SHARE
Posted April 25, 2020
Everyone “knows” about cybersecurity. But what do most people really know about cybersecurity? Walk into any meeting in any office in the world and you’re bound to hear three little words:
“The fact is…”
Those three words can be followed by anything: an opinion, a theory, a wild guess, or (if we’re lucky) an actual fact. Cybersecurity is a hot button topic in many organizations, but because the industry is still in its infancy, there’s a lot of misinformation being spread. That inevitably leads to people taking some pretty dubious information as fact. It’s already hard enough for organizations to make cybersecurity a piece of their enterprise strategy or leverage it as a competitive advantage – the last thing any business needs is to adopt misinformation or myth as part of its security program.
Not to step on Snopes’ toes here, but we decided to do a little fact checking on some of the most common “facts” about cybersecurity that people believe. See below for just some of what we found.
We understand where this line of thinking originates. People associate cybersecurity with computers, so there must be a technical solution available, and therefore the IT team should be handling cybersecurity. While, yes, there are technical fixes to be made, the reality of cybersecurity is that it is not an “IT issue.” It is a business problem. Cybersecurity is not about technology. It’s about people.
Do you know what percentage of cybersecurity attacks have a human element related to them? We won’t make you guess – it’s 100%. All cybersecurity attacks have a “people problem,” whether it’s misconfigured firewalls and endpoint security, someone clicking on a link in a phishing email, an employee letting someone into the building, or someone giving out credentials over the phone. It all boils down to the human element.
When you get locked into a “technology only” mindset, you miss out on opportunities for including cybersecurity in other parts of the business, such as vendor management and policy development. Remember, it’s not just something for IT to worry about. Cybersecurity is a business problem and a business risk with a human element behind it.
A lot of organizations ask, “How much should we be spending on cybersecurity?” The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. Instead of trying to find the “right” number, think of the problem backwards. If you’re not spending anything on cybersecurity today and were to experience a negative outcome (such as a security incident or losing out on a lucrative contract), what would the cost be to your business? Now think about the most likely scenarios your organization could experience. What would be the cost of resilience? From a monetary perspective, what would it be worth to your organization on an annual basis to try to avoid some of these negative costs and impacts?
Businesses are like snowflakes – each one is different. Every organization will have its own risk tolerance, competitive pressure, and board. Instead of worrying about a “magic” number for cybersecurity spending, figure out what you can realistically afford and what would put you in a defensible position. Can you do it on your own? Or, as is the case for many organizations, do you need a strategic partner to help you accomplish these business objectives?
You’ve made your staff use a unique 16-character password with numbers, capital letters, and special characters. Secure, right? Well, not quite. Let’s not even mention the fact that at least one person in your office right now definitely has their password written on a Post-It note stuck onto their computer monitor in full view of everyone who walks by. Even if a hacker couldn’t crack such a password, they could still get it another way – social engineering, phishing, malware, etc. Also, it’s a good bet that at least one employee is using the same password across multiple accounts, websites, and software. A third-party breach could expose that password and put your systems at risk.
“A-ha,” you might say, “but we’ve invested a lot of money in antivirus.” While a good antivirus is a foundational step, it’s not the be-all and end-all solution. Antivirus software is not infallible. Malicious actors are creating new malware and viruses every day, ones that your current antivirus software doesn’t know anything about and can’t protect you from. Cybersecurity needs to be multi-layered.
Cybersecurity can indeed be costly (and thanks to the cybersecurity skills shortage it can be nearly impossible for many businesses to build and maintain a team on their own), but not every effort to protect your data requires a large financial investment. For example, creating a culture of security within your organization will take hard work, but it is a relatively low cost way to build a solid foundation for your cybersecurity program.
You’ve seen the stock photos. You know what your biggest cybersecurity threat looks like. It’s a man in a hoodie hunched over a computer, pressing a button that says “steal all data” or “upload virus,” right? No, not quite. And it’s also not a teenager in his mom’s basement and it’s not a Russian man that looks like Ivan Drago from the “Rocky” movies but with a laptop. Yes, these threats exist, but cybersecurity threats are not just external. To paraphrase a line from a horror movie: it’s coming from inside the office.
