Radio Interview – KRLD-AM
Tune in to KRLD-AM Dalls at 1 PM Eastern for a live interview about the intersection of cyber security, healthcare, and the Internet of Things.
Companies should pay special attention to consistent classification and labeling of data, as it’s one of the biggest hurdles to effective data governance. Setting default labels for new data (for example, dubbing them confidential) can ensure that policies and technical controls are applied consistently across the organization. This also frees up data creators from having to manually label all newly created information. “In that way, a data steward only needs to review data labels when that data is crossing a security barrier such as preparing a file to send to a client or third-party vendor,” notes Kayne McGladrey (@kaynemcgladrey), director of security and information technology at Pensar Development.
Smart toys seemingly come to life utilizing “Internet of Things” [IoT] technology that has wirelessly connected coffeemakers, thermostats, and yes, toilets. But smart toys have proven to be particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks. Manufacturers try to keep toy prices low and lack an incentive to add reasonable security mechanisms, said Kayne McGladrey, member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest technical professional organization
Global supply chains have been under intense strain in recent months, a situation that has been made even worse by the growth of cyber attacks, especially in the form of ransomware. The transportation sector, which has been largely deregulated, needs to adopt recommendations by industry and government organizations for implementing measures that they might have overlooked in years. The price of failing to do so can be high, with ransomware attacks threatening to shut down critical logistics operations for days or even longer.
An assessment of digital literacy isn’t a one-time event in an organization, according to McGladrey. “This is a continuous cycle for businesses to assess how employees use the tools provided, how they process information, how they’re creating content, and their critical thinking skills,” McGladrey said. And don’t make this a class that’s going to drag people down and eat most of their day, he added. “This continuous assessment process should be buttressed by brief just-in-time learning opportunities. No one wants to sit down for a four-hour digital literacy class for things they do know if they can instead get a five-minute tutorial on a new topic or technique they can apply to their current work.”
What’s needed is “an effective provisioning and de-provisioning system that defines rules for what users can do with data and provides quick auditing of who granted access to the data. There needs to be training around the approval process for granting and revoking access to data; otherwise, organizations risk compliance fatigue and start rubber-stamping all the access requests.”
“On a related note, #ZeroTrust isn’t a sticker on your router or a #cybersecurity product that you buy. It’s a shift in architectural patterns that have to be supported by policies.”