Cybersecurity spend is projected to reach $183 billion by 2028, but that growth masks a dangerous misconception. Many midmarket organizations equate rising IT budgets with improved security, assuming that broad spending on technology automatically translates to better protection. However, this is creating a widening gap between what companies perceive and their actual security readiness. IT spend is not a proxy for cybersecurity, and 2026 is the time for midmarket companies to rethink how they evaluate their security estate. The False Confidence of IT Spend There is a widespread lack of understanding of how security controls reduce risk in practice. Midmarket…
Michael Gray
Michael Gray
Michael Gray has been a strong technology leader at Thrive over the past decade, contributing to consulting, network engineering, and managed services and product development groups while continually being promoted up the ladder. Michael has a degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University, and he also maintains multiple technical certifications, including Fortinet, Sonicwall, Microsoft, ITIL, and Kaseya, and maintains his Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
In February 2024, Change Healthcare was the target of a massive ransomware attack that is now known as the most significant data breach in American history. Thousands of healthcare providers across the country rely on Change Healthcare’s solutions and services, including the exchange of healthcare data and financial transactions between healthcare providers, insurers, and patients. The fallout from the attack led to months of outages for these organizations, and healthcare providers had to turn away patients and cancel appointments until they could recoup their systems. Eventually, United Health Group, the parent company of Change Healthcare, was forced to pay the…
In the last year, we’ve seen threats become more elaborate and tactical as they leverage the latest technologies. In 2024, data breaches reached the second highest level on record, with 3,158 compromises on the year exposing the data of more than 1.3 billion people worldwide. This includes major breaches targeting the likes of AT&T exposing the information of more than 100 million people, and CrowdStrike leading to a global IT outage. With AI on the rise, we can only expect the severity and volume of these attacks to continue to increase. From AI being used in cyberattacks to the continued…
In 2024, consumers saw an array of cybersecurity incidents that impacted them directly, and in dramatic ways. From the Change Healthcare attack that impacted healthcare systems and prevented some from getting medication, to the more recent issues involving Ahold Delhaize that left grocery stores shelves practically empty right before the Thanksgiving holiday, consumers are feeling the impacts of poor cybersecurity in tangible ways. While cybersecurity incidents don’t always end up being so direct to the end consumer, the consequences of poor cybersecurity posture can result in eroded trust from the public as well as poor brand reputation. With cybersecurity incidents…