In all industries, stakeholders are highly concerned about the need for cyber security. The article "Adequate Responses to Cyber-Attacks" by Fabian M. Teichmann and Sonia R. Boticiu addresses the increasing prominence of cybersecurity in the business sector. It underscores the necessity for companies to adopt robust measures and prepare systematically for cybersecurity incidents. The text provides an in-depth analysis of steps businesses should take before, during, and after a cyber-attack to mitigate risks and reduce impacts.
Cyber-attacks have escalated, especially targeting companies' computer systems and websites with the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these threats by pushing more people to work remotely, thereby exposing them to higher risks.
Backup Procedures: It is important to be regularly and testing backups on external drives not permanently connected to the network. This would provide a reliable defense against malware without falling to ransom demands. An example would the conducting Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) as it helps identify and mitigate risks early, ensuring compliance with data protection laws.
Incident Response (IR), Business Continuity (BC) Plans, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): These Plans are essential and should be tested periodically to ensure preparedness for potential incidents. On top of that implementing IDS helps detect malicious activities and policy violations, enabling timely responses to threats like DDoS attacks and ransomware.
Cybersecurity Awareness Training: Educating employees on identifying phishing emails and defending against cyber threats is critical. Limiting access to sensitive information is a preventive measure. Additionally teaching them to do regular updates to cover security gaps prevent exploitation by cybercriminals.
Cybersecurity Insurance: Finally, this provides financial protection against losses due to cyber-attacks, covering legal fees, investigation costs, and customer reimbursement.
Damage examination: Have the expert team thoroughly examine the impact of functions and find vulnerabilities, take preventative measures to avoid further data loss, such as isolating compromised network sections.
Professional Counsel: report the breach to Insurance company and law enforcement and engage with either in house or external legal advisors to handle communication with regulators and ensure compliance with applicable laws.
Documentation: Have forensic analysis and legal proceedings, while collecting and preserving digital evidence. Keep a detailed record of incident, identification, response actions and impact assessment. In addition, all the costs and ensuring compliance with the insurance claim procedures to secure coverage.
Restoration: Finally ensuring that both all the systems and data is deep cleaned and free of malware, the network can be rebuilt. Swiftly update all passwords and enable security feature like 2 factor authentication. After analyzing the incident upgrade and regularly update future responses and the cyber security measures.
The article decerns that while cyberattacks cannot be completely avoided in the current digital landscape. Companies can still significantly avoid major damage though proactive and well-prepared response plans. A company should ensure they continuously update they cyber security, conduct training and with this preventative measure minimize risk and ensure swift recoveries.
For more on this topic, see International Cybersecurity Law Review, 04. April 2024 (Fabian M. Teichmann & Sonia R. Boticiu). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1365/s43439-024-00116-2.