One definition of Cyber security is the application of technologies, processes and controls to protect systems, networks, programs, devices and data from cyber-attacks.[1]
Defuse provides the Missing Component of the Cyber Security Solution!– /wp: paragraph –>
Companies can have the very best cyber solutions available to them, but whether by an insider threat, poor personal management, or other means, increasingly the threat evolves from the targeting of key individuals.
Whilst we continue to hear accounts of systematic attacks and data being stolen and sold on the dark web we rarely hear of the stories where those key individuals are targeted, and yet it is possible that such targeting can have similar consequences.
Data is today’s currency, and yet many are still blind to the date that is available online about them and how easy it can be to find. Take a senior executive at a major high profile global company. How good is the due diligence that is conducted on that individual, before they are employed? What is it actually looking for? It is looking for opportunities that may impact on the future reputation of the company or brands that it represents? Is it looking for long forgotten social media posts that would now been seen in a very different light? Does it identify have much public information is visible, and due consideration to how this might impact on any future intimidation of that person or their family or is it purely focussed on conventional cyber security?
When a Venture capital and private equity company are looking to buy or invest in a company how much personal research is conducted on the key individuals? The ease in which personal information is available contributed to the simplicity of targeting an individual and/or their family. Once identified, abuse and threats can start which can intimidate those involved. Having looked after a number of high-profile politicians I witnessed how such intimidation impacts on their decision making and has negative psychological consequences.
Increasingly it is the hidden enemy that poses the greatest threat. Defuse provides strategic advisory and crisis management solutions together with brand and reputational threat strategies to prevent or mitigate hostile situations.
Crisis Management:
When a crisis occurs, being informed is key. Before devising and implementing any strategy it’s vital to ensure that you are fully aware of the identity of those involved and the source of any reputational or operational threat. Being informed that there is a process of how a threat escalates and that it can start from what appears to be a positive starting position and then rapidly declines, causing issues not just for the company and their employees, but for the families of the key personnel matters so the appropriate action can be taken at the right time.
Once identified Defuse can then advise how best to counter such a threat, using researched and operationally proven processes
Defuse’s expertise is in recognising the linguistic signs of escalation, be more informed when engaging with Social Media platforms and requesting their help in removing malicious communications.
Providing the expert psychological analysis to better interpret any relevant issues driving the source of the threat and the most effective management solutions, preserving any compromise of company values and harm to the client’s brand is a key strategic benefit.
Brand and Reputational Harm:
Brand and reputational harm can feel instantaneous in the digital age and can have an immediate impact of a company’s valuation. Equally, not identifying the source of online negativity, increasingly so with the emergence of the Eco Activist, can prove fatal.
Understanding the digital vulnerability by auditing the digital shadows of the organisation and key personnel is a must as is identifying gaps in cyber security, weak social media management or how the leakage of private information can put individuals at risk, whilst exposing harm to the wider organisation. Discovering long forgotten unhelpful posts and comments can enable a PR response and/or an opportunity to remove or hide the comment.
Recognising how grievances evolve into threats and when and how to defuse them saves time and money, as well as reducing the associated risks both commercially and physically.
Much of this sounds simple, perhaps obvious. However, as is often the case, getting it wrong can and will have catastrophic consequences. People will get hurt, reputations permanently tarnished, and company valuations wiped out.
Defuse has genuine operational experience backed by researched processes, all tested in the recent Brexit political firepit, played out and widely reported in the media and in Parliament where there was no room for error.
These processes, many unique to Defuse are the missing link in the strategy to counter the cyber security threat, designed to add value and support existing processes.
There are two scenarios, by being reactive, you can do nothing now and wait and see if something happens before taking action and having to firefight. This can prove expensive, traumatic and can lead to failure. By being proactive you can eliminate the problem occurring in the first place saving time, money and the accompanying stress.
Be proactive and contact Defuse today: calendly.com/defuseglobal
