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The Security Risks of Staffing Challenges

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

The cybersecurity talent shortage is a known issue that the government, industry groups, and educators are working to address. But as CISOs are asked to do more with fewer resources and support, it can risk healthcare organizations’ cybersecurity. The “Implications of Stress on CISOs 2023 Report” by Cynet found that many security teams faced retention challenges due to work-related stress that could put their data at risk.

The Security Risks of Staffing Challenges

When security teams are understaffed, they can become overworked and burnt out. As a result, they have less time to focus on updating security policies, training staff, and monitoring the attack surface. The impacts of staffing challenges can significantly affect the ability of security teams to detect and respond to threats. The survey found that 65 percent of CISOs stated that work-related stress affected their capacity to safeguard their organization. In addition, 77 percent of CISOs believed their insufficient bandwidth and inadequate resources caused critical security initiatives to be neglected. These lapses are not going unnoticed. Seventy-nine percent of CISOs have received complaints from colleagues claiming security tasks are not being adequately handled.

the security risks of staffing challengesWith limited choices, organizations must be wise and strategic in the technology they employ. When asked about the technology initiatives that could positively impact their work-related stress levels, 57 percent of the respondents cited consolidating multiple security technologies on a single platform or interface as a possible solution. Additionally, 51 percent of the respondents believed automating time-consuming and repetitive manual tasks would help reduce their workloads.

Candidate Quality Staffing Challenges

When security teams cannot find qualified candidates to fill open positions, crucial tasks are left incomplete, and other team members must pick up the slack. In turn, this can lead to compounding issues with employee satisfaction and retention. Of the surveyed CISO teams, 74 percent reported losing team members due to work-related stress issues.

According to the report, nearly half of the teams had more than one CISO resign over the last 12 months. The impact of stress levels is seen in retention rates and recruitment efforts, with 83 percent of CISOs admitting they have had to compromise on the quality of new hires to fill vacancies left by departing employees.

Solving retention and recruitment issues is essential to improve your organization’s security posture. Rethinking the hiring process and investing in entry-level talent is just one approach to filling the cybersecurity talent pipeline.

Ways to Alleviate the Security Risks of Staffing Challenges

While solving staffing challenges will take time and investment from the public and private sectors, there are ways to streamline and automate tasks to reduce the burden on security teams.

According to Deloitte, email is a significant vector of security risk for many healthcare organizations. 91% of all cyber attacks begin with a phishing email. Healthcare organizations have more to worry about than cyberattacks. They are also vulnerable to insider threats and have serious data compliance obligations. Employees must understand data loss prevention and how to protect sensitive information that is shared externally.

By using LuxSci’s best-in-class secure email technology, it can drastically reduce the burden on security teams. Protect from external threats by employing advanced email filtering to stop cybercriminals from even reaching inboxes. In addition, LuxSci’s email encryption is enabled automatically to protect sensitive data in transit. It’s easy to administer and doesn’t require security and IT teams to spend hours developing keyword lists, analyzing gaps, and training employees. By reducing the risk of your email communications, security teams can focus their limited resources on critical security initiatives.

Contact LuxSci today to learn how our experienced team can help alleviate the burden on your security and IT teams.

Tags: ciso, cybersecurity, cybersecurity risk, email encryption, email filtering, email security, operational efficiency, phishing, risk assessment, secure connector, secure email, security risk, staffing
Posted in LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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4 Security Tips for Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Wednesday, October 26th, 2022

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and it’s worth taking a minute to reflect on your security stance and what you can do better to protect sensitive data and accounts.

cybersecurity awareness month tips

The Current State of Cybersecurity in 2022

Cybersecurity incidents and data breaches continue to increase across all industries. A 2022 report noted a 42% increase in cyberattacks for the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

The healthcare sector also continues to be a target. The same report noted a 69% increase in cyberattacks targeting the healthcare sector. The Office of Civil Rights also noted that breaches affecting 500 or more individuals increased from 663 in 2020 to 714 in 2021.

Even more concerning, 74% of the breaches reported to OCR in 2021 involved hacking or IT incidents. In the healthcare sector, hacking represents the greatest threat to the privacy and security of PHI. Organizations must take the threat seriously and take concrete steps to protect their systems.

4 Essential Steps for Better Cybersecurity

So what can you do to avoid falling victim to a cyberattack? The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommends these four essential steps that all employees can take to protect their accounts.

Watch Out for Phishing Scams

Think before you click! Educate employees on common phishing tactics, create policies to help reduce risk, and invest in tools that flag suspicious emails. Phishing tactics are successful because they prey on common human impulses to manipulate individuals into taking quick actions.

Teaching employees what to look out for and putting in place email filtering systems to flag suspicious senders and links can drastically reduce your risk and the probability of your organization falling victim to a hacking incident.

Update Software

Many people find software updates annoying and snooze them for as long as possible. However, many software updates include security patches for recently identified vulnerabilities. By not updating to the latest version, it leaves your organization vulnerable to attacks.   

Use Strong Passwords

It’s an obvious tip to many security professionals, but many people still use weak passwords that are easy to guess. Today it is easier than ever to crack simple passwords using dictionary attacks or finding credentials on the dark web.

