Cybersecurity Keeping Us Up At Night

In the News   Presented by Prairie Title            

Commentary by Frank Pellegrini, Prairie Title CEO

March 25, 2016

Cybersecurity is a buzzword, no doubt, but nothing is more important to running a business today than making sure what that buzzword represents is firmly implanted in your company’s day-to-day operations. As a business that is based on information — providing title services has always been all about information — securing that information is essential for us, and it has never been more difficult. Throughout the real estate and lending industries we have grave challenges in front of us: protecting not only internal information, but also our clients’ information. 

Our businesses are subject to destructive viruses, attempts to steal data and even demands for ransom to keep a cyber attack from occurring. Ransomware is a relatively new term to me, but it is one of the lurking dangers out there that is most pressing.Source: FFIEC

Late last year, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council released a chilling statement about cyber attacks including extortion: “Cyber attacks against financial institutions to extort payment in return for the release of sensitive information are increasing. Financial institutions should address this threat by conducting ongoing cybersecurity risk assessments and monitoring of controls and information systems.”

FFIEC Recommended Actions:

·         Conduct ongoing information security risk assessments and review business continuity plans.

·         Securely configure systems and services.

·         Protect against unauthorized access.

·         Update information security awareness and training programs to include ransomware attacks.

·         Perform security monitoring, prevention, and risk mitigation.

·         Implement and regularly test controls around critical systems.

I can’t tell you exactly what to do to protect your individual business, except always be vigilant and follow the recommendations of your industry association and respected cyber crime experts. There is no 100 percent guarantee that your business will not be a victim of cyber crime at some point, but taking precautions now to help prevent these crimes can help you protect your business.

Let’s keep the discussion going. Call or email me, or write a comment below.

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