Miles Tappin

The pandemic has shone a light on the importance of critical infrastructure to our everyday lives. However, their importance attracts attacks, but so does their vulnerability, which is why we’ve seen a rise in cybercrime against our vital infrastructure including supermarkets, schools, healthcare, and hospitality. Every day, new risks and responsibilities are thrust upon them. With changing consumer habits, the pandemic, and the rise of cybercriminals, what can they expect? And how can they adapt to understand, manage, and protect against risk most effectively? Soft targets There is no honour among cybercriminals. If earlier waves of hacking and ransomware targeted…

A recent cyberattack targeting the world’s largest meat processor, JBS, points to a disturbing new reality: our nations’ critical infrastructures and supply chains are being targeted because they are not identifying the cyber risks that matter most to their operations. Coming so soon after the ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline where its perpetrators got away with $4 million in ransom money, it is becoming clearer by the day that there is an urgent need for critical infrastructure owners to adopt a risk-led cybersecurity programme. Despite the increase in these high-profile attacks, major firms are still not having the proper risk…

If most businesses were honest, they would admit that they don’t have a full picture when it comes to understanding what threats they face from cyber-attacks. That’s why Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) need to take lessons from the corporate world and approach cybersecurity through a new lens. Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology used to eliminate errors, remove waste and inefficiency, and improve operational performance. It combines the principles of Lean manufacturing (eliminating waste) and Six Sigma (eliminating errors). When combined, the two methodologies create a powerful team-oriented approach for analysing processes and the steps, or actions, that make up those processes. Some of…

Great decision making requires the ability to review different options while simultaneously considering the risks associated. As humans, think about the risk calculations we make every day: when driving a car, walking across the road, or even deciding on whether to get out of bed in the morning. There is a risk of missing an important business opportunity by blowing off that early meeting if you decide to sleep through your alarm. Without us even consciously trying, the brain is instinctively weighing the impact of each decision we make. Risk is a term that is used a lot in cybersecurity.…

Gartner defines SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) as the fusion of three technology markets — security orchestration and automation, security incident response platforms, and threat intelligence platforms — allowing organisations to define and manage incident analysis and response procedures in a digital workflow. But adopting SOAR is more than adopting new technology: it impacts the training, effectiveness, and morale of security teams and is meaningful in how teams work with the business. For CISOs especially, SOARs provide the foundation for accountable, intelligence-based security decisions and collaboration, enabling you to achieve improved defence and reduced risk, enhanced infrastructure utilisation, employee…

Over the last few years, cyber criminals have become more agile and possess a higher quality of skill than ever before. However, these skills come at a cost to industries worldwide. According to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2020, companies now see cybercrime as the biggest threat to their business, taking the top spot for the first time and ranking above threats such as climate change, natural disasters and market developments.  With digital threats remaining front of mind for the C-suite, more needs to be done to ensure businesses are protected from the powerful effects that cyber crime can have on…