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25 Surprising Facts About Cybersecurity Risk
Cybersecurity Risk Management - How to Manage Third-Party Risks

Every day, we are informed of breaches of data that have exposed private information of hundreds of thousands perhaps millions. These incidents are usually caused by third-party partners such as a vendor who suffers a system failure.

Information about your threat environment is crucial to framing cyber risk. This information lets you prioritize threats that require immediate focus.

State-Sponsored Attacs

Cyberattacks carried out by nation-states could cause more damage than other attack. Attackers from nation-states are usually well-equipped and have sophisticated hacking techniques, which makes it difficult to detect them or fight them. As such, they are often adept at stealing more sensitive information and disrupt critical business services. Additionally, they could cause more damage over time by targeting the supply chain and compromising third-party suppliers.

In the end, the average nation-state attack costs an estimated $1.6 million. Nine out of 10 businesses believe they've been the victims of a state-sponsored attack. And with cyberespionage growing in the eyes of nations-state threat actors and cybercriminals, it's more critical than ever before for businesses to have solid cybersecurity practices in place.

Cyberattacks carried out by nation-states can take place in a variety of varieties. They include ransomware, to Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS). They can be carried out by government agencies, members of a cybercriminal organization which is affiliated with or contracted by the state, freelancers employed for a specific nationalist operation or even hackers who target the general public at large.

Stuxnet was an innovative cyberattacks tool. It allowed states to weaponize malware against their adversaries. Since since then, cyberattacks are used by states to achieve political, military and economic goals.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of government-sponsored attacks and the advanced nature of these attacks. Sandworm, a group backed by the Russian government has targeted both consumers and businesses by using DDoS attacks. This is different from traditional crime syndicates that are motivated by the desire to make money. They are more likely to target consumers and businesses.

Responding to a national-state actor's threat requires a lot of coordination between multiple government agencies. This is quite different from the "grandfather's cyberattack" where a business would submit an Internet Crime Complaint Center Report (IC3) to the FBI but not have to coordinate a significant response with the FBI. In addition to the higher level of coordination, responding to a nation-state attack requires coordination with foreign governments, which can be particularly demanding and time-consuming.

Smart Devices

Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency as more devices connect to the Internet. This increase in attack surfaces can pose security risks to both businesses and consumers. Hackers could, for instance, exploit smart devices to steal data or compromise networks. This is especially true when these devices aren't properly secured and protected.

Hackers are attracted by smart devices because they can be utilized for a variety purposes, including gaining information about people or businesses. For instance, voice controlled assistants such as Alexa and Google Home can learn a lot about users through the commands they are given. They can also collect data about the layout of their homes as well as other personal data. These devices also function as gateways to other IoT devices like smart lighting, security cameras, and refrigerators.

If hackers can get access to these devices, they can cause a lot of harm to people and businesses. They could make use of these devices to commit diverse range of crimes such as identity theft, fraud and Denial-of-Service attacks (DoS). empyrean have the ability to hack into vehicles in order to disguise GPS location, disable safety features, and even cause physical injury to passengers and drivers.

There are ways to minimize the harm caused by these devices. Users can, for instance alter the default factory passwords of their devices to prevent attackers finding them easily. They can also enable two-factor verification. Regular firmware updates are essential for routers and IoT device. Local storage, rather than cloud storage, can lower the chance of an attacker when transferring and storage of data from or to these devices.

It is necessary to conduct research in order to better understand the digital harms and the best ways to minimize them. Research should be focused on finding technological solutions that can mitigate the harms triggered by IoT. Additionally, they should look at other potential risks, such as those associated with cyberstalking and exacerbated power imbalances between household members.

Human Error

Human error is one of the most common factors that contribute to cyberattacks. It could be anything from downloading malware to leaving a network vulnerable to attack. By creating and enforcing strict security procedures, many of these mistakes can be avoided. For enhanced cybersecurity , a worker could click on a malicious attachment in a phishing attack or a storage configuration error could expose sensitive information.

Administrators of systems can disable a security function without realizing it. This is a common error that leaves software open to attacks by malware and ransomware. enhanced cybersecurity claims that human error is the main cause of security incidents. This is why it's crucial to know the kinds of mistakes that can cause a cybersecurity breach and take steps to prevent the risk.

Cyberattacks can be committed to a variety of reasons including financial fraud, hacking activism, to obtain personal information, deny service, or disrupt the critical infrastructure and vital services of a government or an organization. They are usually perpetrated by state-sponsored actors, third-party vendors, or hacker collectives.

The threat landscape is always evolving and complex. Companies must constantly review their risk profiles and revisit protection strategies to stay up-to-date with the most recent threats. The good news is that the most advanced technologies can help reduce the risk of a cyberattack, and improve an organisation's security posture.

But, it's crucial to remember that no technology can protect an organization from every possible threat. It is therefore essential to develop a comprehensive cyber-security strategy that considers the different levels of risk in the organization's ecosystem. It's also crucial to regularly conduct risk assessments instead of relying on traditional point-in-time assessments that could be easily missed or inaccurate. A comprehensive assessment of an organisation's security risks will allow for more effective mitigation of those risks and help ensure that the company is in compliance with industry standards. This can help avoid costly data breaches as well as other incidents that could negatively impact the business's operations, finances and image. A successful cybersecurity plan should include the following elements:

Third-Party Vendors

Third-party vendors are companies that are not part of the organization, but provide services, software, and/or products. These vendors have access to sensitive data like financials, client information or network resources. Their vulnerability could be used to access the business system they originally used to operate from in the event that they are not secure. This is the reason why cybersecurity risk management teams have begun to go to extreme lengths to ensure that the risks of third parties are vetted and controlled.


As the use of remote computing and cloud computing increases, this risk is becoming even more of an issue. In fact, a recent survey by security analytics firm BlueVoyant found that 97% of companies they surveyed were adversely affected by supply chain weaknesses. A disruption to a vendor even if it just impacts a small portion of the supply chain, can have a domino-effect that threatens to cause disruption to the entire company.

Many organizations have created an approach to accept new suppliers from third parties and require them to agree to service level agreements that define the standards they will be accountable to in their relationship with the company. A thorough risk assessment should also provide documentation on how the vendor's weaknesses are tested and followed up with and corrected promptly.

Another method to safeguard your business from risk from third parties is by implementing a privileged access management solution that requires two-factor authentication to gain entry into the system. This prevents attackers from easily getting access to your network by stealing credentials of employees.

Not least, make sure that your third-party service providers are using the latest version of their software. This will ensure that they have not introduced any security flaws unintentionally in their source code. Often, these vulnerabilities go undetected and can be used as a basis for more prominent attacks.

Ultimately, third-party risk is a constant threat to any business. The strategies mentioned above can be used to reduce these threats. However, the best method to reduce the risks posed by third parties is to constantly monitoring. This is the only method to fully understand the cybersecurity threat of your third-party and to quickly spot possible threats.

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