Experts Warn Companies to Start Preparing for Rare Cyber Attacks

With the incidences of cyber attacks escalating for business and institutions of all sizes, IT and security experts are busy enough setting up barriers against what have become garden variety-type cyber attacks — including denial-of-service attacks, malware and phishing.

But rare cyberattacks, which are currently under the radar for most companies, are worth analyzing because they could have much more devastating effects, according to a recent report.

Here’s why companies, banks, hospitals, and other institutions should be paying attention to these type of cyberattacks; they’re expected to start happening more often. In addition, they’re the type of attacks that could disrupt operations for much longer periods and with higher risks, according to Harvard Business Review, which describes them as black swan events in a nod to their unusual nature.

However, according to a recent survey, as many as 25 percent of companies did not have measures to address cyber threats as significant corporate risks.

Identifying cyber threats

Whether they’re common or rare cyber risks, companies need to develop plans to prepare for a wide range of threats, including catastrophic natural events or cyber attacks that could result in a crisis that could take an extended amount of time to recover from.

Here at Lifeline Data Centers, for example, we’re building an EMP-ready facility in Fort Wayne, Ind., that would guard clients against an extensive outage caused by an event brought on by an electromagnetic pulse. Studies show that America is highly vulnerable to a massive outage caused by an EMP event.

Other organizations are also taking measures to resume operations in the aftermath of those type of events, with some going as far as making plans to operate offline. According to the HBR, some healthcare providers and hospitals that have been vulnerable to ransomware attacks have outlined ways to use paper and pen to prevent a similar attack from freezing operations.

Another initiative includes setting up an industry-wide SWAT-like team that maintains a regular check on cyber threats.

With cyber attacks becoming increasingly sophisticated, along with the nation’s dependence on connectivity, demands will be made for companies to stay ahead of the threats.

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Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.