It’s time to take a long, hard look at your internal policies and your own staff. Do your policies and procedures need to be updated? Does your staff need to be educated on cybersecurity best practices? How many of your employees can recognize a phishing attempt or other cyberthreats? Insider threats, whether malicious insiders or simple ignorance, are just as much of a risk to your business as external ones, if not more so.
At GreyCastle Security, we hear two questions a lot: “Won’t this compliance regulation make me more secure?” and “Compliance and security are the same thing, aren’t they?”
This line of thinking is often driven by areas of the business that see certifications as hurdles to progress. They view security as a hindrance to business growth and thus would prefer to apply a “Band-Aid” of compliance to ensure their security moving forward. But the real core of security is managing risk. The differences between compliance and security can be complex, but security is 100% focused on the risk that the information you hold poses to your business. Your organization has information that people want, whether that’s customer data, financial records, health information, or intellectual property. (Or, in the case of ransomware, you have any data that people want to block your access to.)
Think about information security in this way: what do you need to cover, and where you should focus your efforts. The best strategy is for security and compliance to work together. When you earn a certification, make sure that your business can adapt to it and that it works functionally in all areas of the business. This is another reason to build security into the overall culture of your organization.
Many small-to-medium businesses like to believe that they are “too small” to be targeted by cybercriminals, or that they don’t have any data that would be of interest to hackers. This just simply isn’t true. It’s economics – cyberattackers look for low-hanging fruit. They seek out targets that will require the least amount of money, time, and effort to exploit… and they know that a large number of SMBs don’t invest in cybersecurity. You measure your ROI, don’t you? Hackers do the same.
And sometimes it isn’t just SMBs that fall prey to this line of thinking. Even enterprise-level organizations believe that hackers are going to go after the “bigger guy.” After all, why spend time hacking Company A when there’s a Google or Facebook? Because they want your money. Malicious attackers will always exist, and they’ll target businesses of all sizes because they can turn a profit doing it.
And what happens when your business is targeted? A corporation like Target, for example, can survive a security incident thanks in part to its sheer size and national or global presence. Does your business have the same cachet? Customers today are willing to walk away from businesses that they don’t trust with their data. Could your business survive that?
Now you know the facts – the real facts. Hopefully this will change the way your organization thinks about some areas of cybersecurity.
Offerings
Industries
Compliance
Copyright © 2023 GreyCastle Security. All Rights Reserved
800-403-8350Copyright © 2022 GreyCastle Security. All Rights Reserved
Ho Chin is Chief Financial Officer at GreyCastle Security. In this role, Ho leads Finance, HR, IT and Professional Development. As part of the executive leadership team, Ho works to establish the company’s overall strategy and ensure proper execution of the supporting initiatives pertaining to the above areas of responsibility.
Prior to joining GreyCastle Security, Ho led finance and administrative functions at multiple private equity and venture-backed portfolio companies across multiple industries. Ho holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University in Centre County, Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Michael Stamas is an entrepreneur, board member, Vice President and a founder of GreyCastle Security. With more than two decades of experience in the technology sector, Mike pairs his management and business development skills with a deep understanding of cybersecurity. Mike brings a unique brand of risk-based advising to GreyCastle clients and prospects.
Mike holds certifications in numerous security and technology related areas, including the Department of Homeland Security and other security technologies like Symantec, Cisco and Microsoft.
Mike plays an active role in his community and serves as a board member and Vice President of InfraGard Albany as well as an advisory board position with the Capital Region YMCA.
Mike has been recognized for his numerous achievements through various honors including the Albany Business Review’s prestigious 40 Under 40 award.
Dan Kalil is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board Chairman at GreyCastle Security. In this role, Dan provides vision, leadership and strategies that drive GreyCastle Security’s position as an industry leader. With an emphasis on customer success, Dan’s profitable growth model leverages a customer-centric business approach that balances employee wellbeing and social responsibility.
