Cybersecurity

There’s no such thing as bulletproof security. It simply doesn’t exist. Even organizations with world-class security controls can fall victim to zero-day exploits, weak or stolen passwords, or user error.

Data breaches continue to skyrocket. According to the 2021 Mid Year Data Breach QuickView report from Risk Based Security, there were 1,767 data breaches in the first half of this year, exposing almost 19 billion records. The severity of breaches is also increasing, with two incidents exposing more than 1 billion records.

Many security experts agree that ransomware is the greatest cybersecurity threat organizations face today. Ransomware attacks nearly doubled in the first half of 2021, compared to 2020. In a recent Sophos survey, 37 percent of respondents said they were affected by ransomware in the past year. The National Security Institute estimates that the average ransom demand is now $200,000, compared to $5,000 in 2018.

Cybersecurity is one of the most significant business challenges that organizations face today. The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports that global business losses from cybercrime reached nearly $1 trillion in 2020, almost double the previous year’s losses. Cybersecurity is a risk management issue that requires board-level oversight.