Why Your Organization is An Easy Target for Criminals
Many people are under the misperception that they don’t have anything of value that a criminal may want to steal, so they are safe. But the truth is that everyone has at least one thing of value…identity. Your personal identity is valuable to those with ill intentions to sell your information, steal your money and other assets (e.g. home, land, etc.), or just outright hold your data hostage. Your information is valuable to criminals even if you don’t recognize the value.
Now if individual information is a hot commodity, then business data is even more valuable because there is more information available and accessible to these criminals. Why wouldn’t a criminal target a business or organization with access to a plethora of user, health, and/or financial data?
Smaller to medium-sized organizations are easy targets like people, because criminals know they lack protective controls and knowledge. Here are a few things that bust the myth that these organizations are safe, and explain why they are prime targets:
They often have a limited or no budget for skilled Information Security staff, network protection, and controls. As a result, they risk outdated network infrastructure, systems, and devices that criminals can exploit. Not only external criminals, but also the bad actors that work within the company. The lack of penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and system audits are just a few measures that would leave an organization unprotected.
There is no culture of Security Awareness or Monitoring. People are the first line of defense in protecting the business, but they do not know what they do not know. This lack of a human firewall in employees, contractors, and customers is a direct path used by criminals to access the business resources and assets. And sometimes, these same people work within or with the business as a trusted partner. Little to no Security Awareness Education and Training for people leaves them vulnerable to falling victim to bad behavior. Monitoring account access and even physical access is a great way to implement protection in real-time.
Organizations are not familiar with all the laws and regulations, as well as industry standards related to their business, like:
ISO 27001 – a global standard for information security management systems
NIST Cybersecurity Framework – a widely known and adopted cybersecurity framework to manage risks
EU AI Act – the first AI regulation at the government level
Many organizations are ill-prepared when an audit occurs or there is a security or privacy incident. The lack of governance documentation, like policies and procedures, leaves the organization open to litigation, loss of revenue, and reputational harm.
Your organization may be a prime target, but it does not have to be an easy target. Implementing clear policies and procedures for third-party vendor management, disaster recovery, business continuity, and access controls are just a few examples of the governance documentation that could prevent reputational humiliation and mitigate the risks of litigation and financial loss.
Let Resilient Excellence Consulting help you implement security controls that align with your organization’s goals to better protect what matters most to you. Contact us to get your Policy & Protection Playbook™.
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