Top 5 Cyber Security Lessons Learned from the Covid 19 Pandemic
By David Chavez, Attorney, CRISC | 5.14.2020
Some of us have been worried about a virus of global significance for years now. But I expected it to be the electronic kind of virus, not the biological one. Nonetheless, there are plenty of similarities between the two. And because of those similarities, valuable lessons can be learned to prevent wholesale devastation to our daily lives.
1. Latency – Reportedly, an individual with no symptoms can be infected with the Coronavirus. Similar latency issues exist in computer viruses. Bad guys can easily plant a virus and set it to launch at some time in the future. We’re told testing is the best way to get our arms around the Coronavirus. Whether or not you suspect an infection, routine virus scans are in order. But one other tool available in cyber security that the medical community sadly lacks, is the ability to monitor an otherwise healthy environment on a continuous basis. It might be laborious, expensive and for some companies, disruptive, but continuous monitoring is a high priority for those in a regulated industry, or otherwise concerned about compliance.
2. Disruption – Most illnesses are disruptive to our daily life. Sometimes they require bed rest (like re-booting), physical therapy (a maturity model), or surgery (patching and updates). But the worst viruses, reportedly like the Coronavirus, can seriously knock you down. If your network is sick you may need to simply wait it out. If it’s a zero-day event that hasn’t been encountered before (sound familiar?), then the best that we can do is to create workarounds and wait for the development of a patch to the infected program. Fortunately, insurance can provide us with some assurances on business disruption, if the particular event is covered by a BI policy.
3. Ease of Transmission – Our way of life is built on human interaction, but if you want to reduce transmission of a biologic virus you will limit that interaction as much as possible. Our computer systems are designed to upload and download data from all over the place. Naturally, if you have contact with an infected system, you have a greater likelihood of being infected yourself. Like face masks and social distancing, there are methods to reduce the possibility of transmission. Firewalls, employee training, network segmentation and anti-malware are all necessary to prevent the spread. And as you slowly restart your system, carefully monitor endpoints to stop spread in its tracks.
4. Healthier Is Better– Unfortunately, those that are already compromised with physical ailments have a higher risk of the threat being fatal. If your network suffers from some typical shortcomings, any attack could result in heightened problems for you and your business. No encryption? An attack may result in a loss of sensitive data. No back-ups? An attack could result in a total re-build of your system. An irregular patching schedule? You could suffer an attack that your competitor was able to avoid. Plenty of service providers can help you get healthier, just like a doctor performing a check-up.
5. Planning Matters – Preparing to control a biologic virus isn’t easy before the details of the specific threat are known. But you can plan for the potential interruption to daily activities and introduce prophylactic measures such as stocking up on masks and testing equipment. In the event of either a computer or biological virus, with the proper planning, you can at least demonstrate that you have considered and done your best to prepare for the worst. In the information security world, there are hundreds of tools and services designed to help you prepare. The best place to start is with a risk assessment that follows guidance offered by frameworks such as NIST and ISO. Start you cyber hygiene by identifying risks, defining controls and prioritizing steps to a healthy information network.