Last week, Russian hackers stole more than a billion network passwords – that’s like the data equivalent of the great Gardner art heist. In light of this and other recent high profile data breaches, here’s what you need to know about cybersecurity:
What is at risk here?
Cybercrime that results in a data breach affects both individuals when their personal information is stolen, and the companies whose systems are attacked. Similar to financial and reputational risk, cybersecurity risk affects a company’s bottom line by driving up costs and harming an organization’s ability to innovate, gain and maintain customers.
On a larger scale, our future national and economic security depends on our ability to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure. This includes things like our electrical grid, financial markets and other online information systems.
Has anything been done at the federal level to strengthen our cybersecurity?
Former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl was a champion for strengthening our nation’s cybersecurity and protecting our critical infrastructure. Senator John McCain, too, has been key in advancing info-sharing legislation. More recently, President Obama issued an Executive Order in February 2013 calling for the development of a voluntary risk-based Cybersecurity Framework. The Framework is a set of industry standards and best practices to help organizations manage cybersecurity risks.
The Framework was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and focuses on using business drivers to guide cybersecurity activities and considering cybersecurity risks as part of the organization’s risk management processes.
What about at the state level?
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s chief for fraud and identity-theft enforcement, Michael Gingold, recently told The Arizona Republic, “As criminals find new ways of using the Internet to exploit people, we need to review our laws to ensure they offer prosecutors adequate tools to hold offenders accountable.”
At the Arizona Chamber, we agree that it is important to frequently review our laws to ensure they are keeping pace with technology. That was the driver behind last session’s bill by Rep. Justin Pierce to strengthen penalties for stolen proprietary information. We may need to review our state’s criminal code to ensure that prosecutors have every tool available to them to go after cybercriminals.
How can I learn more?
The Arizona Chamber, in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will host a forum on Wednesday October 8 from 8:00 AM -1:00 PM titled, “Cyber Essentials to Protect Your Business: An Exploration of the New Cybersecurity Framework”
If you are interested in attending and learning more, contact Taylor McArthur at tmcarthur@azchamber.com or 602-248-9172 x 123.
