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Link: https://info.cygnvs.com/resources/insights/strengthen-your-municipality-with-cygnvs
At the heart of our communities, municipalities deliver crucial services, ensuring public safety and maintaining infrastructure. Yet, this centrality also renders them susceptible to cyber threats. From ransomware assaults to state-sponsored intrusions, cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities embedded in the array of services local governments provide. Recent cyber incidents against Veolia North America’s Municipal Water division highlights the urgent need for municipalities to start planning and practicing for the cyber crisis to reduce the impact and cost. Municipalities are facing an unprecedented surge in cyber threats. Ransomware attacks, state-sponsored intrusions, phishing attempts, and improper usage are becoming increasingly prevalent. These attacks exploit the vulnerabilities in the diverse range of services offered by local governments, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals. The recent surge in cyber threats, and how CYGNVS, a secure out-of-band incident command center can significantly reduce the impact and cost of cyber-attacks by ensuring preparedness, proactive training, and streamlined incident response between internal and external teams. The High Cost of Cyberattacks The financial impact of cyberattacks on municipalities is staggering. Ransomware attacks alone cost U.S. government agencies approximately $19 billion in recovery costs and downtime in 2020. According to Cisco, 73% of utilities say they've experienced a public security breach. With most states allocating only 1-3% of their IT budgets to cybersecurity, it's clear that a more comprehensive and proactive approach is needed to protect vital infrastructure. Challenges for Municipalities Municipalities are facing unique cyber challenges every day. Here's a closer look at the hurdles that demand innovative solutions and strategic approaches: - Diverse Services: Municipalities provide a broad range of services, from public safety to transportation, creating a diverse attack surface that is challenging to secure comprehensively. - Regulatory Complexity: CISOs must navigate a complex web of federal, state, and local regulations, ranging from healthcare compliance (HIPAA) to law enforcement standards (CJIS). - Geopolitical Targeting: Municipalities are increasingly targeted by both cybercriminals and nation-state actors. Attacks against local governments are viewed as attacks against the nation, making them attractive targets for geopolitical threat groups. - Budgetary Constraints: Resource-constrained municipalities struggle to allocate sufficient funds for cybersecurity, making it challenging to attract and retain qualified cybersecurity professionals. Redefining Cyber Resilience A secure out-of-band incident command center has been purpose-built for incident response to help reduce the impact and cost of cyber-attacks. Let's explore how CYGNVS can enhance cyber resilience for municipalities: - Train Where You Fight: CYGNVS facilitates "training where you're going to fight," allowing municipalities to practice their response plan real-world cyber scenarios. This hands-on training approach ensures that response teams are well-prepared to address the evolving challenges of cyber incidents, ultimately reducing response times and minimizing the impact of cyber outages. - Secure Out-of-Band Incident Response: CYGNVS establishes a secure out-of-band incident response platform, creating an isolated environment for response efforts. Even if the primary network is compromised, CYGNVS ensures that incident response operations remain secure and unaffected, serving as a beacon guiding teams through the chaos of a cyber crisis. - Single Pane of Glass for Incident Management: CYGNVS streamlines incident management by providing a single pane of glass for planning, practicing, responding, and reporting. This integrated approach ensures a cohesive and coordinated response, reducing the risk of critical information slipping through the cracks and enhancing overall incident response efficiency. - Proactively Mitigating Cyber Risks: To avoid becoming statistics in the growing trend of cyberattacks on municipalities, a proactive stance is crucial. Municipalities must:
Link: https://info.cygnvs.com/resources/insights/credit-unions-versus-inevitable-cyber-attacks
