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5 Laws That Anyone Working In Cybersecurity Risk Should Be Aware Of
Cybersecurity Risk Management - How to Manage Third-Party Risks

It's not a day without hearing about data breaches that reveal hundreds of thousands or millions of private details of individuals. These breaches typically stem from third-party vendors, like a vendor that experiences an outage to their system.


Analyzing cyber risk begins with accurate information about your threat landscape. This allows you to prioritize which threats require your attention the most urgently.

State-sponsored Attacs

Cyberattacks carried out by nation-states could cause more damage than other type of attack. Attackers from nation-states are usually well-resourced and have sophisticated hacking techniques, which makes it difficult to recognize them or fight them. As such, they are often capable of stealing more sensitive information and disrupt vital business services. They can also cause more damage through targeting the supply chain of the company and the third suppliers.

The average cost of a nation-state terrorism attack is estimated at $1.6 million. Nine out of 10 companies think they've been the victim of a state-sponsored attack. Cyberspionage is becoming more and more popular among nation-state threat actors. Therefore, it's more important than ever before that companies implement robust cybersecurity procedures.

Nation-state cyberattacks can take many forms, from theft of intellectual property to ransomware or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. They can be carried out by government agencies, members of a cybercrime outfit which is affiliated with or contracted by a state, freelancers hired for a specific nationalist operation or even criminal hackers who target the general public in general.

The introduction of Stuxnet changed the game of cyberattacks by allowing states to use malware as a weapon and use it against their enemies. Since then states have been using cyberattacks to achieve political goals, economic and military.

In custom SaaS solutions there has been a marked increase in the number of government-sponsored attacks and the level of sophistication of these attacks. Sandworm, a group backed by the Russian government, has targeted both consumers and businesses with DDoS attacks. This is different from traditional crime syndicates that are motivated by financial gain. They are more likely to target businesses and consumers.

Responding to a national state actor's threat requires a significant amount of coordination among several government agencies. This is a major difference from the "grandfather's cyberattack" when a company could submit an Internet Crime Complaint Center Report (IC3) to the FBI but not have to conduct a coordinated response with the FBI. Responding to a nation-state attack requires a higher degree of coordination. It also requires coordination with other governments, which is lengthy and difficult.

Smart Devices

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

Smart devices are especially attracted to hackers since they can be used to gather lots of information about businesses or individuals. 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 and other personal information. In addition they are frequently used as an interface to other kinds of IoT devices, such as smart lights, security cameras and refrigerators.

Hackers can cause serious harm to businesses and people if they gain access to these devices. They could employ these devices to commit variety of crimes, like fraud, identity theft and Denial-of-Service attacks (DoS). They are also able to hack into vehicles to spoof GPS location, disable safety features, and even cause physical injury to passengers and drivers.

There are ways to reduce the harm caused by smart devices. Users can, for instance change the default factory passwords for their devices to stop attackers from finding them easily. They can also enable two-factor authentication. Regular firmware updates are required for routers as well as IoT device. Local storage, instead of cloud storage, can lower the threat of a hacker when they transfer and storage of data from or to these devices.

It is necessary to conduct studies to better understand the digital damage and the best methods to mitigate them. Research should be focused on identifying technology solutions that can help mitigate harms triggered by IoT. Additionally, they should investigate other potential harms like cyberstalking, or the exacerbated power imbalances among household members.

Human Error

Human error is among the most common causes of cyberattacks. This can be anything from downloading malware to allowing a network to attack. By setting up and enforcing stringent security procedures, many of these mistakes can be avoided. A malicious attachment might be clicked by an employee in an email that is phishing or a storage configuration error could expose sensitive information.

Furthermore, an employee could disable a security feature in their system without noticing that they're doing it. This is a common error that makes software vulnerable to attacks by malware and ransomware. IBM states that human error is the most significant reason behind security incidents. It is important to be aware of the kinds of errors that could lead to an attack on your computer and take steps to mitigate them.

Cyberattacks are carried out for a variety of reasons including hacking, financial fraud or to collect personal data or to deny service, or disrupt critical infrastructure and vital services of a government or an organization. State-sponsored actors, vendors or hacker groups are often the culprits.

The threat landscape is a complex and ever-changing. Organizations should therefore regularly examine their risk profiles and revise strategies for protection to keep pace with the most recent threats. The good news is that advanced technologies can reduce an organisation's overall risk of being targeted by hackers attack and improve its security measures.

It's crucial to remember that no technology will protect an organization from every threat. It is therefore crucial to develop a comprehensive cyber-security strategy that is based on the different levels of risk in the ecosystem of an organization. It is also essential to conduct regular risk assessments, rather than using only point-in-time assessments, which are often in error or even untrue. A comprehensive assessment of a company's security risks will allow for more effective mitigation of those risks and ensure compliance with industry standards. This will help to prevent costly data breaches as well as other incidents that could adversely impact the company's finances, operations and image. A successful strategy for cybersecurity will include the following elements:

Third-Party Vendors

Every business relies on third-party vendors that is, companies outside of the company who offer services, products and/or software. These vendors have access to sensitive data such as client information, financials or network resources. Their vulnerability could be used to gain access to the business system that they are operating from when they're not secure. This is the reason why cybersecurity risk management teams have started to go to the extremes to ensure that third-party risks are assessed and controlled.

This risk is increasing as cloud computing and remote working become more common. In fact, a recent study by security analytics firm BlueVoyant found that 97% of the companies they surveyed were negatively impacted by supply chain weaknesses. That means that any disruption to a vendor - even if it's a small part of the business's supply chain - can cause an unintended consequence that could affect the entire operation of the original business.

Many organizations have resorted the initiative to create a process that accepts new third-party vendors and requires them to sign to specific service level agreements which define the standards by which they are held in their relationship with the organization. Additionally, a thorough risk assessment should document how the vendor is evaluated for weaknesses, analyzing the results on results, and remediating them in a timely manner.

custom SaaS solutions that requires two-factor verification to gain access to the system is another method to safeguard your business against third-party risks. This stops attackers from gaining access to your network easily by stealing employee credentials.

Not least, ensure that your third party providers are using the most recent version of their software. This will ensure that they haven't created any security flaws unintentionally in their source code. Often, these vulnerabilities go undetected and can be used as a way to launch other high-profile attacks.

Third-party risk is a constant risk to any company. While bespoke solutions mentioned above can help mitigate some of these risks, the best way to ensure that your third-party risk is minimized is by performing continuous monitoring. This is the only method to fully comprehend the cybersecurity position of your third party and quickly identify potential threats.

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