In 2020, you might think that most companies have cyber security all figured out. Yes, we’ve come a long way from the early days of the Internet. Most of us no longer believe a Nigerian prince really needs us to help him rescue his fortune. We understand that opening a mysterious email forward, full of pictures of puppies and kittens, might be harboring something more sinister. And yet, according to a recent report, one-third of companies are still at significant risk of malware, data theft, and more.
The report, from Mastercard Company Riskcon and the Cyentia Institute, found that one-third of companies are still not employing adequate cyber security measures. The most common programs at risk include data storage, remote access, and network administration. Entire databases are often exposed to the internet (and anyone on it). Even simple oversights, such as failure to install security patches, can expose a company to risk.
Kelly White, CEO and co-founder of Riskcon says, “blocking internet access to unsafe network services is one of the most basic security hygiene practices. The fact that one-third of companies in the digital supply chain are failing at one of the most basic cybersecurity practices should serve as a wake up call to executives and third-party risk management teams. We have a long way to go in hardening the infrastructure that we all depend on to safely operate our businesses and protect consumer data.”
This report might sound like bad news, but we prefer to focus on the positive: Two-thirds of companies are getting it right! More are catching on to the importance of data security and protecting their customers and contacts. With a bit more work, we can get that number closer to 100 percent.
If you have questions about your own company’s cyber security measures, give us a call at 888-RING-MY-TECH. It never hurts to review your security protocols and investigate whether you’ve overlooked any important steps. Hopefully, your company falls into that two-third of those who fully protect their own data and that of their customers… But if you aren’t, we can quickly get you there.
