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Security should be built into applications at the design stage, with considerations for how data is handled, user authentication, etc. Application security - Processes that help protect applications operating on-premises and in the cloud.Network security - Security measures for protecting a computer network from intruders, including both wired and wireless (Wi-Fi) connections.Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides additional guidance. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a cybersecurity framework to help organizations in this area, while the U.S. Critical infrastructure security - Practices for protecting the computer systems, networks, and other assets that society relies upon for national security, economic health, and/or public safety.But organizations with a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, governed by best practices and automated using advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, can fight cyberthreats more effectively and reduce the lifecycle and impact of breaches when they occur.Ī strong cybersecurity strategy has layers of protection to defend against cyber crime, including cyber attacks that attempt to access, change, or destroy data extort money from users or the organization or aim to disrupt normal business operations. Security system complexity, created by disparate technologies and a lack of in-house expertise, can amplify these costs. Compromised PII often leads to a loss of customer trust, the imposition of regulatory fines, and even legal action. Cybercriminals target customers’ personally identifiable information (PII) - names, addresses, national identification numbers (e.g., Social Security number in the US, fiscal codes in Italy), and credit card information - and then sell these records in underground digital marketplaces. These costs include the expenses of discovering and responding to the breach, the cost of downtime and lost revenue, and the long-term reputational damage to a business and its brand. In 2020, the average cost of a data breach was USD 3.86 million globally, and USD 8.64 million in the United States. Also known as information technology (IT) security, cybersecurity measures are designed to combat threats against networked systems and applications, whether those threats originate from inside or outside of an organization. It’s that journey, that metamorphosis and its implications, that a good portion of my columns have explored over these last four years.Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks. With the rise of machine-learning-supported artificial intelligence (AI), deployed in the form of revolutionary endpoint protection and delivered at a price point that could achieve compliance while challenging old paradigms of defense, we saw the perception of our industry morph into that of being appreciated now as an indispensable and inextricable aspect of advancing the business.
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The associated costs of those efforts were not inconsequential and over time exacted such a toll on our businesses that we came to be perceived as a distasteful cost of doing business, reflected in complex structures often characterized as “defense in depth.” Those of us who sold into these structures appreciated them for what they really were: “expense in depth,” made necessary by a failure of signature-based anti-virus solutions deployed high in the kill chain. Rather than being a guardrail at the top of the cliff, we found ourselves serving as an ambulance at the bottom. Our response to those attacks always aspired to be proactively preventative, but more times than not found itself stymied in the world of the reactive.
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