As the world adjusts to the next normal, the importance of all things digital has never been made more clear. To keep the basics of our society running – from power and water services to online shopping, telemedicine. remote learning and entertainment – digital touchpoints provide vital help in coping with everyday life and mitigate some of the impact current crises have on people’s daily lives. Subsequently, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the scaling up of technology both in the public and private sectors. In a world where lockdowns have become the norm, digital is the strategy. However, the growing connectivity of everything presents challenges on the security front. Cybersecurity threats, defined as an ill-intentioned act to damage or steal data and disrupt operations, are on the rise, everywhere. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) recorded 35.1 million cyber security incidents detected between July-September 2020, representing a 152.9 per cent jump from the previous quarter. In the US, the FBI’s crime complaints centre was receiving up to 4,000 cybersecurity complaints a day back in April; before Covid-19 that number was 1,000. It’s fair to say that cybercrime is one of the fastest growing businesses right now. In the rush to digital, cybersecurity must not be an afterthought. That is because every new connection, every newly connected device is a potential entry point for bad actors. Operations can become more vulnerable as large numbers of employees work remotely. The main challenge IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) leaders are facing right now is to maintain a balance between business needs and keep their organizations safe from threats while ensuring business continuity. So that means when a company sets off on its digital transformation, cybersecurity can’t be an afterthought. There’s too much at stake for them, financially and operationally. Implementing the technology that will converge their IT and OT demands rethinking their approach to cybersecurity. To support IT/OT and business leaders in effectively tackling these challenges, we have made available an e-Brochure designed to help organizations establish a pragmatic approach and create a multi-layered cybersecurity strategy that will reduce business and digital risk whilst taking into account best practices to protect people, processes and technology. Here are some steps of a cybersecurity journey, IT/OT and business leaders should be adopting: Cybersecurity will always be a challenge for organizations and it will become increasingly more difficult as digital transformation accelerates and cyber criminals attempt to exploit weaknesses and actively target the growing networks of connected devices. It is time to prioritize developing and implementing a holistic, dynamic cybersecurity strategy that can help you identify, reduce and mitigate threats across the operations lifecycle. The writer can be reached on the email: [email protected] -end-