Prior to becoming CEO, Dan served as the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, during which he supported multiple acquisitions and helped the organization achieve substantial sales growth. In addition to serving as CEO at GreyCastle Security, Dan continues to hold the position of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Assured information Security (AIS) in Rome, New York, a company he co-founded in 2001.
Over the course of the last 22 years, Dan has been committed to advancing the state of cybersecurity and has played an instrumental role in the identification and development of critical, next-generation cyber capabilities. He has held positions in almost every facet of cybersecurity, beginning as a computer forensic examiner and progressing through the management and executive leadership ranks. In addition to co-founding AIS, Dan has facilitated multiple cybersecurity startups, raised investment capital and has served in various lead and support roles toward the acquisition of five companies in the last eight years.
Dan has a bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity and a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Utica College in Utica, New York.
Dan Maynard serves as GreyCastle Security’s Chief Operating Officer, where he currently leads Sales, Marketing and Legal.
Dan has enjoyed a 30+ year career in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industry, during which time he has held various leadership positions for organizations such as Rochester Tel/RCI, Citizens Communications (Frontier), PAETEC Communications, IntegraOptics, tw telecom/Level3 and Centurylink.
In addition to various voice and data technology platforms, he possesses a strong background in leadership development, sales and marketing leadership, transformational leadership and strategic planning. Dan has a thirst for knowledge and as a committed lifelong learner, he encourages and supports professional development initiatives for his teams and continues his involvement with Vistage International.
Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he was selected as a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
When not at work, Dan enjoys traveling, golfing, attending Utica Comets hockey games and relaxing in the Adirondacks on beautiful Canada Lake with family and friends.
Dan Didier is the Vice President of Solutions and board member at GreyCastle Security.
Dan has been a cybersecurity practitioner for more than 20 years and uses his knowledge and experience to develop cybersecurity solutions that ensure readiness and preparedness.
Dan received his bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica, New York, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a master’s degree in Information Assurance from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.
Our Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRTs) have responded to hundreds of breaches, intrusions, malware infections, thefts, employee investigations, fraud cases and other incidents. Our highly-certified experts have extensive experience in command, coordination and correction of incidents in nearly every industry throughout North America, from local businesses to Fortune 500 international conglomerates.
800-403-8350Francesca LoPorto-Brandow is Director of Culture at GreyCastle Security. In this role, Francesca leads all social responsibility efforts and partnerships and develops effective strategies that promote organizational-wide behaviors and attitudes consistent with a culture of safety, inclusion, teamwork, motivation and high-performance.
Prior to this role, Francesca was Director of People & Culture at GreyCastle and with her leadership, the company’s culture has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as a Nationally recognized Best Workplace, Albany Business Review Best Places to Work and Albany Times Union Top Workplaces.
Before joining GreyCastle Security, Francesca worked as an OD consultant and focused on strategic culture change at The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc. for more than six years. There, she facilitated client education sessions, coached leaders and teams, developed and executed consulting interventions and served as strategy project leader on various client engagements. Her work has taken her into Fortune 100 companies and across borders including Panama, Singapore and beyond.
Francesca is a Lean Six Sigma–certified Green Belt, a proud YWCA-GCR board member and in 2013, she coordinated and emceed the inaugural TEDx Troy—a livestream of TEDCity 2.0. Since 2012, she has coordinated and emceed the Troy 100 Forum, a biannual forum for government, religious and community leaders to discuss issues vital to the future of Troy, New York.
Bilingual in English and Italian, Francesca holds a bachelor’s degree in Management and Technology from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management & Technology. She was awarded Cybersecurity Recruiter of the year North America in 2017 by the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards.
Jamie Aiello is Senior Vice President of Services and Product Management at GreyCastle Security. In this position, Jamie is responsible for leading a high performing and well-balanced team that is ultimately responsible for the identification, selection, execution and successful performance of our company’s diverse portfolio of cybersecurity offerings.
Prior to joining GreyCastle Security, Jamie has held leadership positions with Annese and Associates, ConvergeOne and BlueSky IT Partners with a focus on delivering cost effective information technology solutions for companies across multiple verticals.
Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, a master’s degree in Business Administration from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina and a master’s degree in Computer Information Systems from University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona.
