“Safe travels!” It’s been a long time since most of us have uttered that phrase. Now we’re saying it with increasing regularity as family members, friends and colleagues are traveling again with greater ease and confidence. I’d like to suggest that when those of us in the security industry wish someone a safe trip, we use the opportunity to remind them of the increased cybersecurity risk they now face and share our expertise for how to protect themselves.

In previous blog posts we’ve discussed the value of a data-driven approach to security operations. In this post, we’d like to reflect and take a closer look at what that approach means to the automation of SOC (Security Operations Center) workflows and how it has influenced the product and design decisions of ThreatQ and ThreatQ TDR Orchestrator.

Today’s escalating threat landscape means that security operations teams face a multitude of challenges. This can make it challenging for them to keep pace with the sheer scale of threats, tactics and techniques that bad actors frequently use. When you consider recent ransomware attack statistics, it is easy to see that cybercrime has intensified, with a record-breaking number of threats of increasing severity taking place year-on-year.

It may surprise you to learn that new research by CompTIA finds only 30% of the cyber workforce is in the 19-34 age group, with 52% between 35 and 54.

According to Joshua Ray, managing director, Global Cyber Defense Lead, Accenture, “Every business is digital now and must adopt a resilient cybersecurity posture to protect their value.

The security landscape is continually changing and the race to stay ahead is often one of both victory and failure. As organizations globally continue to expand, security professionals are struggling to update operations quickly enough to ensure effective monitoring and response to incidents in their environment. The lack of security professionals makes this even more challenging. Patching systems, scanning for vulnerabilities, protecting against malware and viruses are essential and just plain smart.

As the new year continues to unfold, cybersecurity budget holders will be deep into the process of identifying where to allocate funds to best enhance protection against cyberthreats. The good news is that budgets are rising, with industry commentators frequently reporting that companies are committing more money to strengthening their posture against persistent and sophisticated threats.

Ransomware has dominated the headlines the last couple of years. But it might surprise you to hear that another scourge—business email compromise (BEC)—accounted for 49 times more in losses in 2021. As reported in the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report, BEC cost organizations and individuals $2.4 billion versus $49.2 million for ransomware. In fact, more than a third of total cybercrime last year can be attributed to BEC.