often capable of stealing more sensitive information and disrupt critical business services. They also can cause more damage by focusing on the supply chain of the company as well as compromising third suppliers.

The average cost of a national-state attack is estimated at $1.6 million. Nine out of 10 organizations believe they've been victims of a state-sponsored attack. With cyberespionage gaining popularity among threat actors from nations-states, it's more important than ever before for businesses to implement solid cybersecurity practices in place.

Nation-state cyberattacks can take many forms, ranging from taking intellectual property, to ransomware or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. They can be carried out by government agencies, employees of a cybercriminal organization that is aligned with or contracted by an entity of the state, freelancers who are employed to carry out a specific nationalist campaign or even hackers who target the public at large.

The introduction of Stuxnet changed the game of cyberattacks by allowing states to weaponize malware and use it against their enemies. Since the time, cyberattacks have been used by states to achieve the military, political and economic goals.

In recent times, there has been a marked increase in the number of attacks sponsored by governments and the sophistication of these attacks. For instance, the Russian government-sponsored group Sandworm has been targeting both consumers and enterprises with DDoS attacks and ransomware. This is distinct from traditional crime syndicates, that are motivated by the desire to make money. They tend to target both consumers and businesses.

Therefore the response to threats from an actor of a nation-state requires a lot of coordination with multiple government agencies. This is a major difference from the "grandfather's cyberattack" where a business would submit an Internet Crime Complaint Center Report (IC3) to the FBI but not need to conduct a coordinated response with the FBI. In addition to the greater level of coordination, responding to a nation-state attack also requires coordination with foreign governments, which can be particularly difficult and time-consuming.

Smart Devices

Cyberattacks are growing in frequency as more devices connect to the Internet. privacy increased attack surface could create security risks for businesses and consumers alike. Hackers, for instance attack smart devices to steal information or compromise networks. This is especially true when these devices aren't properly protected and secured.

Smart devices are especially attractive to hackers because they can be used to gather an abundance of information about individuals or businesses. Voice-controlled assistants such as Alexa and Google Home, for example, can learn a great deal about their users by the commands they receive. They also collect information about the layout of people's homes as well as other personal data. In addition they are frequently used as a gateway to other types of IoT devices, such as smart lights, security cameras, and refrigerators.

If hackers can get access to these types of devices, they can cause serious harm to individuals and businesses. They can use them to commit a range of crimes, including fraud and identity theft. Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, and malicious software attacks. Additionally, they can hack into vehicles to steal GPS locations or disable safety features. They may even cause physical harm to drivers and passengers.

While it is not possible to stop users from connecting their devices to the internet but there are ways to minimize the harm they cause. For instance, users can change the factory default passwords on their devices to block hackers from gaining access to them and enable two-factor authentication. Regular firmware updates are also required for routers as well as IoT devices. Local storage, as opposed to cloud storage, can lessen the risk of an attacker when it comes to transferring and the storage of data between or on these devices.

It is still necessary to conduct research to better understand these digital harms and the best strategies to minimize them. Particularly, studies should focus on the development of technology solutions to help mitigate the negative effects caused by IoT devices. They should also explore other possible harms like those that are associated with cyberstalking and the exacerbated power imbalances between household members.

Human Error

Human error is one of the most frequent factors that can lead to cyberattacks. This could range from downloading malware to allowing a network to attack. A lot of these issues can be avoided by establishing and enforcing security measures. A malicious attachment might be clicked by an employee in an email containing phishing messages or a storage configuration issue could expose sensitive information.

A system administrator can turn off the security function without even realizing it. This is a common mistake that leaves software vulnerable to attacks from ransomware and malware. According to IBM the majority of security breaches involve human error. It is important to be aware of the kinds of mistakes that can lead a cyber breach and take steps to mitigate them.

Cyberattacks can be triggered for a variety of reasons, including hacking, financial fraud or to steal personal data, disrupt critical infrastructure or vital services of an any organization or government. State-sponsored actors, vendors, or hacker groups are usually the perpetrators.

The threat landscape is constantly evolving and complicated. Organisations must therefore constantly examine their risk profiles and revise security strategies to keep up with the most recent threats. The good news is that advanced technologies can reduce an organisation's overall risk of a hacker attack and enhance its security posture.

It is important to remember that no technology will protect an organization from every threat. This is the reason it's essential to create an effective cybersecurity plan that considers the various layers of risk within an organization's network ecosystem. It is also essential to perform regular risk assessments instead of relying on only point-in-time assessments that are often incorrect or even untrue. A comprehensive assessment of the security risks of an organization will allow for a more effective mitigation of these risks and will ensure that the organization is in compliance with industry standards. This will help prevent costly data breaches and other incidents that could have a negative impact on the business's operations, finances and reputation. A successful strategy for cybersecurity includes the following elements:

Third-Party Vendors

Third-party vendors are companies that are not part of the organization but provide services, software, or products. These vendors often have access to sensitive information such as financials, client data or network resources. The vulnerability of these companies can be used to access the original business system when they're not secured. This is why cybersecurity risk management teams have begun to go to the extremes to ensure that third-party risks are vetted and controlled.

The risk is growing as cloud computing and remote working become more popular. A recent survey conducted by the security analytics firm BlueVoyant revealed that 97% of companies which were surveyed suffered from supply chain vulnerabilities. This means that any disruption to a vendor - even if it is a tiny portion of the supply chain - could cause a domino effect that threatens the entire operation of the business.

privacy have taken to establishing a procedure which accepts new vendors from third parties and requires them to agree to specific service level agreements which define the standards by which they will be held in their relationship with the organization. A thorough risk assessment should also include documentation of the ways in which weaknesses of the vendor are tested, followed up on and corrected in a timely manner.


Another way to protect your business from threats from third parties is by implementing the privileged access management software that requires two-factor authentication to gain access into the system. This will prevent attackers from accessing your network by stealing an employee's credentials.

Also, ensure that your third-party vendors use the most current versions of their software. This will ensure that they haven't introduced any inadvertent flaws into their source code. Often, empyrean corporation are not discovered and could be used as a springboard for more prominent attacks.

Third-party risk is a constant risk to any company. The strategies mentioned above can be used to reduce the risks. However, the most effective method to reduce your risk to third parties is through constantly monitoring. This is the only way to know the condition of your third-party's cybersecurity and quickly spot any risks that might arise.

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