17 Measures Every Company Should Consider To Reduce The Risk Of Cyber-Intrusions

The cars we drive to work every day run primarily on computers that collect thousands of data points. Same goes for the factory that manufactured them and the company that designed and sold them. This evolution makes cybersecurity vital at every step in the supply chain. We know manufacturing is one of the most hacked industries. We know hackers target individual cars. We've seen cybersecurity best practices from Auto-ISAC and NHTSA. With that, we wanted to provide companies with a list of concrete steps to consider to help minimize the risk of, and prepare for, cyber-intrusions.

Below is our list of 17 measures every company should consider to reduce the risk of cyber-intrusions.

Conduct internal compliance and risk assessments, to determine your organization's vulnerability to cyber-attacks. Develop and implement corporate policies and procedures required for compliance with federal and state privacy and security laws. Develop quick-response teams to handle potential cyber-attacks, using pre-formulated decision trees and procedures so that you don't have to develop them while under the fire of an ongoing attack. Establish secure data backup protocols to ensure that, even if your company is under attack, important company records are secure. Establish protocols to deal with common forms of cyber-attacks (denial of service, etc.). Line up outside experts, if necessary based upon the risk profile of your company, to swing into action if company processes are overwhelmed by a cyber-attack. Perform periodic audits of cybersecurity practices against industry norms, accepted best practices, and the risk profile of your organization. Implement information security best practices, reflect them in information security policies, records retention and management policies, and in internal controls/standard operating procedures. Make certain the CEO and executive leadership are properly informed about the cyber risks to your company and that they're involved in oversight and the decision-making process related both to cyber-attacks and proactive cybersecurity...