October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is now in its 19th year. The event was initially launched by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to ensure organizations and consumers are ready to take on the cybersecurity landscape.
This year’s theme, “See Yourself in Cyber,” demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people.
To gain a feel for the trends for 2022 relating to digital security, Digital Journal caught up with cybersecurity expert JP Perez-Etchegoyen (CTO at Onapsis).
According to Perez-Etchegoyen it is important for both IT professionals and everyday users to consider why cybersecurity matters. He notes: “Cybersecurity Awareness Month serves as a timely reminder for companies to re-evaluate their cybersecurity processes after a year of tumultuous cyberattacks and data breaches across industries.”
Recent trends suggest that cybersecurity issues are not going away: “Cybersecurity has continued to rise in importance throughout a year plagued by ransomware and supply chain attacks as organizations of every size and industry have realized the importance of preventing and protecting against cyber threats.”
For the corporate world, weak cybersecurity affects more than just internal systems. It affects reputations as well and with this future business. Here Perez-Etchegoyen states: “Business continuity and brand reputation hinge on an organization’s ability to maximize the availability of business-critical applications while embracing innovation and operationalizing security and compliance.”
This means it is important to invest in solid systems. Perez-Etchegoyen advises: “Protection of business-critical applications is especially important as cybercriminals continue to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities in these applications can lead to exposure and end up in data potentially being stolen. During a recent study, Onapsis Research Labs found that new, unprotected SAP applications provisioned in cloud (IaaS) environments were discovered and attacked in less than three hours, stressing the need to “shift left” and ensure new mission-critical applications are provisioned securely from day one.”
Perez-Etchegoyen main advice is for businesses to review and map their systems: “Enterprises must evaluate all systems in their IT landscape for any cyber threats, including unpatched systems, permissive access controls, insecure integrations, or misconfigured services. Then, they should implement any necessary mitigations right away to protect their mission-critical applications and business from sophisticated cybercriminals.”
Perez-Etchegoyen’s final advice runs: “To guarantee that these applications are fully and effectively protected, they must also leverage a business-critical application security program in their overall cybersecurity strategy. This will allow them to reduce the costs and risks associated with transformation so the business can achieve its top-line growth initiatives.”
