Businesses are under increased attack from threats to their company data. Providing the proper information security has become critical to an organization’s success more than ever. Technology and business leaders seek information and best practices on how to best combat threats to their business.
As thought leaders within the technology sector, RapidScale, and NC Tech hosted a webinar on cybersecurity with the FBI’s Cyber Crime team. Moderated by RapidScale’s Senior Cloud Solutions Consultant Brian Baker, the webinar featured Supervisory Special Agent Jessica Nye of the FBI.
The session began with an overview of FBI Cyber Crime’s priorities, resources, and definition of the various types of cyber-crime. The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyber-attacks and their mandate is to collect and share intelligence and engage with victims while working to unmask those committing malicious cyber activities, wherever they are. The FBI’s cyber team includes special agents, computer scientists, data analysts, and intelligence analysts. Top cyber threats throughout 2021 included business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, crypto-mining malware, virtual currency heists, and advanced persistent threats.
Most of the inquiries that were asked throughout the discussion focused on email security and ransomware, threats that are very top of mind for many businesses. SSA Nye shared valuable insight into how bad actors are penetrating businesses networks and revealed best practices for combatting such attacks. From the perspective of a managed cloud services provider, Baker highlighted the increased frequency of attacks he’s seen from clients and the rise of demand for services to improve cybersecurity.
The webinar concluded with a discussion on prevention, incident response, and recommendations, which included firm security policies, ongoing security practices, network traffic monitoring and analysis, vulnerability assessments, and employee security training. Attendees learned how to engage the FBI after an event and to determine which information will help a forensic investigation. Organizations that have suffered a breach were advised to report the incidents to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) which collects reports of public Internet crime. Using such complaints, the IC3’s Recovery Asset Team has assisted in freezing hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of cyber-crime. The last recommendation from the discussion was for businesses to establish a relationship with the FBI prior to any cyber event. Having a relationship with the Cyber Crime team prior to an incident will allow the business and FBI to accelerate efforts in the recovery of any lost data or revenue.
“Our discussion on cybersecurity was very informative and covered how to best protect your organization’s data. RapidScale’s portfolio of security solutions is designed to help our clients protect their businesses from security challenges including data breaches, compliance requirements, asset tracking, employee privacy, and cyber-attacks that cause downtime and data loss. We will continue to bring forward more thought leadership and engaging discussions on information security with experts and industry leaders like the FBI and NC Tech,” said Baker at the conclusion of the webinar.
About NC TECH
NC TECH is a not-for-profit, membership-driven trade association and the primary voice of the technology industry in North Carolina. NC TECH’s mission is to foster growth and champion innovation in North Carolina’s tech sector while providing a voice for the tech community. NC TECH’s membership includes 600 member companies, organizations, and institutions employing more than 200,000 workers in North Carolina. For more information, visit nctech.org.
