Check Point’s Chief Commercial Officer Rupal Hollenbeck and Chief Product Officer Dr. Dorit Dor will participate in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2023 Annual Meeting taking place from January 16 – 20 in Davos, Switzerland.
On January 18, Hollenbeck will speak about “Tapping into Intrapreneurs”, discussing why intrapreneurial talent – those action-orientated employees pursuing new creative ideas – is a critical resource for corporate innovation as businesses rethink their role in a post-COVID world. The session will explore the barriers that corporate social intrapreneurs face, and how can they become powerful change-makers within their organization.
On January 19, Dor will take part in the “Ransomware: To Pay or Not to Pay” panel on the challenges organizations face with the rise in ransomware. She will explain why ransomware is so popular with hackers, what types of attacks are most prevalent, the evolution to triple extortion, and how organizations can best protect themselves.
The time has never been better for the world’s global business, governmental, non-profit, and cyber leaders to convene. According to Check Point Research, there was a 38% rise in the number of cyberattacks in 2022, with an average of 1,150 attacks on each organization every week. This was set against a backdrop of greater geo-political uncertainty, which increased the rate of nation-state attacks and cyber warfare against critical services. Add to this the financial situation and downturn of the economy, and CISOs are under extreme pressure to adjust budget priorities in line with the changing economic outlook.
Considering all of this, CISOs are being advised to consider these five key aspects to ensure better protection against cyberthreats:
- Prioritizing cybersecurity in the remote work environment: With more employees working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, CISOs will need to ensure that remote workers have secure access to company systems and data.
- The rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning in cybersecurity: These technologies can help to automate and improve the detection of threats, but they also present new challenges and ethical concerns.
- The increasing sophistication of cyber threats: Cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to evade detection and carry out attacks, and CISOs will need to be on the lookout for these new threats.
- Rise in targeted ransomware: Targeted attacks are more sophisticated and specific, and we have seen an increase in reports that indicate custom ransomware has been launched against an organization’s specific technology stack. Large multinational organizations have typically been in the crosshairs but now companies of all sizes, municipalities, and critical services must be on the lookout. We recommend comprehensive protection through a triad of methods: secure the environment, have a plan to quickly recover from a breach, and develop an ongoing assurance plan of security and compliance.
- Cyber regulations: Many have been keeping a close eye on regulations within the executive branch of the federal government when it comes to the topic of cybersecurity. We expect new guidelines to emerge this year around the subject of ransomware payments. This means better reporting, more cyber insurance ramifications, and new pre-compliance standards. The rules are becoming stricter, so expect the fines to be more severe, especially for those that don’t have appropriate measures in place prior to a breach.
