Cyberattacks don’t often make the news, but when they do they tend to make a big splash, grabbing headlines and sending the IT world into a spin.

For example, if you’re reading this you own some sort of digital device that accesses the internet, so you are very likely aware of a cyberattack called “ransomware”.

This is thanks to ransomware attacks featuring in the news back in 2017 when various forms of it hit the internet. Organisations across the globe were affected, from hospitals to corporations to government departments.

It’s also why you’ve probably heard the words Petya, Wannacry, and Bad Rabbit – the most visible ransomwares that were involved.

Ransomware is malware that locks down infected PCs by encrypting important data and demanding payment to decrypt it. Frustratingly, even paying the ransom didn’t mean that stolen data was decrypted. The attacks were a real scourge that did a lot of damage at the time.

Wider Awareness

In the wake of the attacks, IT departments everywhere stepped up their efforts to combat ransomware. And while ransomware infections are still a problem in 2019, they’re not as prolific as they were back in 2017. This is thanks to the wider awareness created by the news coverage, and increased efforts to combat it.

It’s fair to say, then, that the focus of any organisation’s cybersecurity strategy is affected by the news cycle. If cyberthreat X is in the headlines, that’s the threat management wants IT to focus on.

However, if you think other cyberthreats went away or paused their activities while ransomware dominated the news cycle, think again. They were still there, quietly doing what they do, just without the media attention. Or bosses demanding that action be taken against them.

It’s easy for IT to lose focus when threats like ransomware are in the news, demanding their attention. However, IT must also maintain their focus on other threats that aren’t in the news.

Lock it down

As every IT manager knows, implementing any kind of robust cybersecurity strategy requires IT to be prepared.

It’s difficult to predict what form of attack will hit the news next, so rather than worrying, do what you can to lock down your company’s digital resources now.

Adopt best-practices

There are two things any IT department can do to prepare for the worst. The first is to follow industry best-practices as outlined by the big cybersecurity vendors.

For example, here are 10 tips from Sophos, one of Tarsus Distribution’s newest vendors, for network administrators to follow that can help to secure their networks.

The second thing to do is to make sure all employees have sufficient awareness training.

That’s because even the very best cybersecurity hardware, software, and company policies are useless when end users do things they’re not supposed to.

Perfect protection is impossible

It’s impossible to protect against every form of attack, of course. Cybercriminals are constantly a step or two ahead of the good guys and always looking for new attack vectors.

Never forget that cyberthreats in the news are not the only ones to worry about. The best plan is to just be as prepared as you can be.

If you’re looking for advice on how your organisation can do that, speak to us.

Between our own internal expertise and our world-class cybersecurity vendors, we can help you craft an effective IT security strategy.