In order to prevent unauthorized persons from entering their facilities and prevent theft, vandalism of property or harm to employees, most businesses have a security plan to protect physical assets. They also proactively set aside an annual budget to keep up with innovative security technologies.
Companies invest in different aspects of security such as locks, gates, windows, doors and video cameras to maintain 24/7 monitoring. They also integrate state-of-the-art systems and technology to control entry to the facilities. They execute proactive exercises and training including all their employees, for emergency management in the event of a robbery, active shooting, or natural disasters, along with other security risk assessments and development of emergency plans. They defend this budget and it usually increases year after year, as it is important to safeguard the physical assets of the company and its employees.
In contrast, when we talk about cybersecurity, it is an aspect that until today has been left behind by many companies without the required importance. Not allocating a minimum budget to protect digital assets against cyber-attacks, seeing it as an expense and not with the same importance as security in general, puts every business in check.
Digital assets represent the greatest economic value and an element of risk for every business. These contain confidential company financial information, customer contracts, intellectual information and business strategy. In addition, sensitive and personal employee data such as social security numbers, medical information, birth certificates, passports and personal addresses, which cybercriminals gain access to, could result in damage to the business reputation, loss of clients and million-dollar lawsuits in regulated industries.
It is crucial to prioritize the allocation of financial resources for cybersecurity in every business regardless of its size. Cybersecurity technological solutions must be selected that are adapted in every sense and a budget must be worked out with the technology service provider. Allocating a limited budget could lead you to make the mistake of cheap being expensive.
Products and solutions must be adopted with the ability to integrate into existing operating systems, evaluate the vulnerabilities of the company as a whole to prevent the most common attacks. The first line of defense is to have personnel trained in digital security policies adopted by the company.
There are companies that have some skilled IT personnel monitoring their digital assets against cyber attackers, but for reasons of budget priority, they only have personnel managing the information systems at certain times, thinking that cyber hackers only work during business hours. These companies face a great risk without 24/7 surveillance and every day they play Russian roulette to avoid being hit by a cyber-attack.
There are sophisticated cyber-attacks such as Ransomware that can penetrate basic security solutions. These cyber-attacks can easily circumvent basic security layers, such as Firewall and traditional antivirus, resulting in the corporation having to pay large amounts of money to be able to rescue its systems, data, operation or, failing that, never be able to access it. to them.
Similar to the 24/7 physical security plans described above, digital security should be part of those efforts. It is important to integrate trained experts to manage cybersecurity solutions that offer surveillance of the client’s network and digital systems. Solutions and monitoring that can proactively detect, mitigate and respond to cyber attacks. These personnel must review and analyze alerts, take steps to keep customers safe, and provide detailed recommendations on mitigation, containment, remediation, and best practices before, during, and after a cyberattack.
Current risk for businesses in PR
Only in the first 6 months of last year 2023, more than one billion attempted cyber-attacks were reported on the island and it is expected that this number of attempted attacks will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. https://sincomillas.com/puerto-rico-recibio-mas-de-1000-millones-de-intentos-de-ciberataques/
We also see the PR government taking action on this matter and recognizing the importance of establishing new practices, policies and solutions to mitigate risk immediately. For this reason, during the year 2023, the PR government approved a new cybersecurity law to investigate crimes committed in cyberspace. https://aldia.microjuris.com/2023/05/24/aproven-nueva-ley-de-cibersecurity-para-el-gobierno-de-puerto-rico/
In January 2024, the Honorable Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico, signed a measure to create a government department dedicated to the issue of cybersecurity. Thus, was born the position of Principal Cybersecurity Officer under the Puerto Rico Innovation & Technological Services (PRITS) agency, as responsible for updating, developing government cybersecurity strategies and plans, ensuring compliance of the agencies. https://aldia.microjuris.com/2024/01/19/gobernador-firma-varias-medidas-legislativas-3/
The risk is imminent given the large number of attempted cyber attacks that occur daily. Although the issue of cybersecurity has become more relevant, IT leaders face economic challenges due to the lack of approval of adequate budgets that help them reduce the vulnerabilities of companies. It is important to identify a budget to establish a cybersecurity strategy with more robust security plans.
This becomes more relevant given the fact that insurance companies are requiring companies in various industries to implement advanced cybersecurity solutions in order to approve insurance policies. Adopting appropriate solutions includes specific EDR (Detection and Response Automation), MDR (Managed Incident Response) and SOCaas (Managed Cybersecurity Operations Center) services, with dedicated 24/7 staff to manage and handle all business cybersecurity solutions and events.
This is the main reason for seeing corporations in PR that have made the decision to contract SOCaas services with expert companies that guarantee this compliance and that meet the standards requested by insurance companies. It also helps that globally the SOCaas market is experiencing substantial growth today due to the increasing complexity of cyber threats, rapid technological progress, and the tendency of companies to allow their employees to use their cell phones to access their systems and digital platforms (BYOD).
At WorldNet, we are a Fortinet-certified MSSP (managed security services provider) leader, meaning we are committed to helping enterprises and business partners implement and manage security solutions that minimize the risk of being impacted. Protecting your business and your customers’ trust depend on it. Are you ready to take proactive steps to protect your company’s data? Contact us and discover how our solutions and trained personnel can be your best ally in the face of cyber-attack challenges. Call us at 787-705-9000 or write to us at sales@worldnetpr.com.