Higher education has increasingly been attracting the attention of cybercriminals. In March, the FBI released an advisory in response to a barrage of ransomware attacks on schools, and Inside Higher Education recently reported that colleges and universities are becoming favorite victims of bad actors. It's not just colleges themselves that are being targeted; their vendors and third parties are being attacked in the hopes of compromising an institution’s data.

The internet of things (IoT) is a highly developed space that is home to a vast amount of sensitive data, making it a very attractive target for cybercriminals. Threats and risks continue to evolve as hackers come up with new ways to breach unsecured systems -- posing a threat to the ecosystem itself. Let’s take a look at the leading threats and risks to the IoT and the associated vulnerabilities that must be secured.

When exploringhttps://securityscorecard.com/admin/entries/blog/154640?draftId=2332&fresh=1# top network security breaches, many think of the obvious: banks or large consumer institutions. However, healthcare organizations are on the rise as a top target for hackers, with the number of data breaches rising 36% in the second half of 2020.

When it comes to cybercrime, cybercriminals are constantly changing their tactics. Think back to 10 years ago; malware sites — malicious sites that attempt to install malware on a device – were a common attack vector. At the same time, sophisticated ransomware attacks on organizations were rare. Often, ransomware was used to target individuals, sometimes blackmailing them for having been on unsavory sites and asking for a few hundred dollars in ransom.

Everyone tracks progress. Whether it’s academics, health, or job skills, people need visibility into where they started and how well they’re advancing toward a goal. From a business perspective, tracking progress gives insight into whether the organization is prioritizing activities for long-term initiatives or whether it needs to take corrective action. Sometimes, the progress reports remain internal. Other times, organizations share them with customers and business partners.

Although the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has been around for nearly two decades, many companies still struggle to meet compliance requirements. Initially enacted in response to public companies mishandling financial reporting, SOX is a compliance requirement for all public companies. Understanding SOX compliance, as well as its requirements and controls, helps organizations create more robust governance processes.

Threat intelligence provides valuable insight into contextual business risk. You can gain insight into threat actors targeting your industry or information from your organization located on the Dark Web. According to one report, 79% of security professionals find threat data feeds essential to their organization’s cybersecurity posture. Additionally, 63% of respondents noted that they use feeds to ensure a better defense.

The connected nature of business environments has increased the severity and frequency of cyberattacks in the insurance sector. Insurance companies face a greater threat than most industries because they deal with sensitive and valuable data stemming from numerous avenues. This has resulted in several high-profile cyberattacks on insurance providers over the past few years.

Technology is always changing, and as it does, businesses are constantly adopting new technologies to streamline their business processes and improve deliveries of goods and services. With those new technologies, however, comes risk. Every new technology opens up a business to digital threats. Sometimes those threats come from the untested nature of leading-edge technology, and sometimes those threats are simply associated with the learning curve of users within an organization.

Supply chains are an essential part of today’s on-demand economy. However, they also expand your ecosystem, increasing the threat surface that you need to secure. While compliance assessments document vendor controls and enable you to manage third-party risk, responding to and completing them takes time. These delays can make your procurement team feel like you’re trying to disqualify their vendor.