Cybersecurity Roundup: BullGuard, Olympics Cyberthreats, Sophos, SentinelOne

… appropriate security services that align with the needs of their SMB customers — from firewalls, data backup infrastructure, endpoint security and network controls. Second, the service provider is able to deliver the critical monitoring services that an SMB will typically not have the staff or expertise to manage in-house. Third, prevention is only one half of the story. If a breach does occur, the service provider brings a wide array of capabilities, experience and tools to bear in rapidly identifying and remediating any threat before it can cause irreparable harm to the SMB’s business.

CF: How difficult would it be for these SMBs to establish a cybersecurity defense plan?

PL: The simple answer is that basic cybersecurity is actually quite straightforward. Establish an offsite backup plan, ensure that you are using commercial grade cybersecurity tools on all components of your network, keep these tools continually updated, and train your staff on cybersecurity awareness and behaviors. Although this seems easy to a technologist or cyberprofessional, the typical SMB owner is neither — which is why it is critical for SMBs to leverage their IT service providers and/or MSSPs to ensure that they are adequately protected against today’s cyber threats and risks.

CF: Did the survey find any encouraging signs among SMBs?

PL: While the survey results pointed overwhelmingly that SMBs need to be more aware and better educated on the dangers of cybersecurity threats and take action, there were a couple of encouraging statistics.

Out of the U.S.-queried respondents, 80% said they have never had to let an employee go because he or she was responsible for a cyberattack or data breach. And when U.S. employees’ devices become infected because of an attack, [nearly 86%] of respondents noted they were able to successfully clean the device before any harm was done.

While all hope is not lost, these stats still reveal that most SMBs are taking a reactive rather than a proactive approach to security. SMBs face a multitude of threats and cyberattacks.

2020 Olympics Big Target for Cybercriminals

The Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), founded by Check Point Software Technologies, Cisco, Fortinet, McAfee, Palo Alto Networks and Symantec, has published its first joint Threat Assessment focusing on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The assessment provides a summary of the threat environment facing the 2020 Olympics as well as recommendations for the Tokyo Organizing Committee as they prepare for the games.

Among the highlights from the report:

• Nation-state actors pose the highest threat and are most likely to conduct disruptive attacks and disinformation campaigns against the Olympics. This includes targeted data leaks, disruption of events with DDoS attacks, compromising systems with ransomware, or affecting physical infrastructure.
• Based on historical targeting of the Olympics, the alliance assesses that anti-doping agencies and experts, and services supporting the game’s operations and logistics (such as Wi-Fi networks and ticketing systems) are also at high risk of compromise.
• Other targets could include tourists and spectators, supply chain and infrastructure providers, and Japanese officials and partner governments.
• Cybercriminals will be highly active due to the large number of potential victims, and cyber-enabled scams and other criminal activity already are occurring.
• The alliance recommends that the organizing committee, Japanese government and other entities supporting the Olympics focus their current efforts on implementing best practices, information sharing, coordinated planning around cybersecurity incidents, and regular examination of critical systems.

CTA recommends that …