By Chris Hill
Like everyone over the past couple of weeks, I have watched the pain and suffering that the great state of Texas has been under and, in my mind, many of the challenges could have been easily avoided with some basic planning and preparedness.
Many times in cybersecurity we talk about advancements in technology and how to prevent or overcome challenges from unknown forces, but in cases like what happened in the south it’s apparent that the issues that surfaced were known by many but lack of time and attention allowed the devastation to occur.
This is no different than what we see in many networks around the world -- organizations spend tremendous amount of time and effort on advanced technology but forgot to cover the basics and, at times, leave the backdoor wide open. In Texas, some basic preventative measures could have reduced the widespread impact across the state, such as connectivity to additional power grids.
On the technology side, I equate that to cloud computing or redundant power supplies in critical assets. Frozen pipes could have been managed with a couple simple techniques, like shutting off the incoming water supply and draining the pipes, basic steps could have saved millions in damage and recovery efforts.
I know I am making a stretch on some of my connections, but in many organizations we see the basics are skipped, and when someone or something challenges the network these overlooked basics can be catastrophic. The simple fact is that what happened did happen, and many would have said that it would never get that cold down there. I equate that to companies saying that we will never be attacked or attackers don’t want our data.
Coincidentally, I was recently having this exact conversation with my wife. She runs a small office that has PII information of 5000 individuals, and in many cases an attacker would see that as a goldmine!
Here at LRS, we take care to talk about the basics with our clients. Our goal is ensuring that your foundation is solid and you have a base to build up your security posture; without having the basics covered, you’re taking an unnecessary risk and someone or something will take advantage of that opportunity. We have created a Foundational Cyber Risk Analysis that focuses on the basics of your security program ensuring that you can weather the storm!
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About the author
Chris Hill serves as our Security Practice Leader. Chris has more than 24 years of business and professional experience in IT and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.