Many major stories about cyberattacks or data breaches have one weak link in common: passwords. Oftentimes, the simple alphanumeric password that acts as gatekeeper to our personal phones and email accounts is the same one that protects enterprise businesses’ servers. And passwords are only as strong as we make them. Unfortunately, though, most employees—76 percent of Americans, according to research we conducted in 2022—never change their passwords, or only do so when forced to.

It’s not easy being a cybersecurity leader these days. Security vulnerabilities in software, hardware, and devices are rising in number and severity, bringing with them risk of ransomware, breach, and other dangerous cybersecurity incidents. The risks presented by vulnerabilities are rising fast: Here’s the important question: With cyber vulnerabilities rising and presenting increasingly serious risks, are organizations doing enough to fight back? The answer might surprise you.

Businesses increasingly run on software, which, unbeknownst to its developers, can contain vulnerabilities that attackers often discover and exploit before a patch is available. This makes zero day attacks inevitable, but you can reduce their impact in your network and across your supply chain if you’re prepared to act fast.

Software vulnerabilities are one of the leading threats to an organization's cybersecurity posture, yet recent research from Bitsight reveals that enterprises affected by software vulnerabilities resolve them at a typical compound rate1 of only about 5% per month compounded continuously. However, there is evidence of much faster remediation for certain classes of vulnerabilities.

Businesses are using more SaaS applications than ever, with an average of 110 apps per organization. This proliferation of third-party applications means increasingly more customer and employee data is handled by external vendors. ‍ Ensuring your third-party vendors are secure by tracking risk, conducting reviews, and responding to issues is a security best practice and compliance requirement. Unfortunately, this process is often a manual — and expensive — one.

The SecurityScorecard team has just returned from an exciting week in San Francisco at RSA Conference 2023. This year’s theme, “Stronger Together,” was meant to encourage collaboration and remind attendees that when it comes to cybersecurity, no one goes it alone. Building on each other’s diverse knowledge and skills is what creates breakthroughs.

According to a 2022 Gartner survey, 84 percent of executive risk committee members say that “misses” in third-party risk resulted in disruption to their business operations. That statistic is alarming, considering that most enterprise organizations have extensive third-party relationships with vendors, suppliers, and partners for business innovation or operational efficiency.

Being a cybersecurity professional is a heavy responsibility and requires an exceptional amount of ethics and integrity. So, when cybersecurity software company Bitdefender released the results of their 2023 Cybersecurity Assessment, the results shocked me (more than they probably should have). The statistics on data breach cover-ups were alarming. 1.

Cybercriminals are sneaky. They know that the weakest link in an organization’s cyber defenses is its supply chain. In fact, supply chain attacks are now the avenue of choice for hackers. Consider the facts.