When devastating attacks that compromise thousands of organizations happen more often than you think, worldwide cyberwarfare is no longer just a plot point in Hollywood blockbusters.
These real-world events have demonstrated the catastrophic consequences of cyberattacks and underscore the urgent need for individuals and organizations to prioritize cybersecurity in order to safeguard their data and systems.
Why Should Your Organization Care About Cybersecurity and Cyberwar?
Picture this: You walk into your office on a typical Monday morning, coffee in hand and ready to start the week. As you boot up your computer and open your email, you notice something strange—a message with an attachment or link from a sender that looks suspiciously like someone else.
Thinking it’s a trusted source, you accidentally click on the attachment, and suddenly, mayhem ensues. A message appears, demanding a ransom in exchange for your company’s data.
You quickly realize you fell victim to a ransomware attack, and panic sets in. How would you finish your work? What about your clients’ sensitive information? And how would you explain this to your boss? Suddenly, your routine workday transforms into a nightmare, and you feel helpless and exposed.
This is the reality for countless professionals around the world who fall victim to cyberattacks on the job.
Under Constant Threat: The Relentless Risk to Your Organization
Hackers target a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to private clinics. Every day, there are more than 4,000 cyberattacks, or 160 an hour. Ransomware affects one business every 15 seconds.
Last year, 3,205 cyberattacks were recorded, with the victim count totaling hundreds of millions. There was also a 72% increase in data breaches, each costing a whopping $4.45 million on average.
In 2024, the average cost of a data breach was $4.88 million, a 10% increase from the previous year.
When it comes to cyberwar risks, it’s not a question of if your organization will be targeted—it’s a matter of when. Rather than leaving your data’s safety to chance, it’s wise to recognize the seriousness of the threat and take proactive steps to safeguard your organization against inevitable cyberattacks.
What Is Cyberwar?
In simple terms, cyberwar is when one nation attacks another using advanced technology, such as state-sponsored hacking. Cyberattacks can involve data theft, infrastructure collapse, or disruptions of important industries. Russia, North Korea, and China are a few countries that have engaged in cyberwarfare against U.S. organizations, including ransomware attacks.
How Does Cyberwarfare Threaten U.S. Businesses?
Cyberattacks against businesses and industries can take many forms:
- Ransomware: Malware can infiltrate organizational software, locking administrators out of vital systems or deleting valuable data unless you pay a ransom.
- Sabotage of critical infrastructure or industrial operations: State groups can target power grids, water distribution centers, and large-scale manufacturers to cause widespread damage.
- Cybersecurity breaches: Past cyberattacks have successfully stolen proprietary information, blueprints, confidential documents, and even government secrets.
- Data leaks: Some nations hack vulnerable businesses to obtain the personal details of millions of customers, such as credit card numbers.
- Attacks on servers and communications platforms: The goal of some cyberattacks is to collapse cloud providers, preventing banks, airlines, and other businesses from operating.
Nations that engage in cyberwarfare can use many sophisticated tools, including spyware, brute-force password attacks, social engineering (phishing), large-scale distributed denial-of-service attacks, and malware (viruses and worms). In this environment, your business can’t afford to limit cybersecurity protection to the bare minimum.
Which Industries Are Most Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks?
Cybersecurity and cyberwar are concerns for American businesses in virtually every industry:
- In 2023, over 25% of cyberattacks targeted manufacturing businesses, more than any other industry.
- Financial firms are frequent targets of hackers looking for payment card data, bank account information, and other digital assets, making IT Support for Financial Services crucial to safeguard sensitive information.
- Energy utilities, data hosting platforms, and businesses in the DoD supply chain need robust protection against state-sponsored hacks, DDoS attacks, and malware.
- Hospitals and healthcare businesses have an enormous trove of sensitive patient data and are highly exposed to ransomware attacks.
- Hackers are increasingly targeting schools and universities in search of personally identifiable information.
Cyberwarfare can affect small businesses just as much as large ones, especially because smaller organizations don’t usually have IT personnel on-site to help with cybersecurity.
How Can Your Business Strengthen Cybersecurity and Cyberwar Defenses?
Schedule a Professional Risk Assessment
The first step in cybersecurity and cyberwar planning is to know your organization’s attack surfaces (e.g., software, hardware, employees, and vendors). Every business has a different set of vulnerabilities depending on its operations. For example, the weakest link for manufacturers may be outdated equipment or PLCs. Remote workforces need robust security for mobile devices and data storage platforms.
At CIO Tech, we provide customized risk assessments that reveal which areas of your business are attack surfaces and ways to mitigate the threat. We can help you safeguard high-risk systems as well as assets with a low probability of cyberattacks but high consequences.
Prioritize Cybersecurity
Between 2022 and 2024, cyberattacks affected major businesses in the U.S., including AT&T, JPMorgan Chase, Apple, American Airlines, HCA Healthcare, and even Microsoft Azure. These high-profile attacks emphasize that cybersecurity shouldn’t be a secondary expense or afterthought for businesses. It must be a priority for companies to allocate sufficient resources.
Considering that the average data breach costs between $4.5 million and $11 million — not including reputational harm and downtime — cybersecurity spending is a wise investment.
Invest in Penetration Testing
Penetration testing involves having security experts thoroughly test your defenses. During a pen test, one team actively looks for and tries to exploit vulnerabilities, the next team focuses on system configuration and architecture issues, and the final team compares the findings and works to implement solutions.
At CIO Tech, we include penetration testing as part of our comprehensive vulnerability analysis.
Update Software and Server Systems
If your organization maintains an on-premises server setup, performing software updates consistently is key to addressing security concerns and prompt response to zero-day vulnerabilities. This can be a challenge for small businesses and organizations with few IT personnel.
Our team can coordinate all security patches, offering protection and convenience for on-prem systems. In addition we can review, audit, and advise on potential cloud-based hosting solutions. This often leads to a more secure, cost effective solution and improved availability.
Follow Cybersecurity Best Practices as an Organization
A surprising detail about cybersecurity and cyberwar events is that most intrusions (over 50%) happen because of human error. To avoid this outcome, organizations need to follow healthy IT practices.
Encryption and firewall
Where regulatory compliance allows, store sensitive customer data, business communications, and proprietary information in an encrypted format. Invest in a top-of-the-line firewall.
Access control and MFA
Restrict access to sensitive data to a limited number of trustworthy employees. Use credentials and multi-factor authentication with passkeys or authentication tools.
Compartmentalization
Segregate data into password-protected silos. For example, keep customer credit card info in a separate system from business emails to reduce the extent of compromised data in a breach.
Security Awareness training
Teach all employees to verify all business requests personally instead of replying to organizational emails. Disable external links at an organizational level.
Zero-trust networks
Block all suspicious connections, devices, and apps by default.
Trusted software vendors and endpoint protection
Verify the credentials, cybersecurity practices, and compliance of all software vendors, platforms, and providers. Choose a high-quality cybersecurity suite for all organizational devices.
We offer personalized solutions for business owners depending on the requirements of the organization and the type of system in place.
Mitigate Cybersecurity and Cyberwar Risks Effectively: Custom IT Support for Your Business
At CIO, we’re experts in organization-specific IT and cybersecurity needs. Our team can evaluate your company’s risks, locate potential attack surfaces, and create robust solutions that adapt to your budget and operations. Learn how to develop robust cybersecurity and cyberwar defenses right away.
