A note from our CEO Silvana Muscella: Per Aspera ad Astra - Trust-IT takes this literally in forming consolidated steps forward in the field of Cybersecurity
"With Summer soon to give way to blustering winds & overcoats, it is an important time to reflect, look at this amazing view, whilst sipping a Spritz, & consider new offerings, exciting yet difficult challenges & doing something important in Europe in ICT that my team can really say it is an integral & proud to be part of. One of our journeys is to deliver solutions that can support the vision “Cybersecurity for All”.
In fact, democratising cybersecurity has become one of our 2016 mantras, as we have been going through painstaking efforts to contribute to make this a reality (an example? See the CyberWISER-light self-assessment tool as a practical example).
The increased prevalence of web services & the emergence of Internet of Things promise to make the lives of EU citizens easier and more enjoyable. However, the rise of cyber criminality as well as the diminished privacy on the web means that there is a real risk that it will not be possible to realise all the potential benefits of the future networked society. [According to Forbes, cyber crime costs are expected to reach 2 trillion USD by 2019 - link here].
So whilst we help build, complex risk management-based and cyberinsurance backed solutions to support our commercial customers on reinforcing their privacy and data management methodologies and help deliver cyber insurance tools, Trust-IT, from a policy perspective, is delighted to have had preliminary acceptance as being one of the members to the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), a development which we are truly proud of.
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Now, these luscious tomatoes have been picked, this Summer, in the wonderful region of Salento in Southern Italy where cool artisans make, by hand, a marvellous, rich tomato, spicy paste, & they sell them on-line. Clearly, these resource-tight SMEs behind such a process (indeed, they could be ICT-intensive!) do not understand the full danger of cyber attacks and the implications on their business and customers, and the benefits of an effective cybersecurity strategy, including a cyber insurance policy. These are the real & present barriers to entry of cybersecurity, where awareness and democratisation of the solutions offered can do a lot. In fact, quite often, SMEs lack the technical and economic resources to evaluate the potential impact of cyber-attacks on their business. |
Cyber-risk is now firmly established as one of the most serious global risks. For that reason, we here at Trust-IT, strongly believe that cybersecurity and risk management must be infused into an organisation's DNA, but current state-of-the-art does not allow for affordable solutions, especially for SMEs. The authoritative 2015 Global Cyber Impact Report by the Ponemon Institute and Aon Risk Services (April 2015) reveals that despite the comparability of the average potential loss to information assets (€678 million) and Property, Plant & Equipment (“PP&E”) (€712 million) the percentages of insurance coverage differs significantly, with digital assets left with insufficient insurance coverage, for a mere 12% compared to 51% for PP&E. [The survey with 2,243 individuals in 37 countries in the following global regions: North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa (“EMEA”), Asia, Pacific, Japan (“APJ”) and Latin America (“LATAM”)]
Let’s change this and make it affordable & known to all !
Trust, Cybersecurity & International Co-operation
With regard to international co-operation dialogue, awareness of best practices, standardisation and cybersecurity as well as privacy-based approaches through European excellence can play a significant role in increasing seamless intra- and inter State co-operation, transparency & openness. Just as an example, Japan will be looked at in view of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, offering a catalyst for assessing cyber readiness and therefore a “golden opportunity” for fostering best practices in cybersecurity & privacy through stronger co-operation prior to this major sporting event.
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Brazil, where Trust-IT has various ongoing initiatives going-on (see EUBRasilCloudForum, & EUBraBIGSEA) sees the country at the epicenter of a global cybercrime wave. It ranks second in the world for online banking fraud and financial malware. And the problem appears to be worsening. The number and intensity of cyberattacks has risen significantly over the past few years. So, with that I shall leave you with this sunset, same view, same position, yes it looks like I have been sitting here all day hoping & knowing that 2017 shall be the year where more & more SMEs, like mine & perhaps yours, shall be able to consider affordable cybersecurity & privacy solutions in its humble workplace. Let’s all embrace this cybersecurity culture in line with EU & global directives.
Signing off now as my glass is now empty !"
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Silvana's words clearly depict today's reality, which we must adapt to with a proactive attitude. Trust-IT’s been steadily raising the bar on cyber security, and this major yet delicate field (too often neglected by SMEs) is one of our top priorities. October will be the Cyber Security month, an opportunity to actively raise awareness at an international level with players such as EU projects CLARUS and WISER, providing the tools to democratize cyber security once and for all.
Publication date:
06
Sep
2016