Strategic Insights: Digital & Operational Reliability
Next Dimension curates the most practical and useful tools and strategic IT insights from the web. This week we shared articles across our social media talking about Digital and Operational Reliability.
Cyber crime could cost the world $6 Trillion by the end of 2021. [SIX STEPS] Cybersecurity protection strategies are right here:
It’s no secret. They way we do business has changed, and we are still deciding on new remote and hybrid strategies that work best for our companies. One element that cannot be compromised is safety from cyber crime. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that the cost of cyber crime could reach $6 Trillion worldwide by the end of 2021.
To that end, Forbes has shared their six ways to protect your organization in 2021:
1. LEARN
2. CREATE A CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORK.
3. ENACT BASIC CYBER HYGIENE
4. BE VIGILANT LOOKING FOR SOCIAL ENGINEERING ATTACKS
5. PREPARE TO SAFEGUARD IOT
6. CONSIDER OUTSOURCE SECURITY SERVICES
Nothing can every fully protect your business from the data loss or productivity loss of cyber crime, but these six steps can drastically reduce the impact of this crime against your organization.
Forbes lists ‘Ways to Accelerate Digital Transformation’ in the following article. What would you add?
Never before in the history of modern business has there been such a high level of digital adoption as there was in 2020. Employees went home, customers went online, suppliers went scrambling. Regardless of where you started 2020 on the digital adoption curve, chances are you’ve jumped right in to various digital transformation efforts.
Here are a list of three ways to accelerate Digital Transformation inside your organization:
Audit your current state of digital maturity
Analyze the disruption in your customer journey
Leverage technology that will pivot the business model
Taking this approach will help you keep an eye on where your organization started, what your customers need, and where your business needs to go.
Don’t have a CIO on your team? Make sure someone is managing these 3 expectations in 2021.
The year is 2021. Your business is forced to define new success streams and metrics while doubling down on backup and security plans. The IT department must play well in the sand with all members of the boardroom to ensure a successful digital transformation across the entire organization.
Here are three collective goals that must be shared across the business in order to thrive in 2021 and beyond:
1. Grow revenue through digital channels
2. Optimize cost
3. Rethink business continuity.
While these are important for the acceleration of your Digital Transformation, please remember: Digital Transformation doesn’t happen without a culture shift!
[LOOK FOR THE RED FLAGS] Ransomware attacks are seldom “random” and are even less likely to be “uncalculated”. Here are five red flags to watch out for:
Forbes says if we take a moment to “peel back the curtain” we’ll see signs of a planned, premeditated attack on business. A calculated crime whereby the criminal knows exactly where to go to find the valuable data, and oftentimes knows exactly how much to demand to ensure their requests are met. But if we know where and how to look, we’ll see red flags inside the organization well before anyone descends on your network:
1. A “Dry Run” of test attacks. Attackers will likely probe the edge of your network repeatedly.
2. MimiKatz + Microsoft Process Explorer. MimiKatz is a common hacker credential theft tool used to export logins and passwords. Beware of MimiKatz!
3. Network Scanners like AngryIP and Advanced Port Scanner. Is there a presence of a network scanner on your network? Can you trace it back to a viable source?
4. Security-Disabling applications like GMER, PC Hunter, Process Hacker, and more. Again, these solutions on their own pose no risk, and may very well be on your network for good reason. The important item of note is to ensure the software is on your network for legitimate purposes, placed by a legitimate source.
5. Repeated Suspicious Activities. IT teams remove suspicious malware detections all the time. The red flag? look for those that are repeatedly in your list even though they were removed. There’s likely a bigger issue causing malware to reinstate!
Monitoring these red flags will help you identify anomalies sooner.
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