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WCCO AM 830 with Cory Hepola, Wednesday, June 2, 2021; JBS Ransomware Attack

Here is a presentation from late 2020 about the state of cybersecurity and how to improve. Here is another one from 2019 about embracing open.

Just like professional sports, trick plays and the latest gadgets won’t beat ransomware attacks. We win by mastering the fundamentals. Why are we still wringing our hands? Let’s get busy.

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A generation ago, the public would have laughed if anyone said a cyberattack could shut down a slaughterhouse. How could a broken computer system stop anyone from butchering meat? But that was before the world adopted just-in-time inventory, automated invoicing, email communications, and other efficiencies. And that’s why the JBS ransomware attack shut down JBS SA, the world’s largest meat producer.

The press is full of articles about whodunit and consequences. But that’s the wrong focus. We should be asking why our defenses are so bad and how to improve them. Because after the Colonial Pipeline and JBS ransomware attacks, others are sure to follow.

And now politicians and other VIPs are wringing their hands again, wondering what to do. Here are a few tactical suggestions beyond “care and share to be prepared.”

  • Embrace open.
  • Put together and practice a disaster recovery plan.
  • Topology counts – segregate key systems.
  • Permissions count – so no one person can accidentally destroy the world.
  • Read Virus Bomb and Bullseye Breach. Enjoy the entertainment. Use the education.