Thereâs a war going on, only this war is happening electronically. Cyberattacks are on the rise, so Randy Wolken, the President and CEO of MACNY spoke at a Cybersecurity Summit at Innovare in Rome. He addressed IT personnel, systems hardware specialists, and company CEOâs about how to protect themselves.
"Many industries are under assault right now from a cybersecurity threat perspective, and so you really have to protect your data. You got to protect your systems, and to protect your people."
When there is a security breech, itâs not the kind of message you want advertised if your company gets hacked.
"People donât want to talk about it. You know after theyâve been hacked. Even large companies. You know some of them are by requirement are supposed to tell their customers that their data has been compromised. You see more and more of that, so reality is itâs a very, very serious threat thatâs only escalated over the last few years."Â Â
Hackers try to access systems through company emails and software breeches, but much of the data being shared now comes from smartphones.
"We didnât worry about cybersecurity you know 20 years ago. We didnât even have our smartphones."
Now that smartphones are just about everywhere, a cyberattack is a much bigger threat, so what is the best way to stay ahead of the technology curve?
"You really have to be on the cutting edge of techniques, strategies, and approaches in order to stay ahead of the cybersecurity threats."
The latest in systems software is a good way of avoiding a breech, but even the most secure technologies have an outside weakness.
"Itâs the human element that makes us most at risk."
Thatâs why Wolken advises good communication through conferences and conversations. So how will you know when your systems arenât up to par?
"Well youâll know when youâve been hacked, and thatâs the challenge. Unfortunately often times when thereâs a breech in security itâs because someone wasnât doing something in a proper way."
Gloss