Disaster Recovery Journal Summer 2023

expected to affect many for years to come. Although computer systems were quickly shut down upon discovery of the attack, disruptions and cases of false identities continue to pop up months later. With an understanding of this trend and others, business owners will have the knowledge needed to prioritize and create a compre hensive cybersecurity plan. When it comes to creating a crisis plan, implementing cybersecurity prac tices can feel overwhelming. But busi ness owners no longer have the luxury of thinking threats can only happen to large institutions or companies in certain sectors such as finance or healthcare. According to Microsoft, nearly 80% of nation-state attacks were directed against government agencies, think tanks, and non-government organizations, further driving home the point that attacks can happen anywhere and vigilance needs to happen at every level. To help get business started on the journey of protection, below are five best practices to help with creating their cyber security plan and minimizing risk: 1) Audit vulnerabilities within the organization and determine the best way to minimize risk at those entry points. 2) Set realistic implementation goals and ask the tough questions. (What is the budget? Will this be automated or will require additional staffing and resources?) 3) Test current security technology you have in place and determine its strengths and weaknesses. 4) Create a security policies and procedures manual to outline potential scenarios (“if this, then that”). 5) Implement your plan and test it regularly. The cyberworld is changing every day. In order to be prepared and stay ahead of potential risks, having a plan in place will help businesses to not only mitigate cyber threats, but help them to provide peace of mind to their organization, employees, and customers. v Amit Chaudhary is vice president of cyber security and IP for Airtel Business.

Five Ways Businesses Can Mitigate Cyber Threats By AMIT CHAUDHARY O ur current post-COVID world has brought about many changes to the way we live our personal lives and how we conduct business. Business owners have had to adapt quickly to everything, from at-home working environments and pro ductivity concerns to remote access and digital shifts which have significantly altered day-to-day operations. To minimize risk and mitigate potential cyberthreats, business organizations must create a thorough cyber crisis plan which begins with an understanding of existing threats. Cybercriminal activity is a rapidly growing industry. As a first step, business owners need to educate themselves about the types of threats that exist and patterns of behavior cybercriminals utilize to infil trate an organization. For example, in years past, cyberat tackers were interested in quickly breach ing security, dismantling the infrastructure of an organization, and then just as quickly withdrawing. However, in recent years, the trend of cybercriminal activity is the complete opposite: breach security and linger as long as possible. Attackers want to have a presence and infiltrate the con nected world, essentially using the infra structure as the “host” so they can remain undetected and spread into as many areas as possible, causing as much damage as possible. While these shifts were likely able to solve certain workplace inadequacies, they have also given way to vulnerabili ties such as cyberattacks, which have seen significant growth in both the number of incidents as well as severity of impact. According to CompTIA, phishing attacks increased by 48% in the first half of 2022, with reports of 11,395 incidents costing businesses a total of $12.3 million. Their research suggests up to 40% of cyber threats are now occurring directly through the supply chain. As our world continues to become more and more connected, the accessibility opportunities and sophistica tion of cybercriminals continues to grow as well. Recently, the LA Times, featured an article about the repercussions of a cyber attack in September 2022 on the Los Angeles Unified School District which is

36 DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL | SUMMER 2023