The Scream: Your Computer has been compromised

The audacious global cyberattack has shaken the world, a serious wake-up call to harden up government cybersecurity measures. It was not a happy weekend for many of IT personnel though cybersecurity vendors may not share this sentiment. While cybersecurity professionals all over the world are scratching their heads in search of what could be the next line of defense, we have compiled a short list cyber security tips and trends from the latest Israeli cybertech events (provided by analysts of Market Research Media):

Key takeaways:

• Israel is probably the only developed country that emerged unscathed from the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack. Unsurprisingly so, there are currently about 400 cybersecurity companies in Israel. Israeli cyber security companies raised a record $540 million in 2015, up 20 percent from a year earlier. 18 Israeli companies were also acquired last year for a total of $1.2 Bln. The average cyber exit in the past five years stood at $78 million. Netaniahu: “International cybersecurity standards do not work for us. It’s every government for itself when it comes to cybersecurity”, “We are in the top five cyber powers…”
• Built-in vs. bolt-on solutions. SOCs are on rise but SOCs are expensive. Only 1% of companies can afford SOCs. Large vendors are proponents of integrated approach. Small vendors argue that point solutions can significantly reduce risk at fraction of cost.
• IT security budgets increased from 4% to 14–15% of IT budget. This trend can’t go on forever. Bottomline and productivity remain the main objectives of business, not cybersecurity. Cost-effective cybersecurity is the name of the game for years to come. “Balance of productivity and cybersecurity, cost-effective cybersecurity”, Nadav Zafrir, Former Commander of Unit 8200 (Israeli version of NSA).
• Decoy networks and using remote browser are cost-effective cybersecurity technologies with high growth potential.
• “Notion of perimeter security has been obliterated. It’s all about identity. 90% of attackers just walk in.” Zulfikar Ramzan, CTO RSA
• IoT: What about security of things? We’ll figure out how to secure IoT in the course of battle. A lot of blubbering “Will an internet-enabled toaster-oven attack an internet-enabled fridge? Will they conspire to become an army of bots?”. No clear concepts, no clear strategy. No plan survives contact with the enemy. IoT is a huge security risk.

As always after the first shock passes out the questions arise what to do next? The answer is always the same: prevent, mitigate, back up and harden up your cyberdefenses. Switching to remote browser might be helpful as well to separate your online activities from your infrastracture.

Significant funds and efforts will be required to mitigate damage from the unprecedented global cyberattack, address vulnerabilities and harden up critical infrastructure.

References:

• Browser as a Service Market
• Deception Cybersecurity Market Analysis
• U.S. Federal Cybersecurity Market Research
• U.S. Federal IT Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Market Forecast
• Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): U.S. Government Market Forecast
• Quantum Computing Market Forecast
• U.S. IT Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Market

Source: Technologies.org