Cybersecurity Risks
Introduction: Cybersecurity Risks
Today, the growth of the internet and increased technology use has brought an increase in cybersecurity risks. The advancement in technology has given malicious actors a chance to undertake different criminal activities in cyberspace. Various organizations and individuals are conducting the effort to secure cyberspace. Cyber-attacks are an ongoing problem in the current world of technology. Initiatives to curb this challenge are growing and expanding where individuals and corporates are investing in achieving secure cyberspace. Cybersecurity should be a concern of everyone, not just the IT department in an organization. The realities of cybersecurity risks will be analyzed in this paper and how legal, ethics, and compliance professionals can overcome the challenge of cyber insecurity in their organization.
Current realities of cybersecurity
Sophisticated attackers using advanced technology are increasing in the webspace. Businesses and consumers are aware of the need for cybersecurity today. The understanding of why they need for cybersecurity in needed has spread across every value chain. Unlike five years ago, where attackers were thought to be focused and elaborate, the attacks are broad with new and intelligent forms of malware. Increased types of malware and their complexity are significant threats to businesses of all sizes. The malware self-propagates are making it hard to detect them using the essential detection tools (Samtani, Chinn, Larson, & Chen, 2016). The hackers can use new techniques to hide the malware or the threat in an encrypted method. Malware can look like regular traffic because cyber attackers can control them and mimic daily traffic. Therefore, the traditional malware detectors and security tools are no longer viable (Nurse, Radanliev, Creese & De Roure, 2018). The attacker is now enrolled in large groups, with training and resources at their disposal. In this regard, cybersecurity is fundamental in business operations using the updated tools, and hiring experts in cybersecurity might help in solving the problem.
Different ways of monetizing cybercrime exist today than before. Hackers are not stealing data and selling it only. Attackers are destroying systems and attaining information that can devastate businesses in starting fake news that messes with the company’s reputation. Malicious competitors may use cyber attackers to destroy a company’s business systems, such as bringing down the supply chain systems. Cybercriminals have an extensive value in the technology space and take pride in their financial growth as hackers have taken their jobs seriously today, unlike five years ago. Organizations should view the need for cybersecurity in the same seriousness by investing in the best tools. Five years ago, cybercrime used viruses and disabled computers to carry out their attack (Moraes, 2019). Today, the high speed in technology, increased techniques, and the profit in cybercrime, organizations, are at a higher risk of attacks.
Organizations and individuals have widely accepted the realities of cyber-attacks. The damaging that the cyber insecurities bring on businesses cannot be ignored. Increased investment in proper security tools that can predict and respond to threats effectively is ongoing in companies. Cybersecurity systems are expensive to purchase, install, and manage in business. Small businesses tend to outsource services from IT service providers who are well versant with the problems. With the right tools and support, an organization will maintain an effective response to any arising risk. Good customer experience requires increased cybersecurity for online purchases of products (Samtani et al., 2016). Therefore, every business should place a sound security system that will retain its customers and promote smooth operation.
The skill gap still exists because of the new and problematic development of cyber-attacks. The demand for secure cyberspace has gone up very fast, leaving the IT experts with a knowledge gap. The workload to respond to the attacks and keeping businesses free from threats is a difficult task. Higher security experts are needed in businesses. Too much time is taken by the companies in the effort to remedy the damage caused by the attacks due to the limited knowledge or skills in executing the appropriate preventive measures (Moraes, 2019). Lack of security experts is a persisting reality in business today. Continuous training and adapting to the changes in cybersecurity is needed in all levels of companies.
Legal, ethics and compliance professionals
In the past, legal, ethics, and compliance professionals were not included in the cybersecurity space. In most organizations, these professionals were left behind when discussing matters of cyber securities in the organizations. Organization’s leaders got concerned after a report in 2014 illustrated that 75% of the legal, ethical, and compliance officers are left behind on cybersecurity matters. These professionals are vital in building secure cyberspace in organizations. These professionals can overcome the existing barriers to secure their organizations (Asbury, McClelland, Torgerson, Vincent, & Boling, 2018). The role that these professional play in ensuring their organizations are cyber secure are numerous and cannot be overlooked.
Legal professionals have the universal laws to protect and carry reasonable measures in safeguarding data in their organization. Significant barriers to achieving cybersecurity in an organization can be made by legal professionals’ ability to enact contracts and regulatory roles in protecting confidential data. Companies are struggling to meet the dynamic laws, regulations, privacy standards, and new liabilities related to a data breach (Asbury et al., 2018). Lawyers and other legal professionals engage in continuous training and learning to become conversant with the new laws, regulations, and policies created to fit the advancing technological needs.
