Cyber Connections News , University of Maryland
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Cyber Connections News Roundup is a bi-weekly brief of online links to news stories and commentary of interest to the cybersecurity community, delivered on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Articles are selected for their newsworthiness, timeliness, potential impact, and reach.
April 9, 2019
The Emergence of 5G Networks and the Impact on Cybersecurity
As major network operators roll out their 5G plans, it’s clear that a new era of connectivity is upon us with 5G playing a leading role in shaping our future, according to an article on www.techradar.com. According global telecom company Ericsson, in just five years’ time over 1.5 billion of us will be connected to 5G. In the meantime, the IT community has been voicing its concerns for the cybersecurity landscape. The widespread opinion is that 2G, 3G and 4G were designed for people, whereas 5G is designed for the Internet of Things (IoT). Given this scenario, it is more important than ever than companies reevaluate their security strategies. Read more.
Companies Will Invest More in Cybersecurity if They Understand the Real Cost of an Attack
According to IBM, the average cost of a cybersecurity breach is now at $3,860,000, a 6.4 percent increase in their estimate for 2017. Perhaps if we examine the cost of a cyber attack to a business, we may do more to address future threats. A recent article on https://hub.packtpub.com puts the cost of an attack in real numbers to help us gain a better understanding of the impact on the bottom line. The article, an excerpt from the book Hands-On Cybersecurity for Finance by Dr. Erdal Ozkaya and Milad Aslaner, uses cost to motivate organizations to come up with better tools and strategies to prevent attacks. Read more.
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CISO Insight
Cybersecurity is not a product you buy or a project you complete — it is a continuous operational discipline. The organisations that achieve genuine security maturity embed security thinking into every business decision, invest in people and processes alongside technology, and build resilience for the inevitable day when preventive controls fail.
The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape
The threat landscape continues to evolve at a pace that challenges even well-resourced security teams. AI-powered attacks, supply chain compromises, ransomware-as-a-service, and state-sponsored campaigns create a multi-dimensional threat environment no single technology can address. Organisations that defend most effectively take a risk-based approach — understanding which assets are most critical, which threats are most likely, and where investments will have the greatest impact. For CISOs, translating this complexity into actionable strategy requires quantifying cyber risk in business terms, prioritising based on risk reduction, and communicating in language that resonates with non-technical stakeholders.
Building a Defence-in-Depth Strategy
Effective cybersecurity requires layered defences addressing the full attack lifecycle — from reconnaissance through exfiltration. No single control is sufficient; every control can be bypassed by sufficiently motivated adversaries. The goal is creating enough layers that attackers must overcome multiple independent defences, while ensuring detection and response capabilities identify and contain breaches before catastrophic damage. The most common mistake organisations make is treating security as a technology problem rather than a business risk management discipline. The fundamentals — patch management, access control, security awareness, incident response planning — prevent more breaches than any advanced technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest cybersecurity mistake organisations make?
Buying security tools without coherent strategy, skipping basic hygiene in favour of advanced solutions, and failing to invest in people and processes. The fundamentals prevent more breaches than advanced technology.
How should CISOs prioritise security investments?
Start with risk assessment identifying critical assets and likely threats. Prioritise controls for highest-risk scenarios. Ensure basic hygiene is solid before investing in advanced capabilities. Use NIST CSF or CIS Controls to structure your programme and measure progress with board-friendly metrics.
Related reading: Visit our Cyber Resilience Hub or download the CISO Toolkit for governance templates.