2019 is only a few weeks old, and already 2018 feels like the distant past. This makes me both excited and scared. Excited because I’m a big fan of snow sports and can’t get enough of the powder. But also scared since my 11-month-old son has started pulling himself up on everything, which means we’ll soon have two kids walking around the house. On the bright side, that walking will someday either turn into skiing or, at the very least, the ability to open the fridge and grab an adult beverage for dad. Which, come to think of it, might be needed more often now.
Really though, the thing about 2019 I’m most excited for is that more and more small businesses are recognizing the importance of security and taking proactive steps to protect themselves from a cyberattack. It reminds me of a quote from one of my all-time favorite movies, WarGames.
“G*******t, I’d p*** on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good!”
– General Jack Beringer (Barry Corbin)
This quote really sums up the current thought process. Many businesses are all in on improving security but are just struggling with how to go about it. So where should you start?
Well, I recently read a great article about nine predictions for cybersecurity in 2019. To me, the prediction that stood out the most was the one foreseeing that organizations will require their security officers to have a master’s degree in cybersecurity. It makes sense since cybersecurity has matured beyond a week-long course and exam. Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic after holding many credentials, but it’s still a profound change and recognition that security has evolved into a skill that requires significant training.
Like many fields, there is a shortage of knowledge, and the gap has resulted in some scary statistics.
- More than 70 percent of attacks target small businesses.
- Almost 50 percent of small businesses have experienced a cyberattack.
- The average cost of recovery from a data breach is between $36,000 and $50,000 for a small-to-medium-sized business (SMB).
- An estimated 60 percent of hacked SMBs go out of business after only six months.
Now, you don’t need to go sign up for a master’s program just yet, but a simple way to get started is by leveraging something like Wind River’s Advanced Security Package (ASP). ASP includes a plethora…yes, a plethora…of great tools. Two that I would suggest getting started with are Anti-Virus and File Integrity Monitoring. I say that not because they’re the cool, new techie things but because they will make you both more secure AND could save you money since you wouldn’t have to purchase them from another vendor. In talking with some clients, I’ve found they are saving hundreds to thousands of dollars annually by using these tools.
At the end of the day, the phone call nobody wants to receive in 2019 is from a card brand notifying of a potential breach or cyberattack. So, if you are struggling with payment security, know that Wind River is at the ready to assist you. We can help you create a plan of attack and work toward a better security posture within your timeline and budget. We not only speak security but we also speak technology, which are inextricably linked these days. Just give us a call or drop us an email!
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