Confident Cyber Security

Confident Cyber Security, The essential insights and how to protect from threats, 2nd Edition, by Jessica Barker,  Kogan Page, 2023

What's the one word that says we've reached a dangerous point in the cyber security world?  Clorox - that's right the bleach guys -  who were hammered by a cyber attack that in August shut down production.  Shelves cleared out as prices of ordinary cleaning products soared from single digits to twenty and thirty dollar levels.  Although consumers may have heard about the cyber attack, details were few and far between as total cost to the company reached one third of its earlier corporate projections.  It's an ugly story with an uncertain end in sight.

But it couldn't happen here, right?  We'll see how rapidly our manufacturing - and other sites - react.  Every new threat to manufacturing, whether it is a supply chain pandemic delay, or outright shutdown like Johnson and Johnson experienced with Tylenol back in the 80s, has a solution.  The questions become, how can we prepare, and how fast do we get back online. The Mill Girl would like to think, since we created most of the technology and systems to run the show, that we have an advantage and that our producers will step up.  

Let's look at one expert's recommendations on how to stay ahead of the march.  First, know thyself - Barker recommends that execs dig deep into their operations to assess the risks.  In helpful case examples drawn from Lapsus$, Evil Corp, Apple, the City of Dallas and others the author demonstrates how pervasive and powerful hacker groups can be.  Add these recent struggles to the author's Cyber Security Timeline starting with Marconi's communication innovation, through the Enigma machine, down through the creation of CISA (The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and it becomes clear that this is our new international challenge.  

But the key chapters readers will want to dig into are Chapter 8, How organizations can better protect themselves, and Chapter 9, How individuals can better protect themselves.  Beyond the firewalls and anti-virus software already familiar to us, stronger weapons covered include intrusion detection systems and protection systems, threat hunting, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, digital footprint assessments and other recommendations that offer users hands-on access to their own cyber health.  Fortunately, biometric systems continue to offer more protection as individual users struggle with multiple banking and sales clicks.

Cyber security in the highest management ranks is moving.  At the Board of Directors' level, the objective becomes solid preparation and building safe processes in advance of hacking episodes. In fact, the author recommends that operations consider the option of using Board members as challengers, useful specialist experts who will work to protect the operating interests of corporate strategy.

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Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers,  patriciaemoody@gmail.com