Navigating Cyber Risks: Understanding, Mitigation, and Preemptive Strategies for Business Resilience

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Wilfred Sigler, Managing Director, VAS – India & South Asia Markets, CRIF Solutions

1. What constitutes Cyber Risk, and which entities can be involved in a potential cyber-attack?

Cyber risk encompasses the potential for financial loss, disruption, or harm to an organization’s reputation resulting from failures in its information technology systems. It extends beyond mere hacking, including internal and external threats, product-related risks, third-party vulnerabilities, and aggregate risks such as service provider and supplier failures, human errors, software obsolescence, and disruptions in upstream internet and network connectivity.

In today’s interconnected business environment, every business is linked to the internet, with employees engaging in online activities such as emailing customers, surfing the web, or paying digitally, etc. With the Internet, hackers can target your organization. Data breaches and cybersecurity continue to impact organizations of all sizes and sectors.  We live in a digital world where new risks emerge every hour of the day. During the last few years, cyberattacks have steadily risen, with businesses being targeted in greater numbers, and significant financial losses have resulted from the theft of sensitive information.

2. Can cyber risk be pre-emptively detected before the occurrence of a cyber-attack, data breach, or disruption to business operations?

Numerous businesses remain poorly equipped to effectively handle cyber risks and comprehend their vulnerabilities. In this era of digital disruption, it is essential for businesses to undertake continuous surveillance and address cyber threats. Keeping a watchful eye on risks that publicly accessible websites of organisations carry is pivotal. Additionally, timely updating internal security measures to address any data-security loopholes should be undertaken by organisations. Furthermore, frequent guidance and training sessions must be provided to employees to identify and report cyber threats. Acknowledging this imperative, CRIF has developed the CRIF CyberCheck Report, which offers a proactive approach to cyber risk management in an effortless way.

3. What proactive measures should organizations undertake to mitigate cyber risks?

Organizations can leverage available market resources to stay alert and mitigate cyber-attacks. The CRIF Cyber Check report, offered by CRIF India, is a simple and user-friendly report which presents a cost-effective and proactive response to cyber risk management, offering a snapshot of the organisation’s current cybersecurity posture along with influencing risk factors.

The report helps in scanning vulnerabilities present in the publicly available websites of an organisation which typically act as the first point of entry for hackers. It categorises the risks basis the level of severity (High risk, Medium risk, Low risk) for further corrective steps. High-priority risks are highlighted to businesses for swift action.

The Cyber Check report uses simple business language and does not require technical expertise for easy understanding.

Additionally, the report also evaluates the potential risks present in websites of partner ecosystems which may be integrated with the organisation’s system. This helps identify any loopholes that may be used by hackers to gain internal access and enable prompt corrective action, thus, bridging the gaps to prevent criminal activities.

4. Could you provide insights into the CRIF Cyber Check Report and its applications within the industry?

CRIF CyberCheck delivers a quick independent cyber risk profile to support the organisations’ IT security, and teams. By utilizing just your domain name, it investigates and analyses real-time cyber risks facing the business. As mentioned earlier, the risks are categorised as High, Medium, and Low basis their vulnerability, using the universally understood ‘red, amber, green’ traffic light system to indicate risk severity. This information enables companies to take informed decisions in response to their identified risks.

The organisations need to simply enter a single URL or domain name. CyberCheck swiftly analyses their public-facing systems, pinpointing potential vulnerabilities, including unpatched or obsolete service software, domain admin and risk analysis, use of outdated sites and certificates, phishing and malware risks, and data breach practices.   In addition to the above and as mentioned earlier, partner ecosystems, too, are scrutinized and evaluated for vulnerability to cyber threats. Thus, the report provides a deep dive into an organisation’s overall exposure to cyber risks.

5. What are the key risks that your cyber risk report analyses?

Following are the risks that our cyber risk report analyses

• Domain Risk Analysis: Identifies all domains linked to the organizations’ and assesses their associated cyber risks
• Service Risk Analysis: Examines all services/software operating on the companies’ domains and evaluates their corresponding cyber risks
• Comparative Risk: Illustrates how organizations’ cyber risk exposure compares to that of similar companies
• Phishing Risk: Verifies that organisations’ websites are free from hosting dangerous content
• Malware Risk: Determines whether domains owned by the organizations are being exploited or impersonated to host phishing or malware
• Sites & Certificates Risk: Checks the maintenance status of the organisations’ websites and ensures that security certificates are up to date

6. Any further details that you want to share regarding Cyber Check or risk management?

The CRIF CyberCheck report studies the vulnerabilities in your publicly available domain which hackers may target and exploit. It renders these vulnerabilities ranked on severity for ease of fixing.

In a digital world, cyber risk needs to be managed carefully and prioritized by businesses and governments. Cybercrimes are no longer restricted to IT companies, rather they have engulfed various functions across businesses and public bodies alike. Not only does a cyber attack result in reputational and financial damage but it also gives rise to regulatory and compliance issues. Hence it is crucial for businesses to equip itself with a risk-proof internal ecosystem and possess a good knowledge of potential threats related to current and future partners at the same time. The CRIF CyberCheck report gives business managers, owners, and professionals knowledge to easily access cyber risk related to business partners, spotlight vulnerabilities, and help protect the organisation from business disruptions.