In an ever-growing technological and networked world, the need to protect a facility’s information and information systems can no longer be ignored. Bad actors include computer hackers bent on embarrassing a facility (exposing a weakness), cyber criminals attempting to pilfer financial records, nation states seeking a foothold to disrupt the flow of goods or gain competitive advantage, or a cyber terrorist taking control of a facility’s critical infrastructure to cause loss of life and property. With threat actors stepping up their game daily, it is essential to protect your cyber network.

The need to protect a facility’s cyber infrastructure is incredibly important for several reasons, but two primary reasons are:

• Financial – Protection against phishing, online scams, malware, ransomware, identity theft and simple fraud all affect a facility’s bottom line. According to estimates by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Cyber crime costs the global economy over $400 billion per year. This is just one estimate, and there are other studies that put the cost into the trillion-dollar range. Even a fairly unsophisticated financial cyber attack can have an impact on facility’s’ financial resources.

• Infrastructure – A facility’s infrastructure could be a target for a cyber terrorist attempting to take control of any one of a number of automated processes. A cyber terrorist could potentially gain access to an unprotected fuel transfer system and cause a catastrophic leak or a disgruntled former employee might access an unprotected network to disseminate an organizations trade secrets. Any unprotected or weakly protected system that can be accessed can be compromised.

For these reasons, a commitment to cyber security must be an essential component of a facility’s security plan. Step One is to designate who at the facility is responsible for the cyber elements of a facility’s security. Cyber and physical security are becoming increasingly difficult to separate, as many cyber-attacks result in physical effects. We encourage each facility to discuss who should be responsible and designate a responsible party.

In the next Blog we will discuss the common types of cyber attacks.