Cyberattacks have become so rampant, they threaten businesses of every size, but there are ways for business owners to lower the risk, as cybersecurity experts shared at a conference Tuesday.
The first step is to determine the risk of a cyberattack, or the worst-case scenario for the company, said Richard Clarke, a cybersecurity expert and former U.S. chief counterterrorism adviser for former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
“What are you trying to stop at all costs?” Clarke said at the Business Journal’s virtual Cybersecurity Conference.
There could be multiple things that need protecting, he explained. Among them are money, intellectual property and customers’ personal identification information. For some businesses, it could be a safety issue.
A cyberattack also can cause a business to lose time and customers, along with its reputation, he said.
Clarke advised business leaders to create a cyber-risk register, listing and prioritizing the most important items for the business — and to not expect solutions to be figured out in a week or a month.
“Develop maybe a two-year roadmap of how you’re going to reduce those risks,”…
