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The cybernization of our society continues to accelerate; almost all sectors are now converging towards a digital, virtual, delocalized, dematerialized world, to exist in a universe that crosses national borders.
At the same time, cyberspace becomes a space to be conquered and dominated!
“This is the great irony of our information age – the technologies that allow us to create and build also give power to those who would disrupt and destroy.”
– President Obama
Our partners, our friends, contribute to the value we get from the Internet, but also, paradoxically, our adversaries!
It’s a strange world in which our adversaries are both a threat and a considerable contribution to the network of networks. The Internet is a common good, shared by all; it will never be perfectly secure, and will always be a hostile place to protect, while at the same time being an incredible tool for personal emancipation, and for propelling our organizations to a level of scale we could never have imagined in the past.
There was a time when a computer threat was simply an isolated individual, in his bedroom on his personal machine, in search of an exploit and a moment of glory. The impact was minimal, at worst a secondary disruption of service for the target. Today, all our business processes, even the most critical, especially the most critical in fact, are closely linked to cyberspace.
Having access to our data at any time and from anywhere is an undeniable asset, and at the same time increases the risks for our company exponentially.
Despite this, it’s unthinkable not to be present in the cyber environment, since not to participate would be to accept that we’ll soon quietly cease to exist, or at the very least, cut ourselves off from colossal and effective means of taking part in the opportunities offered by today’s world.
Threats, too, have evolved and are taking advantage of opportunities… We’re now faced with highly organized criminal groups, and even secret state forces that have developed many technological means to infiltrate, subdue and spy, no longer through one-off attacks but through the installation of advanced persistent threats that are sometimes even totally stealthy and invisible.
Your IT resources can then even become outposts for unknowingly coordinating attacks on larger targets.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that your corporate network doesn’t offer enough interest for these groups to linger… On the contrary! If you believe that, then you’re exactly their target “clientele”!
That’s why it’s vital to have a cybersecurity expert within every company, large or small, to set up basic cybersecurity governance. Without wishing to play on the arguments of fear, the threats are real and constant, and it’s precisely for peace of mind that we need to protect ourselves effectively.
Oh, I can already hear you saying that in your home, safety is everyone’s business, of course! You don’t need to add another person for that. It makes me think of those posters: “Please, everyone must keep the premises clean, please do your part“. We all know that this will never eliminate the need for maintenance staff… and that when something is everybody’s business, it quickly becomes nobody’s business… Just as you could be an excellent driver and responsible citizen, it’s precisely because you are, that you have good insurance.
Of course, a cybersecurity expert increases your costs. Not having one will increase them even more, risking your reputation, the theft or deterioration of your data, or even the complete paralysis of your business for a while…
Become a cybersecurity specialist with the Attestation of Collegial Studies from Cégep Édouard-Montpetit !
