Need Expert Assistance Taking Advantage Of The New Connecticut Cybersecurity Incentives?
What’s the best way to encourage companies to invest in cybersecurity: incentives, or penalties? Up until now, the government and other regulatory bodies have largely relied on the former. But Connecticut is trying something new.
This new legislation, named, “An Act Incentivizing the Adoption of Cybersecurity Standards for Businesses,” will reward businesses that create, maintain, and follow a written cybersecurity program that includes what are considered to be necessary administrative, technical, and physical safeguards. The reward will be an exemption from the usual fines and punitive action in place in the event of a breach.
How Is Connecticut Investing In Cybersecurity?
The idea is that, with these safeguards in place, a business will have done everything they could to prevent an attack, and as such, cannot be held responsible. Instead of relying on fines to scare companies into compliance, Connecticut will encourage their investment in higher levels of cybersecurity. Implementing these safeguards will likely require the assistance of a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP).
What Is An MSSP?
The question you need to ask yourself is whether you can confidently manage cybersecurity on your own. The short answer is “maybe, but probably not”. Especially for members of highly regulated industries like healthcare and financial services.
In theory, it’s entirely possible if you’ve invested in the right technologies, and have the right skill set, you could handle cybersecurity for your business all on your own. You would find your vulnerabilities, manage your policies, monitor your alerts, and everything else that comes with operating a secure business IT environment.
If we’re being honest, however, that’s a big if. When it comes to protecting against the ongoing evolving cybersecurity threats in play today, managing cybersecurity is understandably a tall order. For you to effectively fill the role of an MSSP, you would need…
- The knowledge of how to select, configure, optimize and maintain increasingly complex IT security technologies. Do you have that kind of know-how?
- The time to both find vulnerabilities on an ongoing basis and respond to events as they occur. If you can’t afford to make cybersecurity your full-time job, then do you really think you can stay on top of it?
For all these reasons, it’s recommended that business owners simply outsource their cybersecurity for complete management by an IT company they can rely on — these companies are also known as MSSPs. Given the recent rise in cybercrime, the MSSP market has seen rapid growth and is expected to be worth $64 billion by 2026 alone.
How Will This Affect Business Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity investments are easy to put off for companies that haven’t suffered a major data breach. It can seem like an unnecessarily high expense, which is why many companies often do the bare minimum and cross their fingers.
This isn’t a wise approach. Cybercrime is becoming more common and more dangerous with each year that passes. The absolute biggest mistake companies make about cybersecurity insurance and cybersecurity in general, is to assume that they don’t need it and that they are not a target. Or even worse, they think they are already protected, without taking any steps to ensure they are. You may have less than a hundred employees, but does that really mean you’re secure?
In 2020, the rate of cyberattacks grew 400% compared to the previous year — the fact is that a rising tide lifts all ships. As cybercrime becomes more prevalent, your organization becomes a more likely target, no matter its size.
Just consider the rate at which attacks are occurring…
- COVID-19 Poses Unprecedented Cybersecurity Threats: The number of phishing emails and social engineering scams that use the COVID-19 pandemic as a topic represents the single largest thematic series of cybercrime attacks ever. From credential phishing and malicious attachments to business email compromise and fake landing pages, the coronavirus has been a veritable gold rush for cybercriminals.
- The Rate Of Ransomware Attacks Is Rising: It is estimated that a ransomware attack will occur every 11 seconds in 2021.
- Small Businesses Rarely Survive A Breach: 60% of small businesses that are hit with a cyber attack will go out of business within six months.
What Does This Mean For You?
The fact is that, even if you deployed all the necessary cybersecurity technologies, invested in all the necessary tools and solutions, and did everything you could to protect your business, you’d still be missing one thing — cybersecurity expertise.
Does your staff have the skills and experience needed to keep you protected?
Cybersecurity expertise is in high demand these days. As cybercrime continues to grow, and as businesses become more and more digital in their operations, cybersecurity becomes a much more critical priority. However, there’s only so much cybersecurity talent available to hire.
When you’re not sure if you have the skills or knowledge to get the job done, what can you do? Consult with cybersecurity professionals like those on the Realized Solutions, Inc. team.
Need Expert Cybersecurity Guidance?
Don’t let your cybersecurity suffer, and don’t assume you have to handle it all on your own — Realized Solutions, Inc. can help you assess your cybersecurity, develop a plan to improve it, and take advantage of the new government incentives in Connecticut.
