Managing cyberattack fallout: Financial and operational damage

In this Help Net Security, Ashley Harrington, Director of Cybersecurity at Aspida, discusses the impact of cyberattack on business operations and financial health. Beyond immediate disruptions and financial burdens, cyber incident can severely damage a company’s reputation among customers and partners.

Can you describe cyberattacks’ immediate and long-term impacts on a business’s operations and financial health?

Cyberattacks can cause immediate disruptions for businesses, leading to financial hardships from halted operations and additional costs associated with investigation, response, mitigation, and recovery. Legal fees and crisis management costs may also accrue. Beyond these immediate expenses, long-term financial concerns may arise from regulatory and legal penalties, lost business, and challenges in acquiring new business.

Cyber incidents also impact operations as they pull valuable resources away from strategic initiatives, can limit the business from providing excellent customer service, and may compound an organization’s existing problems. Depending on the impact, some business operations may be down for weeks or months which can lead to further concerns for a company.

How significant is the impact of a cyberattack on a company’s reputation among its customers and partners?

The impact of a cyberattack on a company’s reputation often depends on how well the company manages the situation. It is important for companies to be transparent and communicate ongoing efforts to mitigate the situation to help maintain stakeholder trust. Companies can also offer credit monitoring and other support tools to help demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding their customers’ and partners’ interests. The more proactive and transparent a company is with their response, the less likely they are to experience a significant decline in trust and reputation.

What are the critical cybersecurity components of an effective digital transformation strategy?

Cybersecurity requires a risk-based approach and does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution. Effective cybersecurity programs begin with executive leadership support, which is essential to avoid conflicting priorities that could undermine the program’s effectiveness. Additionally, the program must be tailored to the specific size and scope of the business, incorporating key elements such as risk management, data protection, identity and access management, secure configurations, network security, vulnerability management, third-party risk management, continuous monitoring, incident response, and security training.

How can businesses turn cyber incidents into long-term improvement and innovation opportunities?

Every incident presents a learning opportunity, and cybersecurity incidents are no exception. Businesses can improve their security posture by capitalizing on lessons learned, which may include updating security measures, hiring skilled personnel, closing gaps, and investing in advanced technology. Over time, these changes can foster innovation, enabling companies to advance securely. For instance, integrating security into the software development lifecycle allows for ‘shifting left’ on security, embedding it early in the process rather than adding it post-development, “baking security in, rather than bolting it on” thereby increasing efficiency and reducing the need for rework due to later-found security issues.

What emerging technologies or practices should companies adopt to avoid potential cyber threats?

While it is impossible to completely eliminate cyber threats, certain strategic actions can significantly reduce the likelihood of a major cyber incident. Building a strong security culture within an organization is crucial, as it encourages all employees to take security seriously and actively participate in safeguarding practices, fostering a collective responsibility towards maintaining secure operations. Furthermore, ensuring close collaboration between IT, development teams, and security teams is essential for effective patch management, threat modeling, and thorough vulnerability assessments, which all help in identifying and mitigating potential security weaknesses.

Risk assessments, business impact analysis (BIA), gap analysis, and penetration testing can help companies determine where they are vulnerable and identify critical assets. This information helps security teams and businesses to prioritize efforts according to the severity and probability of threats, allowing for more efficient resource allocation.

Additionally, businesses can create strategic initiatives and robust programs that focus on the reduction of risk, disaster recovery, business continuity, and incident response. Businesses should also perform regular disaster recovery tests and incident response exercises. These activities can help educate employees about their roles and responsibilities during an incident, find critical gaps in policies and procedures, and validate incident response and back up plans.

Adopting advanced technologies such as AI can enhance an organization’s cybersecurity measures by automating tasks like real-time threat detection and response. Keeping up to date with the latest cybersecurity trends and threat intelligence is vital, as it enables organizations to adapt their defenses to new threats and equip their teams with the necessary tools and knowledge to tackle these challenges. Cybersecurity is like any other business function; it must stay relevant and continuously evolve, or else it will fail.