Centralized discovery center and data storage are crucial for legal professionals in the effort to break barriers and make their organizations secure. The concern arises when an organization distributes ESI to different vendors and law firms. The risk of a data breach can be seen in such activities. As a result, a centralized data system and management allows a single platform that controls the organization’s data. The information shared can be coded correctly and protected by the right confidential provisions. The data can be encrypted for single use to avoid miscoding for other litigation matters (Asbury et al., 2018). A centralized system keeps the information secure by allowing the organization’s team to manage the access and use of sensitive data across different law firms and vendors. This technique helps to solve the barriers of making an organization cyber-secure.
Moving to the cloud is crucial for legal professionals because it increases security benefits for the organization. Optimizing information and managing data are some of the benefits of adopting a cloud for judicial officers. Cloud limits the process of importing and exporting data from one system to another. The data can move seamlessly without a third party’s intervention. Cloud allows different activities such as data collection, processing, case assessment, review, and production to be conducted in the cloud (Asbury et al., 2018). The limited transferring of information from one vendor to another can be risky for data breaching.
Security audit in the organization is crucial in improving cybersecurity. Businesses are adopting security protocols that require to be audited often to mitigate any security risks. Having a data protection contract for employees and other stakeholders is crucial when improving cybersecurity in a corporate. The agreement allows the organization to place the burden of cybersecurity upon every individual affiliated with the business. Security assessment tools are adopted in a company to ensure protocols adherence by employees and associates. The audit allows identifying the various loopholes existing in the company needing to be resolved (Talesh, 2018). Also, it raises insights for decision making concerning cybersecurity, such as training employees and investing in new security tools.
Legal professionals are using document protection and not only device encryption. The security at the documents level controls the access of e-documents and promotes a secure sharing of information within the organization. This process mitigates insider threats that cyber attackers use in most cases. Document encryption enables quick detection and response to insider threats (Talesh, 2018). Any technique gives quick alerts to any unauthorized user trying to access the documents.
Ethics professionals have a role in educating employees in different departments dealing with data on confidentiality, consumer ethics, and incident responses. Most IT professionals have the skills to perform their tasks but lack the ethical understanding that can attack the company’s litigation problems. Confidentiality is crucial for each employee in an organization. When dealing with sensitive matters, professionals should not just open or share information because they can access it from the system. Employees who bring their devices to work should be given an in-depth training of the confidentiality needed and the risk they have towards their data when connecting to the network (Talesh, 2018). Also, an organization should understand its role in protecting its customers from cyber attack issues. More so, alerting the consumers of a potential breach is an ethical issue to be considered. Ethical professionals play a huge role in enlightening the organization on its roles and responsibilities in achieving an ethical operation when considering cybersecurity.
Communication between clients, employees, and partners should be controlled using ethical standards. Personal information regarding employees should be kept safe to promote confidentiality, including medical information, health insurance, and payrolls should be protected using advanced security tools. Ethics professionals should help in drafting an ethics code that governs issues concerning cybersecurity and data protection. Trust among employees should be maintained to avoid leaking information to hackers. Some ethical issues can cost the company’s reputation and attract severe lawsuits. Client safety and well-being should be assured using the right ethical considerations on the cyberspace. Cyberethics supports transparency when a risk is detected on cybersecurity. Customers or clients should be informed about data breaches as early as possible to create transparency on the tendency of their sensitive information to be stolen (Talesh, 2018). Cyberethics should be distinguished from other regulations to mark emphasis. Since cyber ethics have not been established uniformly, organizations require skilled professionals to aid them in creating necessary policies to instill them on employees.
Compliance is crucial in every organization because it ensures the IT department is following all the laws, standards, and regulations concerning cybersecurity. Without an agreement, the organization may think they have met all requirements, not until an audit reveals some vulnerabilities that can be used by attackers. Also, lack of compliance can lead to huge penalties and lawsuits that an organization can avoid. Compliance helps to create a cybersecurity culture where every individual is aware of the need to follow protocols. This approach ensures that guidelines are followed to the letter, and standards are upheld to minimize the likelihood of cyber insecurity. Common barriers to a cyber-secure organization can be clicking phishing emails and opening hackers’ documents. The implemented framework in the organization should be industry-specific to ensure feasibility and ensure that the right standards of cybersecurity are appropriate. Frequent evaluation should be done to ensure compliance and proper exercise of the guidelines (Morrow, 2018). Continuous improvement is another approach to ensure all aspects of cybersecurity standards are met in the company. Growth raises the standards making it hard for hackers to have a successful attack.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity risk is high in today’s life. Corporates and small businesses are investing in high technology security tools to protect their operations, reputation, clients, and marketing. The effects of cyber attacks are enormous and cannot be ignored. The complex nature of tools used by the attackers in the current age makes it hard to respond to the cyber-attacks. Proper monitoring allows an organization to prepare to mitigate the risk or prevent it before it happens. Legal, ethical, and compliance professionals have been influential in overcoming the everyday challenges of achieving a cyber-secure space.
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