Pub. 7 2017 Issue 3

14 www.azbankers.org Simple Things You Can Do To Maintain Data Security and Keep Up With Sophisticated Cyber Threats T WO HUNDRED AND FORTY TWO YEARS AGO, FOREIGN POWERS INVADED THE PRIVACY OF HOMES AND BUSINESSES AND TOOK WHAT THEY WANTED; WITH NO ARMY TO PROTECT THEM, BRAVE CITIZENS FORMED AS “MINUTEMEN” ON THE VILLAGE GREEN TO DEFEND THEIR INALIENABLE RIGHTS, USING UNCONVENTIONAL TACTICS. Today, foreign powers and nefarious actors once again are invading the privacy of our homes and businesses in Arizona and across the country in an attempt to accumulate wealth and steal identities and intellectual property through Cyber Attacks. With no Army to protect us, our Information Tech - nology and Security Experts are forming on the Cyber village green called the “attack surface”. These modern day Digital Minute - men and women work each day in support of a “common cause”: to defend our inalienable right of Privacy. AZ Bankers understand that privacy is a sacred trust between them and their customers. Trust is essential in banking be - cause of its personal nature and it is a predic - tor of loyalty, advocacy and the likelihood of customer retention. Every day we read how too many customers find that trust shattered by cyber breaches. As we enter into a season of heightened threat activity, there are some simple things we all can do to avoid tragedy before sacred trust is broken. Small business owners throughout Arizona may be at even greater risk of a cyber-attack than you might realize. Approximately 31 percent of all data breaches occur in companies with 100 or fewer employees. Research shows that cyber-attacks cost small and medium-size businesses an average of $188,242, and almost two-thirds of victimized companies are forced out of business within six months of being attacked. With new threats to computer systems and data emerging every day, it pays to be prepared. Like our forefathers, who fought in the fields, forests and farms of Colonial America during the harsh winter months, we too need to be vigilant. Each of us can join the ranks of Digital Minutemen. Everyone can follow a marksman’s approach to cyber and “aim small, miss small.” Vigilance is something everyone can con - tribute. With last month’s latest Bad Rabbit attacks in Ukraine coming on the heels of WannaCry, Petya and NotPetya expect to see some variants manifest during the holiday season. The activity in Europe is typically a dress rehearsal for a broader global attack. We are also seeing some increases in alerts pertaining DYRE and TRICKBOT, a couple of older malware attacks that are targeted to the Financial Sector. There are some very simple things each one of us can do to maintain the security of data and keep up with today’s increasingly sophisticated threats. We all know to not