+
EDITOR’S QUESTION
/////////////////
GARY WATSON,
CTO AND FOUNDER,
NEXSAN
A
s the World Economic Forum (WEF) has shown, the
state of IT security is finally starting to take its place
on the world stage. The time for CIOs to prepare
for security challenges is now. The devastating WannaCry
ransomware incident proves that cybersecurity has moved
beyond single organisational attacks. Security challenges
are growing in sophistication and we are now faced with the
challenge of Meltdown/Spectre, which puts every computer in
the world at risk. In the coming year, particularly in the wake of
tighter regulations such as GDPR, CIOs need to revaluate their
investments to ensure IT infrastructure can protect critical data.
Paramount to this is an effective security strategy that revolves
around implementation, assessment, monitoring and response.
Most organisations are cognisant of the first two, with budget
and resources assigned for measures like anti-virus software and
patch management. The second two are often less in their sights.
Collecting threat intelligence must be continuous, for
example observing sites on the Dark
Web, checking if traffic from known
bad hosts is being directed to your
site and constantly monitoring the
threat landscape. The Cyber Security
Information Sharing Partnership
(CISP) offers organisations in the
UK a safe portal in which to discuss
and share intelligence that can assist
and raise the UK’s cyber resilience.
It encourages members to share
technical information and indicators
of compromise so that the effects of
new malware, particularly ransomware,
can be reduced. While monitoring
may seem tedious, receiving an early
warning to enable the appropriate
preventative action is far better than
being caught on the back foot.
There are also simple measures that
organisations can take to prevent an
attack, such as educating users not
to click on unknown links, applying
security patches promptly and using
www.intelligentcio.com
anti-malware software. This, combined with frequent backups and
snapshots will help to provide a comprehensive first line of defence.
Box and Dropbox are also active targets for many hackers and
ensuring controlled and restricted use of these public cloud services
will also eliminate shadow IT concerns.
“
CISP OFFERS
ORGANISATIONS
IN THE UK A SAFE
PORTAL IN WHICH
TO DISCUSS
AND SHARE
INTELLIGENCE
THAT CAN ASSIST
AND RAISE THE
UK’S CYBER
RESILIENCE.
However, provisioning for a second line of
defence, that guarantees the availability
and integrity of all files, is also vital to the
response part of the strategy. This comes
into force when the inevitable occurs. So,
although your organisation’s security may
have been compromised – it won’t be a
complete disaster. Having the ability to
respond and recover is critical.
The other part of the response component
relates to communications in the event
of a breach. Organisations must plan not
only for a suitable technical response,
but also a business one that covers crisis
communication plans and measures, as
well as managing breaches that affect
regulatory requirements. How a company
responds to an incident will influence the
long-term impact on the business. Data
protection is not just an IT issue, it’s a
corporate policy level decision and should
be at forefront of board discussions across
the world. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
39