Page 19 - Cyber Warnings

Cybersecurity Requires Fast Action
It is challenging enough for cybersecurity professionals to keep up with evolving technologies
and the ever increasing sophistication of hackers, let alone the politicians and government
officials whose core competency is not cybersecurity. Technology simply moves too fast. Any
proposed bill would need to make its way through three branches of government before it is
signed into law.

Within that timeframe, hundreds of cyberattacks could have already occurred and cybercrime
methods and tactics may have evolved.

Prevention vs. After-the-Fact Breach Protocol
The government is a big entity and has many branches that need monitoring. The manpower
required to monitor and protect both the government and 319 million United States citizens is far
too great.

Instead, the government enlists bills to establish data breach protocols like the State of
California’s SB 1386, July 2003 and more recently, Australia’s proposed data breach notification
bill.

Though helpful for citizens because they establish protocols for how to handle a data breach
after it happens, the regulations do not actually protect citizens from the breaches before they
happen.

There is no right or wrong way for the government to handle cybersecurity as each political
system has its own approach. But people should not assume they’re protected because a
cybersecurity bill has been adopted or enacted.

It is simply not feasible for a government to protect every business and citizen from
cyberattacks.

The best way to ensure that sensitive data is private and secure is to invest in a cybersecurity
solution – one that meets the needs of the individual organization.

There are several things to consider when selecting a cybersecurity solution. Some key
considerations are as follows:

 Where does the IT infrastructure reside?
For instance, for the many organizations taking advantage of cloud computing and
moving deployments to the cloud, it’s important to purchase a cybersecurity solution built
specifically for the cloud.

Traditional legacy, on-premises security solutions cannot adequately be adapted to
protect cloud applications.

19 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – February 2016 Edition
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