Thoughts on Cybersecurity Awareness Month from around the Industry

It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Here at Cyber Protection Magazine, raising awareness is a task that keeps us busy all year long, but initiatives like the Cybersecurity Awareness Month are important to educate the larger public about the risks the dangers of cyber attacks. Which is why we asked around the industry to see what the companies who also deal with cybersecurity on a daily basis have to say about raising cybersecurity awareness. This year, we received too many responses to put them all into one article, so here’s the first part of our industry quotes on Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Matt Holland, Co-founder and CEO of Field Effect:

“Despite all of the cyber security tools, categories and offerings on the market, businesses of all sizes continue to be underprotected. They feel overwhelmed and forced into solutions well outside of their areas of expertise. Look for holistic solutions designed to identify vulnerabilities and stop threats across the breadth of the network, cloud services and endpoints; and delivered in a way that removes the noise and complexity.”

Francis Cianfrocca, CEO at InsightCyber:

“2023 will be the year that hostile cyberattacks against infrastructure and industrial operations become mainstream. Why? As attacks on the hardware and software that monitor and control equipment—otherwise known as operational technology (OT) environments—become more common, the motivation of cyber attackers has evolved from merely disrupting business to compromising the integrity of industrial environments with the malicious intention to cause harm. To be able to truly manage and mitigate risk from cyber and physical security threats, enterprises must be able to identify the smallest of anomalies to detect suspicious activity to prevent it before they become the next headline.”

Grace Burkard, Director of Operations, ioXt Alliance:

“As IoT devices have taken on critical roles in many industries, it is paramount for IoT manufacturers to incorporate security from the start and take responsibility to implement. It is never too late to start thinking about security and get involved!”

Adrianus Warmenhoven, Defensive Strategist at NordVPN:

“Anything that preserves privacy can be abused for crime, but since our lives have become so intertwined with the network, we must try to help people to live the lives they want or in some cases even need. In order to stay cyber-safe this and every month, a VPN provides some simple steps you can take everyday to preserve your privacy. When surfing the web, be conscientious of fake websites and when downloading apps, never download from third-parties and always double check the source. Consistently check and reset privacy settings on your phone to ensure you have your desired level of sharing. Double-down on your data’s security by browsing with a VPN to encrypt your online activity and eliminate location tracking. With the current state of technology, VPNs are a vital component in today’s (digital) life. While we can argue over security issues (‘all websites use TLS anyway!’) or lawful interception (‘I have nothing to hide!‘) there can be no argument over the need for personal privacy. And remember, no device is hacker-proof. Be cognizant of who and what you interact with online everyday.”

May Mitchell, CMO of Open System:

“Cybersecurity Awareness Month signifies an occasion to improve cybersecurity literacy and promote education around critical cybersecurity topics protecting people and society. The opportunity to improve cybersecurity through education and public engagement resonates with me deeply given my intense personal passion for the security field. Protecting any organization requires a 24/7, mission-driven approach to defend assets and data from bad actors.  

People are the first defense for an enterprise’s cybersecurity posture, and education is the key to empowering them to harden their defenses. In the cyber threat environment we face today, it is imperative to have a security operations center (SOC) offering round-the-clock support to customers. Many organizations struggle to dedicate the necessary resources and are even more stretched due to changes in remote and hybrid work complicating enterprises’ attack surfaces. This month, we are committed to using this awareness opportunity to continue our mission of educating the marketplace. Every organization should understand and prioritize the necessity of using a tailored security approach that protects critical assets and maximizes security investments, without falling prey to common IT complexity that creates risks due to a patchwork of solutions – rather than a holistic approach.” 

Varun Talwar, Co-Founder and Co-Creator at Tetrate:

“Companies need to rethink where their perimeters are. They don’t just include the front and back doors anymore. They also include all the windows, side doors, and other unknown vulnerabilities. In today’s day and age, there is an increasing importance to stay ahead of the cyber criminals and online vulnerabilities, and ensure your data and information, especially when it is connected across multiple apps, is secure.”