Employees should use unique passwords for each account. In addition, passwords should be:

  • Randomly generated
  • Use a combination of letters, numbers, and characters
  • At least ten characters
  • Stored securely in a password manager
  • Not shared with other employees

Enable Multifactor Authentication

As we mentioned above, cracking passwords is getting easier, especially if employees are not using strong, complex credentials. Enabling multifactor authentication adds another layer of security to account logins. Multifactor authentication requires users to present two or more credentials to log in to their accounts. The first factor required is a typical username and password. The second factor is usually a code contained within a text, email, or push notification. The user must enter this numerical code to confirm that they are logging into the account. Even if your username or password is compromised, a hacker will not be able to access the account without that second factor. It’s wise to require the use of multifactor authentication, especially for accounts that contain sensitive data. 

Conclusion

Of course, these tips only scratch the surface of a successful security and compliance program. To get started, complete a risk assessment to identify gaps and areas to improve. LuxSci is here to help improve your email security.

Tags: 2fa, access control, cybersecurity, cybersecurityawarenessmonth, email filtering, mfa, multifactor authentication, password manager, password security, phishing, risk assessment, software updates
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What is Cyber Insurance?

Tuesday, March 1st, 2022

As cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, many organizations have come to view them as inevitable. Even organizations that have a strong cybersecurity program can be impacted by a zero-day vulnerability or employee errors. Cyber insurance helps limit the impact of a cyberattack by helping organizations recover the costs. Cyber insurance is not a replacement for a comprehensive cybersecurity program. In fact, many cyber liability insurance policies require organizations to take steps to secure sensitive information.

cyber insurance

Who Needs Cyber Insurance?

In the 1990s, the earliest forms of cyber liability insurance were created to help address data processing errors. California’s passage of the Security Breach and Information Act in 2003 led to increased demand for insurance policies. Under this law, California companies were required to notify customers if their information was accessed or stolen by unauthorized persons. As other states passed similar laws and instituted financial penalties for data breaches, cyber insurance policies grew in popularity.

Historically, financial information and credit card numbers were prime targets for cyber criminals. As ecommerce and online banking took off, large financial institutions and retail chains were likely to have cyber insurance because of their increased risk. More recently, cybercriminals have expanded their scope to go after sensitive information collected by other industries. The healthcare, education, and manufacturing industries have become frequent targets for cyber criminals. As a result, more organizations are buying cyber insurance. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), cyber insurance sales increased from 26 percent in 2016 to 47 percent in 2020.

This means that any business transmitting or storing sensitive data online is vulnerable to a cyberattack. Sensitive data is not limited to financial information or medical records. Intellectual property, customer or lead lists, and other types of company data could all be at risk.

What Does Cyber Insurance Cover?

There are many types of cyber insurance policies and different coverage options. However, most plans reimburse companies for expenses caused by cyberattacks. Common coverage options include:

  • data recovery costs
  • system forensics to discover the cause of a cyberattack or location of a breach
  • customer notification and reparation costs
  • system repairs
  • legal fees

Some cyber insurance policies may even cover the cost of paying a ransom if compromised by ransomware. Although, it’s tempting to pay a ransom and resume operations quickly, organizations should not count on insurance reimbursement. Law enforcement also discourages companies from paying ransoms and these fees can be quite hefty.

What Doesn’t Cyber Insurance Cover?

Unfortunately, cyber insurance can’t help a company recover from the reputation costs of a data breach or security incident. Many organizations suffer from a loss of business in the aftermath of a cyberattack or breach. Cyber insurance does nothing to defray those costs.

Can I Ignore Cybersecurity?

On that note, it should be obvious that cyber insurance is not a replacement for a strong cybersecurity program. In fact, most insurance providers require organizations to meet minimum security standards to qualify for coverage. Failing to meet these standards may cause the company to void insurance policies.

In addition, lowering the organization’s risk profile by implementing a security program can also help lower insurance premiums. Demonstrating that the organization takes privacy and security seriously can help make these premiums more affordable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, any organization that transmits or stores sensitive information online or is reliant on internet-connected devices to perform vital tasks, should explore coverage options.

Tags: breach, cyber insurance, cyberattack, cybercrime, cybersecurity, risk assessment, security
Posted in LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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5 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Your Cybersecurity

Tuesday, January 4th, 2022

Happy New Year! Start the year off by making a New Year’s resolution to improve your cybersecurity. Here is LuxSci’s list of what your organization needs to do to prepare for the new year.

cybersecurity new year’s resolution

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Tags: cybersecurity, mfa, multifactor authentication, passwords, phishing, privacy, risk assessment, security, training, zero trust
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What is HITRUST Certification and Why Does It Matter?

Tuesday, December 7th, 2021

Any company can claim to be HIPAA-compliant, but if you are considering using their services, it’s worth understanding what they mean. Using a vendor that self-attests compliance is risky. As a result, many serious organizations use a third-party validator to assure that they are doing all the right things regarding security and compliance. If you work in the healthcare industry, a HITRUST certification is one of the most widely respected third-party validators.

hitrust certification

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Tags: business associate, GDPR, hipaa, hipaa compliance, HITRUST, risk assessment, security framework, vendor management
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