Credit unions deal with troves of sensitive financial information and Personal Identifiable Information (PII). This makes them a prime target for cybercriminals. A recent report by Arctic Wolf highlighted an alarming statistic. Financial services firms are 300 times more likely to face cyber-attacks, with an average breach cost of $5.9 million USD. A breach in a credit union's security can lead to severe consequences. These extend beyond mere financial losses, like fraudulent spending and the cost of replacing debit cards. They also include revenue loss due to downtime and damage to their reputation. This damage often results in lost members. The aftermath of such incidents can be especially catastrophic for smaller credit unions, potentially jeopardizing their continued existence. Challenges Faced by Credit Unions Credit unions often operate insufficient and outdated technology. This can make them susceptible to cyber threats. Darrin Johnson, MD of Cybersecurity Services at Progent, a managed security service provider, observed multiple instances where PII and sensitive information were left on outdated, unpatched servers. Furthermore, Joshua Marpet, IAN Faculty advisor and CMMC author, found that many credit union technology inventories are not adequately updated. This leaves them vulnerable to end-of-life systems still being utilized. Managing Third Party Risk Credit unions often leverage third parties to enhance the features and functionality offered to their members. Threat actors see this as an easy way to carry out cyber-attacks. This type of susceptibility was highlighted recently when ransomware infected 60 credit unions through a vulnerability in a third-party IT vendor (CVE-2023-4966). This disrupted operations and exposed the credit unions' exposure to third-party risks. Redefining Cyber Resilience for Credit Unions Recognizing the challenges credit unions face, the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) advises credit unions to adopt a proactive approach. The NCUA suggested measures include patching vulnerabilities, implementing MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), conducting security awareness training, enhancing email security, and establishing an incident response plan. CYGNVS takes it a step further—it’s not just about having a plan; it’s about having a dynamic response plan. It should be available and easily accessible even if your network is compromised and your files are encrypted by a threat actor. Cybersecurity MDR company Critical Start says that “preparing for potential breaches, credit unions can bolster their defenses and safeguard the financial well-being of their members.” CYGNVS enables credit union cybersecurity teams to actively participate in and respond to simulated cyber threats in the same place they will ultimately fight from. This approach helps you identify and update your response playbooks on the fly. It also gives your team the muscle memory needed to respond to cyber-attacks. Staying Compliant Credit unions must comply with regulation, adding complexity to incident response efforts. These standards are constantly under review and revised to keep up with evolving technologies. The NCUA says that “all federally insured credit unions must notify the NCUA as soon as possible, and no later than 72 hours after the credit union reasonably believes it has experienced a reportable cyber incident or received a notification from a third party regarding a reportable cyber incident.” CYGNVS not only assists in complying with existing regulations but also adapts to evolving standards. CYGNVS’ incident command center offers a single pane of glass to ensure all the necessary steps have been taken and completed. This helps accelerate response timelines allowing companies to meet their regulatory requirements to report within a given timeframe. The true test of preparedness arises when a team can demonstrate that their organization can confidently execute a response plan swiftly and effectively. The CYGNVS Advantage Navigating a cyber incident can become complex with the involvement of numerous stakeholders, including the general counsel, CISO, C-suite executives, operations, security, incident response teams, crisis communications and PR agencies, as well as third-party providers like outside counsel, forensics, crisis communications etc. In the event of a cyber incident, CYGNVS provides a secure, out-of-band place to not only swiftly respond to the cyber-attack, but also to report the incident in the required timeframe With the CYGNVS platform’s Dynamic TenancyTM capability, you gain access to a secure place where you can effectively collaborate both internally and externally, with fine-grained access control across all users. CYGNVS provides a fortified environment for real-time information sharing, communication, and collaboration between internal and third-party teams. Additionally, CYGNVS’ patented Isolate ModeTM raises the drawbridge to your company data, ensuring that only stakeholders with the right privileges can communicate and collaborate on the platform, preventing threat actors from gaining access to your response strategy. |
Alex WaintraubAlex Waintraub is a seasoned cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience in IT, Security Operations, and DFIR. He excels in security analytics and leads both small and large-scale cybersecurity teams. For the past decade, Alex has specialized in managing security operations, including triage, validation, and escalation of incidents. His expertise spans SOC enhancements, Incident Response Plans, ransomware negotiations, threat hunting, and intelligence operations. He delivers robust cybersecurity services to global clients across multiple industries and speaks at national conferences and his NJ Cyber Fireside Chat (cyberfiresidenj.com). Archives
November 2024
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