The Human Firewall - Because Cybersecurity isn't an IT Problem
Cybercrime is often described as the biggest threat to modern business. However, there are still plenty of companies and business leaders who either fail to understand the threat or think it’s the responsibility of the IT manager. This workshop on Cybersecurity has been designed to equip business leaders with vital skills and essential knowledge necessary in today's fully connected business environment.
According to recent government statistics, around 65 per cent of organisations have been breached or hacked. In other words, data which is considered sensitive, protected or confidential has been used, copied, transmitted, viewed or stolen by an individual or organisation unauthorized to do so. However, unlike other crimes, you may not know that it’s happened until weeks, even months, after the event.
It’s taking leaders a long time to realise this is a business issue and not a technology issue. There are very few businesses where a cyber-threat is not a major risk to its welfare. Warren Buffet famously said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it.” These days a company’s reputation can be destroyed within a couple of clicks.
In the first six months of last year, there were 89,000 cases of identity fraud in the UK, which equates to 500 incidents per day. In many cases, the information would have been acquired from a data breach and was used to apply for credit cards, bank accounts, loans and insurance. This is a massive problem in its own right but now GDPR is law it makes it even more of a concern.
Vigilance starts in the boardroom and it’s crucial that the C-suite take an active role in understanding the level of risk they’re exposed to and establishing a meaningful and effective strategy.
Technology is evolving faster than we can generate individuals with the skills and experience we need. The agile nature of business, along with remote working technology, has left more companies open to the risk of cyber-attacks and it is vital that we understand the problem, know how to plan for it, talk about it and start to take action.
