Colorado Chamber Chair’s Roundtable on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
This week the Colorado Chamber hosted its quarterly Chair’s Roundtable program with a panel of industry experts in cyber threats and security – a growing concern for businesses of all sizes and industries.
The expert panelists included Bob Turner, the field chief information security officer at Fortinet; Brad Fugitt, the chief information and security officer for pax8; Kyle Seike, the senior security officer at Sophos; and a field agent from the FBI Cybersecurity Denver Division.
In 2021 alone, 37 percent of all businesses and organizations were hit by ransomware and 60 percent of cyberattacks affected small businesses. Along with there being an increase in the amount of cyberattacks on business, the dollar figure for ransom has also grown exponentially.
Although the threat of cyberattacks is increasing, the panel assures companies that they shouldn’t be afraid of cyber security and that there are many ways to protect your business. It’s important for all businesses, no matter their size, to protect themselves. From ensuring old employees don’t have access to company data to backing your data to the cloud, there are many ways to prepare your business for a possible cyber threat.
Industry experts urge all businesses to be prepared for a threat to keep your company safe by taking steps like designating one employee oversee cyber security and having a cyber security program in place. Seike with Sophos assured that it doesn’t cost too much to protect yourself and it is much more cost effective to protect your business now rather than pay the damages later.
What to do if your company faces a cyber attack
There are many steps your business can take to combat ransom attacks and cyber breaches. While your business should try to work with a private cyber security company to get your data back, it is also important to report the attack to the FBI Cybersecurity Division. Our panelists also strongly encourage you to note and report any small details about the attack because sometimes all it takes is one small thread they need to pull to help a case.
When faced with a ransom attack, “do not pay ransom, you don’t know where the money is going, and you don’t know if you will get your information back,” said the FBI representative from the panel. “We know it is a business decision, so if you choose to pay ransom, it is best to report it first.” The agent explained that if you report your paid ransom to the FBI, they may be able to track the transaction before it heads overseas.
It is important to remember that recovery of data can take several weeks and there is never a guarantee that your business will be able to get its data back.
The best way to stop ransom attacks and breaches is prevention. Learn more about how you can protect your business from cyber threats here.
About Chair’s Roundtable
The Chair’s Roundtable is a select group of senior leaders of eligible Chamber member companies who care about how state government policies affect their business and who want to engage with topic experts and other business leaders in substantive dialogue about these policies. The group meets four times per year with the Colorado Chamber’s Chair, Chamber President/CEO Loren Furman, and key officials. For more information, please contact Dave Tabor, Senior Vice President of Business Partnerships at [email protected].