Today marks National I.T. Professionals Day and in acknowledgement of this unique yet well-earned salute to all IT employees everywhere…here are some interesting I.T. facts that you probably never knew:
The word robot comes from the Czech word “robota,” a word that translates to forced labour.
One of the first hard drives introduced in 1956 could hold 5MB of data. It also weighed over 2,200 pounds.
Credit card chips have been around since the 1980s.
Studies have shown that people reading on digital screens read 10% slower than people reading on paper.
The first computer mouse was made out of wood.
National I.T. Professionals Day provides the opportunity to appreciate the work of these vital experts, particularly when there has been so much pressure lately to continue working and living under COVID restrictions.
And yet, thanks to these very able individuals, technology has progressed enough to underpin these significant changes to our way of working. The greatest pressure has come from the assurance of remaining or becoming more cyber secure.
On a day-to-day basis, I.T. departments are responsible for making sure the sharing, storage and accessibility of corporate data are operating at optimal levels, without internal or external forces slowing down these and other processes. And, as usability increases – as we have seen over the last 18 months – system vulnerabilities grow.
Cyber security is a critical functionality within any organisation and is a critical part of the IT structure ensuring all company data is secure.
Each year IT security professionals face thousands of new software vulnerabilities and millions of unique malware programs, yet CSO states that there are only ten different root cause exploits which allow access to someone’s environment. Here are the ten types of root exploits:
1. Programming bug
2. Social engineering
3. Authentication attack
4. Human error
5. Misconfiguration
6. Eavesdropping/man in the middle (MitM)
7. Data/Network traffic malformation
8. Insider attack
9. Third-party reliance issue
10. Physical attack
If the root causes of exploits can be mitigated, then you can stop the hacking and malware although this is not always easy.
Three important tips any I.T. department needs to consider when it comes to staying cyber secure are:
- Carrying out regular vulnerability assessments – this will check to see if you have any misconfiguration issues
- Ensuring you know what assets you have – if you know what you have on the network then you are more likely to identify those which need updating, those which are no longer supported an pose a security threat as well as identifying new devices being added.
- Making sure HR and IT talk so if someone leaves the organisation their access is withdrawn as soon as they leave and they can no longer access company data, and in the worst case scenario, delete/copy/sell company data.
For more guidance on keeping your business cyber secure, book an initial chat with an Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre team member today or sign up for free core membership to receive a host of cyber guidance and toolkits.
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