A week ago we promised that this time we would talk about the seventh edition of Infosecurity 2022, the computer security event that provides a meeting point for experts, industry, government and organizations.
The event will take place at the Citi Banamex Center this coming October 5 and 6. It will have face-to-face and virtual edition. It is often a very busy event, as many companies of all sizes need to know how to better protect themselves from cybercrime.
The truth is that more than 2,000 thousand cybersecurity specialists will meet at the next edition of Infosecurity Mexico, which returns to its face-to-face format, without neglecting the virtual part for those who cannot physically attend.
Global shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals
The 8th Annual ISACA Survey on the global state of cybersecurity, carried out on 2,031 people, showed that there is a worldwide deficit of qualified professionals in this specialty, to the extent that 63% of the companies surveyed declared that they did not have a complete workforce in this area. That’s right, there is a lot of demand, but little supply of professionals, who no longer want to return to face-to-face schemes after having tried the honeys of remote work.
However, cybersecurity professionals are asking for flexibility in their hiring for remote work, but this is not being well received by the business sector, which will cause many vacancies. In fact, 62 percent of companies reported that their cybersecurity teams are incomplete or understaffed, and 52% require their staff to have a college degree, even for entry-level positions.
In the same vein, although companies need technical personnel, they also require, especially in leadership or corporate governance positions, that managers have cybersecurity skills or knowledge, but at the same time know the business.
Let’s not forget that cyber threats existed before the pandemic, but when it arrived, companies had to accelerate their technological processes to adapt to new conditions, such as the following: 1) migration to the cloud, 2) development of new business practices electronic and 3) telecommuting.
Many were not prepared…
The problem is that many organizations of any size, whether due to ignorance, lack of technical or financial resources or mere apathy, were not prepared for such rapid change, which immediately increased cybersecurity risks.
In this way, there was an increase in cyber attacks based on phishing, malware, ransomware and cyber extortion; furthermore, 83% of SMEs are not prepared to defend themselves against it. On the other hand, only 14% of these types of companies have implemented plans to defend themselves against threats, among which ransomware stands out.
In Mexico, 1,128 ransomware attacks are recorded per day; 372 affect companies or organizations, and the rest go to the government. In Latin America, these types of attacks grow 7% per year; but it should be noted that 66% of the software used in companies does not have a license, for not wanting to pay for it, and two out of three devices have critical vulnerabilities.
According to the health authority, the fifth wave of Covid-19 is “on its way out”. During the week of July 31 to August 6, a total of 5,942 cases of the new disease that is ravaging the world were registered, a figure five times lower than that registered in the first week of July. “We’ll see,” as the blind man said.