Cybersecurity Defensive Measures in the Age of Work from Home

EPGD Law Cybersecurity

Massive security breaches occur every day—not even the most prominent politicians and businessmen are immune. On July 15, Twitter discovered fake tweets coming from Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk’s accounts. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West were also subject to the hack.

With cybersecurity becoming an ever-increasing issue in the advent of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to recognize the most common data breaches you can face, and how to properly protect yourself from them.

Common Types of Data Breaches in Florida and Beyond

Cybersecurity in Florida is governed by Florida’s Information Protection Act of 2014 (FIPA) and  §501.171, Fla. Stat., which is found in the Consumer Protection Chapter of the Florida Statutes. Under §501.171, “each covered entity, governmental entity, or third-party agent shall take reasonable measures to protect and secure data in electronic form containing personal information.” The statute also delineates protocols regarding notice, annual reports, consumer records, and enforcement.

In California, state officials recently sent out alerts regarding cybersecurity and privacy rights under their own data privacy statute—the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The Office of the California Attorney General’s 2016 California Data Breach Report outlines the common types of data breaches between 2012 to 2015: malware and hacking, physical breaches, and breaches caused by errors. The types of data that were breached included sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and medical information. The industries most subject to breaches were the retail sector, the financial sector, the healthcare industry, and small businesses. The Breach Report recommended the following: Maintaining information security, utilizing multi-factor authentication, utilizing strong encryption on portable and desktop devices, placing fraud alerts on credit files if you are a victim of breach, and conforming states’ breach laws in order to facilitate consumer compliance and cooperation.

Such breaches released by the California Report are still prevalent four years later throughout the whole country. However, targeted ransomware, phishing attacks, and mobile malware attacks are now on the rise. While the escalation of cyber insurance, IoT devices, and AI initially protect information, they also give rise to cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity Defensive Measures for Miami Business Lawyers

The California Attorney General’s Office also supported a set of 20 cybersecurity defensive measures from the Center for Internet Security (CIS) that all organizations that keep personal information should have. These measures are equally relevant nationwide. The defenses or “controls” are the following:

  1. Inventory and Control of Hardware Assets
  2. Inventory and Control of Software Assets
  3. Continuous Vulnerability Management
  4. Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges
  5. Secure Configuration for Hardware and Software on Mobile Devices, Laptops, Workstations and Servers
  6. Maintenance, Monitoring and Analysis of Audit Logs
  7. Email and Web Browser Protections
  8. Malware Defenses
  9. Limitation and Control of Network Ports, Protocols and Services
  10. Data Recovery Capabilities
  11. Secure Configuration for Network Devices, such as Firewalls, Routers and Switches
  12. Boundary Defense
  13. Data Protection
  14. Controlled Access Based on the Need to Know
  15. Wireless Access Control
  16. Account Monitoring and Control
  17. Implement a Security Awareness and Training Program
  18. Application Software Security
  19. Incident Response and Management
  20. Penetration Tests and Red Team Exercises

In 2020, these measures should still be taken to protect yourself and your businesses, along with ransomware analysis, preservation of evidence, ransomware expert negotiation services, cryptocurrency facilitation services, forensic analysis and reporting, eradication, and Cyber Security Awareness Training.

EPGD Business Law is located in beautiful Coral Gables. Call us at (786) 837-6787, or contact us through the website to schedule a consultation.

*Disclaimer: this blog post is not intended to be legal advice. We highly recommend speaking to an attorney if you have any legal concerns. Contacting us through our website does not establish an attorney-client relationship.*

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Silvino Diaz

Silvino E. Diaz’s practice ranges from Civil and Commercial Litigation to Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. Silvino has earned a reputation as one of Puerto Rico’s foremost advocates for independent musicians and artists. As a result of his sustained commitment to creative industries, he was named Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Atlantic University College (Guaynabo, PR) – the Caribbean’s leading digital arts institution – where he spearheaded the “Introduction to IP” course for both the graduate and undergraduate programs, and was appointed by the Office of the President to develop an Intellectual Property graduate curriculum, where he served until moving to Miami in 2017. He is the founder of the service known as Starving Artists, where he offers innovative business and legal counsel for artists and creatives.

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