Risk Management articles

In December 2022, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Michael Sohn cautioned small businesses that they were being targeted by cybercriminals. While larger corporations are investing more in hardening their security posture, the relative weakness of smaller businesses makes them prime targets for hackers. However, no matter how much cybersecurity a company has in place, no one can guarantee that its network will never be breached. That’s why a comprehensive risk strategy for cybersecurity includes cyber insurance and incident response to mitigate […]

No industry was more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than the healthcare industry. While stories of frontline worker heroics and employee shortages took center stage, another important story has been brewing over the last few years — the significant increase in cybersecurity attacks in the healthcare space. With stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements in place throughout 2020, many healthcare systems were forced to rapidly adopt healthcare technology that allowed for telemedicine and the remote monitoring of patients. The way […]

Update Aug 16, 2023: On July 26th, the SEC officially released newly adopted rules on disclosing any data breaches and cyber incidents for any company under SEC jurisdiction and regulation, including foreign private issuers. The rules require disclosure of any cyber incident four days after the registrant (the affected entity) finds the incident to be a material incident, meaning it can affect shareholders and investors. Registrants will also have to detail any processes that pertain to “assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity […]

Guest author, Chris Witham, Director of Operations, Sicarius  For over 20 years, Chris has honed his skills across a wide variety of IT disciplines, including systems administration, IT security, digital forensics, risk and compliance, and incident response. Chris has provided first-rate digital forensic services for cutting edge organisations in federal law enforcement and private enterprise, both locally in Australia and Internationally. His resume includes working with the Australian Federal Police, Blackpanda and KordaMentha, supporting sophisticated, and at times high-profile investigations. […]

A spate of high-profile attacks affecting millions of people have hit Australia and New Zealand. These unprecedented data breaches have led to increased government scrutiny, as well as a new look at what cybersecurity resilience and posture should be for companies housing sensitive and personal customer data. The increase in cybersecurity attacks we’re seeing in these countries underscores the point that small businesses are just as much a target as enterprise companies. In fact, out of over 3 million businesses […]

As part of our partnership launch with DNSFilter, we talk to Dave Raphael, COO at DNSFilter and David Emerson, CTO at SolCyber about the impact of network security for the modern business and why DNSFilter was a clear partner of choice for SolCyber and an integral part of our Foundational Coverage service. Provide us with an overview on what DNSFilter | SolCyber does? Dave: At DNSFilter, we provide protective DNS at the recursive DNS level to mitigate threats in real-time. […]

In today’s economic climate, most managers are faced with the challenge of doing more with their existing tools or holding back on acquiring new ones due to tight budgets following the pandemic. Additionally, the current soaring inflation rate, which we haven’t seen since the early 1980s, has made companies hold on to their cash and tighten their purse strings. The recent SVB collapse and Credit Suisse’s plummeting share price have further fueled fears of a recession. Under such circumstances, managers […]

As SMEs look to find new ways of being cost-effective, efficient, and reaching broader audiences, they often turn to digitalization. While an expanding digital environment presents more growth opportunities for businesses, it also creates problems for leaders who are looking to manage and maintain risk. This often emerges in the form of an increased attack surface and a rise in common vulnerabilities and high risk vulnerabilities. This can result in potential threats reaching your network, becoming a major business risk […]

The wrong time to look for flood insurance is during a flood. Similarly, the wrong time to look for an Incident Response (IR) team is when you’re already under a cyberattack. We get it. Inflation is skyrocketing, and businesses are tightening their purse strings. The rise in energy and gas prices also isn’t helping. Companies need cash flow, and hiring another vendor on retainer might seem counterintuitive while the world is still recovering following the pandemic. But inflation and gas […]

AI went mainstream almost overnight. The technology has already changed how we live, work, and interact with each other. The use cases for AI are practically endless. Here are some of the things people are doing with AI: Unfortunately, the nascent technology has already shown several weaknesses, potentially opening the door to unforeseen types of hacks. Cybercriminals are already finding ways to use AI to their advantage, the consequences of which can be devastating. Criminals can use new technology just […]

In 2023, layoffs, hiring freezes, and tightening budgets are top-of-mind for many employers. 2022 was a difficult year for the world economy; and, in 2023, the aftershocks keep coming. It might feel like there’s news of another company laying off a significant part of its workforce every week, and that feeling isn’t too far off from what’s projected. Over 60% of business leaders surveyed by ResumeBuilder say they are likely to have layoffs in 2023, with 57% of these respondents […]

3 key questions to ask yourself to evaluate your cybersecurity preparedness. The cybersecurity landscape changes fast, and in 2023 we’re seeing shifts at a faster clip than ever before. We’re likely to see continuing increased attacks on the supply chain, threats to critical infrastructure, a rise in ransomware, and pros and cons arising from the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Economic uncertainty, continued remote work trends, and skill shortages will be some of the major contributing factors to this landscape. Threats […]

As a startup, you can’t afford to ignore potential cybersecurity challenges No matter the size of your organization, a lack of preparedness will put you at risk for cybersecurity attacks. Often, startups think they are flying under the radar of most cyber criminals and are not as vulnerable. However, the reality is quite the opposite. CISA put out advice* in 2015 that’s still widely applicable today: Startups need to think about cybersecurity from day 1 or experience a higher risk […]

One common misconception about cybersecurity is that small businesses mean small cyber risks; but, in fact, businesses of all sizes need to stay vigilant in the face of cyber threats. As distressing as those stats are, the worst news comes after a cyberattack. It is estimated that 60% of small businesses closed their doors within 6 months of a breach – meaning the hack was so bad that it left irreparable damage in its wake. Getting to a level of […]