Attendees at a recent Shannon Chamber seminar on cyber security were advised to use multi-factor authentication on all access points to their information technology (IT) systems to ward off a cyber-attack.
In an interview style presentation, chief commercial officer at Viatel Technology Group, Damien McCann, and cybersecurity expert and security vulnerability identification specialist, Eddie Heneghan, founder of Henocon, demystified what could have been a very technical presentation, giving attendees plenty to mull over when they returned to their desks.
Stating that cyber security is no longer the domain of the IT department but the responsibility of everyone in an organisation, they emphasised that cybercrime is now a business that is competing with everyone’s industry and that the best time to invest in cyber security is before and now, and not after an event has happened.
“It’s no longer a matter of IT working away in a corner on its own, senior management must oversee, approve, and supervise projects. However, IT also need to learn more about the business and understand the risks a company may be exposed to. All sides of the business need to support each other,” they said.
Citing water, transport, utilities, and energy sectors as the most exposed in an economy, given their essentiality to GDP, with waste management, digital services and space programme sectors considered important, their advice to companies is to know the risks they are exposed to, reach out for help, and get up to speed on cyber security.
“Anti-virus protection is no longer adequate; endpoint detection and response (EDR), an endpoint security solution that continuously monitors end-user devices to detect and respond to cyber threats like ransomware and malware, is now essential,” they added.
Stating that the primary entry mechanism for any attacker is through a vulnerable system, their advice to business is to take stock of the systems they have, identify vulnerabilities and close off that entry point.
“The goal of any attacker is to obtain your data, to sell it, ransom it or otherwise use it against you. An ounce of prevention is worth hundreds of kilos of the cure,” they said.
Having listened attentively to the discussion, Shannon Chamber CEO, Helen Downes, summarised her key takeaways from the seminar: “I learnt that if someone has access to your network or device, it’s not yours anymore; that companies should value the information coming from their trusted suppliers about cybersecurity, as their goal is to keep an organisation cyber-aware as well as secure and that, without education, users are your biggest weakness. With education, they are a human firewall.
“As the presenters said, cyber criminals are running businesses. Like any company, they are continually innovating and finding new ways to penetrate IT systems. The onus is on everyone in a business to keep abreast of emerging trends and changes and to know what to do if they experience a vulnerability,” she added.
The ‘Shield Your Business: Cybersecurity Essentials and Regulation Changes’ event was delivered by Damien McCann, chief commercial officer at Viatel Technology Group and Eddie Heneghan, cybersecurity expert and founder of Henocon.
Viatel Technology Group specialises in managed IT solutions, secure networks, complete cloud solutions and cyber resilience. Ed Heneghan is a seasoned security consultant and ethical hacker with fourteen years’ experience working with government, small and medium-sized businesses, and the financial services sector. He specialises in penetration testing, responding to security incidents, cryptography, and detecting and analysing intrusions.
Ed is a master at building cybersecurity programmes from scratch. His extensive experience working with government departments, managed service providers, telecoms, banks, and charities gives him a unique perspective on the challenges faced by organisations of all sizes.
