Strong demand and value creation increased equity positions from earnings activities for many organizations across industries. Forward budgets will change, so we encourage leaders to avoid wasting time and capital trying to escape tough business decisions. How will committing to a controversial decision, such as pushing off data security, impact your position and equity within your division and the company?
Diminishing Equity
Ransomware is a business problem across all sectors. New records in both issuance volume and proceeds, criminal enterprises are cashing in on private and public companies. These board-level disappointments continue in 2022 as more businesses experience prolonged disruption events. How does this impact you?
Your organization depends upon reliable workflows across digital platforms. Skilled criminals focus their resources to leverage weaknesses in your strategy and execution. Inadequate planning and measurement cause gaps that contribute to loss events for domestic and international companies.
Criminals profit as your expense and losses erode equity. The decline in sales over periods with increasing liabilities can trigger covenants and increase your cost of capital. Data breach events are stressful, expensive, and can impact your career. These situations are unjust!
Unlock the Power of Planning
Attacks have increased as criminals become more organized, refining their tactics and business models. Some organizations have professional management and revenue projections, just like you. In particular, cyber extortion and ransomware generate the necessary income they need for growth to hire more staff, buy new equipment, and build equity.
Given the increase in ransomware frequency and severity, why is executive participation low?
Even seasoned executives shy away from practical strategy discussions about connecting data security to digital platforms because they do not understand how secure workflows impact equity. We often hear, “If I would have known…”
The increasing number of court cases confirms that companies are litigating contract breaches due to data loss and disclosures. What happens when negative publicity decreases demand for your products, services, or stock diminishes in market value and consequently to the value of your organization?
Either you believe data security is essential, or you do not. Do you think that actions speak louder than words? The judicial system is siding with the parties harmed in data breach cases.
When you are confused about the problems or do not understand the benefits, you do not see the value in allocating resources. This is a challenge limiting action for leadership teams.
Protect Against Loss Events
The onus is on your organization to harden systems and invest in cyber security to make yourselves a more challenging adversary for criminal gangs. The leadership teams that take all necessary steps to prevent attacks and mitigate the impact will be less likely to fall victim to ransomware.
We assist forward-looking executives and technical teams who will use shared knowledge and data to improve risk judgment calls, to be less wrong over time. Most people generally believe something is true or false. If you believe that capital and time are terrible things to waste, you can take action now.
Click this link to exchange information, take action, and continue to adjust as necessary.
Immediate Actions You Can Take Now
Here’s a short list of mitigation recommendations to help reduce the probability of compromise by ransomware. Making decisions to harden your systems does not require you to become an expert. If you need assistance implementing these action items, we have a streamlined process to be helpful and supportive.
- Update your operating systems and software; timely patching reduces exposure.
- Make adjustments to isolate, secure, and encrypt the backups of your data.
- Require the use of multifactor authentication (MFA).
- If you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), secure and monitor it.
- Disable the use of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), if possible.
- Require all accounts with user logins to use strong and unique passwords.
- Implement user training and phishing exercises to raise awareness about the risks of suspicious links and attachments.
- Develop a relationship with a security-focused firm to help you plan and execute.
The Next Step
What will you do differently to become better prepared?
You now realize that you and the criminals have similar motivations to grow profitability and build equity. You are fighting for survival as you wager your resources and equity against criminal enterprises. We will assist you in isolating assets to maintain financial stability from several loss scenarios.
Shared understanding is a force multiplier that allows for effectiveness through higher-value conversations, knowledge transfer, and actionable insights. Improved decision-making awaits as you focus on budget preparations to build and protect assets. We look forward to collaborating with you.
As a proud supporter of American companies, Certitude Security® is working diligently to inform leaders and facilitate essential asset protection priorities for manufacturers and supply chains throughout the United States.
Problem discussions can be a defining moment in your career. If you are interested in value creation, learn about SPOT-Beam™ by Certitude Security®. We look forward to helping you and your business succeed!