As our world continues to grow more digitally connected, cybersecurity threats are rising. Consider that 2023 saw a 72% jump in data breaches over 2021, a year that held the previous record. The overall global cost of cybercrime is enormous, complex and hard to quantify. For example, it’s reported that ransomware gangs collected a combined total of $1.1 billion in 2023 from these types of attacks alone. Regardless of cyberattack type (more on this below), organizations must put into place robust security to prevent data loss, unauthorized access, and other forms of malicious activity that can disrupt business and cause them significant financial and reputational harm.
Cybersecurity Threats: Pick Your Poison
While ransomware attacks tend to grab media attention due to their dramatic nature and large ransoms demanded, they are by no means the only cybercrimes organizations must prevent. While less sensational, other attack types are even more prevalent:
- Phishing—deceptive emails, text messages or websites fool users into providing sensitive information or downloading malware. Once done, hackers gain access to an organization’s internal systems, applications, and data.
- Zero-day attacks—leverage vulnerabilities in software or hardware that are unknown to others, including the commercial vendor, to gain system access. In such cases, no patch or update is yet available; in fact, “zero day” is a reference to there being zero days to wait to launch an attack since a fix could be imminent.
- Insider threats—people inside an organization (employees, contractors, etc.) either accidently, carelessly or willfully provide criminals with access to sensitive systems and data. (Note: This is purported to be the case behind the recent data breach at Disney.)
- IoT vulnerabilities—the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices introduces new attack targets, since they are all connected to an organization’s internal systems. With the traditional network edge disappearing as more employees work from different locations, this threat is increasing.
Is this list exhaustive? By any means, no. And there are other factors making today’s organizations less safe, including their hybrid, complex IT environments that require security management across multiple platforms and services. The integration of legacy systems with these more modern technologies can also create security gaps and vulnerabilities that are often left unaddressed until compromised.
Finally, many organizations lack fully formed security policies, or fail to enforce them, especially when it comes to the new paradigm of remote working. All of this makes it possible for bad actors to find a weak spot and exploit it.
What ITSM Organizations Can Do
The takeaway is to not just sit and wait for a cyberattack to occur—instead, take a proactive stance to mitigate cybersecurity risks inside your organization. Among the recommended steps:
- Develop a comprehensive security strategy—start by conducting a thorough risk assessment to identify all potential threats and vulnerabilities, then establish security policies and procedures for data protection, incident response, regulatory compliance, etc.
- Implement strong access controls—To borrow from the ‘90s TV show “The X-Files”, the motto should be “Trust No One.” This likely means utilizing a zero-trust approach that assumes no implicit trust and requires verification of every access request regardless of source.
- Utilize intrusion detection systems—these monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic to detect and alert to anything appearing out of the ordinary.
- Conduct regular cybersecurity training—this is crucial for helping workers to recognize and not fall prey to phishing, social engineering tactics, and numerous other wolves in sheep’s clothing. Many organizations continue to overlook this step and pay for it.
Role of AI in Advanced Security
As in most areas of business, AI and automation will likely take an ever-increasing role in digital security. This is due to AI’s advanced threat detection and response capabilities.
For example, AI’s ability to rapidly analyze vast amounts of data enables it to identify patterns and anomalies, such as in user behaviors or network traffic, that may indicate a security breach. Because it continuously learns from new data, it can also quickly adapt to evolving threats and detect even the most subtle indicators.
Additionally, AI can automate many routine security tasks, such as managing access, to reduce the burden on human security teams.
An Ounce of Prevention
The cybersecurity landscape moves quickly, with new threats appearing on the horizon almost daily. By keeping abreast of evolving cybercrime tactics, the most common security risks, and implementing both advanced technologies and comprehensive strategies on how to protect networks and data, diligent ITSM organizations can stay a step ahead of the bad guys.
