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How to Identify and Mitigate Potential Threats

The threat landscape for organizations today is continually evolving, putting their data and assets at risk. To ensure the robustness of your organization's security posture, it's integral to have an in-depth understanding of your external attack surface. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help organizations identify potential threats and mitigate risks proactively.

In today's world, the importance of intelligence cannot be overstated. The ability to gather and analyze information, and to use that information to make informed decisions, is critical in both private and public sectors. In government, intelligence is a key component of national security, and its value extends to all other areas of society. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the intelligence cycle - its importance, phases, key components, and the critical role it plays in supporting decision-making, crisis management, and achieving national security objectives.

Dark Web Intelligence for Security Operations

As a cybersecurity service provider, you constantly battle the evolving threat landscape. Cyber criminals are always on the lookout for new ways to infiltrate your client’s systems, steal your data, and cause harm to your organization, impacting your bottom line.

Increasing cyber resiliency in critical infrastructure (CI) is a monumental challenge for many reasons. In past blogs and reports, we’ve covered some of the biggest cyber threats that CI organizations face and the implications of cyber attacks against CI, which can endanger our national security and emergency response, and put people in harm’s way. The recent national cybersecurity strategy released by the Biden administration places a strong emphasis on CI agencies, which has spurred directives from agencies like the TSA (Transportation Security Agency) to meet the strategic objectives.

Ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity threats are hitting companies across the federal supply chain, leaving businesses and government agencies vulnerable to major data breaches and financial losses. In this episode of "Security Clearance Insecurity," host Lyndy Kyzer speaks with GroupSense CEO, Kurtis Minder, about the latest cyber threats and best practices for protecting against them.

GroupSense CEO Kurtis Minder was featured in the Tuesday, March 14 issue of the Axios Codebook Newsletter. The "1 big thing" section is focused on the increasing threat posed by ransomware gangs and their extreme blackmail tactics. These cyber criminals have been fine-tuning their strategies to maximize their profits and inflict more damage on their victims. Ransomware attacks involve the use of malware that encrypts a victim's files, making them inaccessible until a ransom is paid. The attackers typically demand payment in cryptocurrency, making it difficult to track the money and identify the criminals.

Ransomware gangs have evolved their tactics, not only encrypting victims' files but also stealing sensitive data before locking it down. This technique is called "double extortion," where the criminals threaten to publish or sell the data if the ransom is not paid. The gangs are also targeting larger organizations and demanding higher ransoms, with some demanding payments of up to $50 million.

The section also highlights Kurtis' contributions to the fight against ransomware. He has been a vocal advocate for proactive measures to prevent ransomware attacks, including monitoring networks for signs of an attack and training employees to recognize phishing and social engineering tactics commonly used by ransomware gangs. For many organizations, these measures can prevent cyber attacks and ransomware attacks.

Kurtis' expertise in ransomware has led him to create a "Ransomware Task Force" that includes experts from both the public and private sectors. The task force's goal is to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat ransomware, including prevention, response, and recovery measures. The task force has already published a report with recommendations for improving ransomware defenses, and Kurtis has been actively promoting these recommendations to policymakers and business leaders. Check out the full newsletter here.

Last week, GroupSense CEO Kurtis Minder was featured on the BBC 4 news program You and Yours. The presenter, Winifred Robinson, spoke about the effect of the Royal Mail ransomware attack with UK citizens and discussed the severity of the attack with Kurtis.

Cybersecurity isn't just for big business. Organizations of all sizes, shapes, and industries can fall prey to cyberattacks. CEO Kurtis Minder was featured on the "C-Suite Blueprint" podcast to talk about the evolution of cybersecurity since Kurtis entered the industry and the things that executives should take seriously when it comes to cybersecurity.

Ransomware gangs have increasingly focused their attacks on the K-12 education sector, even though most school districts do not pay the ransom. But how long will that last? GroupSense CEO Kurtis Minder was featured in a recent TechTarget article exploring the trend of ransomware attacks on education institutions. 

Ransomware attacks plagued 14 of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors over the last several years. Cyber criminals are well aware of the emergencies that are caused by a shutdown of critical infrastructure organizations, and they know ransoms will be paid to get operations up and running again. Ransomware attacks represent 28% of the attacks on critical infrastructure, and attacks are on the rise throughout the world in 2022.