NAFA member, Satcom Direct, discusses cybersecurity.
Data and its capabilities increasingly power our world; consequently, data’s value is priceless. In 2023, the cost of cyber data breaches averaged around US$4.45 million, which doesn’t include reputational damage. Alarmingly, the average time to detect a violation was nearly four months. With more than 2,800 data breaches recorded in the same year, resulting in eight billion records being compromised, the question is, how do you protect your personal and commercial data?
The simple response is that organizations, corporations, and individuals must implement a robust cybersecurity strategy. If an entity is offline for any length of time, it is vulnerable to financial, reputational, and technical compromise. This doesn’t include personal data stored on a growing number of digital devices. With 53 percent of users not changing passwords regularly and an alarming 57 percent of users writing passwords on sticky notes for all to see, it is hardly surprising that so many data records were compromised.
Josh Wheeler, Sr. Director of Entry into Service for Satcom Direct, says these stats illustrate that while the threat of cyber events is a clear and present danger, cyber vigilance is still lacking. “It really is a matter of if, not when a cyber event will happen, and what I often sense is that clients and customers think it won’t happen to them. There’s a lack of understanding that a serious breach can push a company to crisis point.” Wheeler spends significant time applying his security mindset to support SD customers’ cybersecurity and, with his team, successfully blocks some 10,000 attempted malware attacks on customers’ assets every day.
Wheeler adds that laptops and personal computers are not the only vulnerable devices. “I often have conversations with clients who believe they are immune from attack because they only use their phone in flight. It is simply not the case. If the phone is connected to the internet, which it nearly always is, it’s equally as vulnerable as a laptop or tablet.”
This article was originally published by Satcom Direct on June 27, 2024.