The CTO of a Software company once told me “Software Never Dies” and as a cyber security professional, I thanked him for the job security. Far too often in software, we focus on growth and speed to market. We must keep or outpace the competition while cleaning up bugs to keep the current clientele happy.
However, it is far too often that we can forget about how these many minor changes and upgrades to our software can have a major effect on the security of the overall system over time. This can come from legacy code, minor mistakes, feature buildouts, and slight architectural changes in code or the backend that accumulate over time. And contrary to popular belief, software engineers are still very human. So, these subtle mistakes or oversights may go unnoticed until after the changes have made their way to production, putting the security and privacy of its clients at risk.
As professionals and business owners, we need to make sure that we are not part of the headlines or go viral for the wrong reasons. We need to learn to be as diligent with security and the data that our applications process as we are with the growth and stability of our business. This can be extremely difficult when it comes to the modern-day digital landscape and is especially true within application development. Most organizations do not have the wherewithal to keep up with modern cybersecurity threats that have made 2023 the worst year I have ever seen in my career.
When it comes to protecting data and the privacy of our clients (this can be especially true for startups), unless required by law, cyber security is an afterthought. Investors want growth, they want increased profit margins, and cyber security is neither of those. At best, some leaders see security as an expensive and occasional speed bump on the road to greatness. Something to slow you down just enough to check your surroundings. At worst. It is seen as a hundred-foot steel wall that is nothing but an innovation killer. But we cannot forget that investors also like to reduce their risk.
This year alone, we have seen over a billion dollars lost from cyber-attacks. Whether that’s grandma’s bank account being linked up with cash app and sending some stranger $250. Or ransomware attacks hitting casinos forcing them to pay out or lose out on potential earnings for weeks. Or even attacks causing organizations to close their doors due to failed business continuity plans. Security cannot be taken lightly, and we must become more diligent than ever to protect our data. We must find better ways to ensure the integrity of our businesses so they may strive without the concern of a cyber-attack ending it at the click of a mouse.
One of my favorite sayings in cyber security is that attackers only need to be correct once, and as defenders, we need to be correct all the time. That is an extremely tall and unrealistic order for any individual or team to live up to.
As many of us begin to review how our 2023 has gone and begin to plan and budget for 2024. I urge you all to make sure your cyber security plan is a significant part of your plans going forward. If you do not have the staff to do it internally, find help. Whether that is hiring someone new or finding an organization that can help you take a closer look at your organization, and piece together a plan that works for your business.
Here at Applied Visions, we have such expertise and the services to help you align cyber security initiates with your business goals. We can help you move into 2024 with a plan to better protect the data of your organization and its clients. We understand that in the fog of all the cyber-attacks this year you have plenty of other options ringing your phone and spamming your inbox. And though we would prefer you to make us your cyber security consultant of choice for all your security endeavors, we understand if you end up choosing someone else. More than anything else, we want to see every organization do its part in making a safer, more secure, and private digital landscape for everyone.
We will be here if you need us.
