Recently Michael Peters, CEO of Lazarus Alliance, spent time with David Cogan of Money Radio and eLiances discussing the differences between proactive cyber security and reactive cyber security. You can replay the broadcast as heard on money radio.

An overview of the discussion was when you think cyber security, what comes to your mind first?

I’ve posed that question to many an audience over the years and most frequently the response is what folks see on the nightly news or through some new source. Recently people will respond with examples such as Home Depot, Target, Sony, JP Morgan and the European Central Bank which of course are just a few of the most notable instances of breaches we seen in the news over the last twelve months.

I point out to these same groups that in reality, there are only two forms of cyber security and its Proactive Cyber Security and Reactive Cyber Security. I’ll explain what that means and let’s see if you agree.

Reactive Cyber Security situations are going to be in the news because something bad has happened. Reactive security companies help you clean up the mess. When you become aware of a cyber security breach at some company, it’s probably because you are watching the business catastrophe unfolding through some syndication source. You eventually get a notification by the company, your bank or credit card provider informing you that your private and personal information has been stolen which leaves you to worry and watch hoping that nothing bad happens to you.

From a business standpoint, it has become painfully obvious at all levels including shareholders that cyber breaches have a really negative impact on business value not to mention careers of everyone involved especially at the highest levels of the company. We have all seen for the first time in 2014 CEOs, CIOs and CISOs losing their jobs as a direct result of culpability or negligence on their part.

No doubt about it, cyber security breaches have a hugely negative impact on the financial health and reputation of the victim company.

So this brings me to the second form of cyber security which is proactive cyber security. Proactive Cyber Security is all about keeping you out of the news by implementing the right controls and countermeasures. We know it’s not enough for the government or the private sector to have rules and regulations. PCI DSS certification did not save Target, Home Depot or other retailers. The FFIEC or the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity did not save JP Morgan or other financial institutions from their breaches.

You need qualified assistance to make it effective. It’s tough when there are not enough talented cyber security professionals to go around. Businesses are short-staffed. Academia is not training and educating enough to keep up with the demand.

The best possible course of action to avoid being the latest corporate cyber security breach is to take a proactive approach. I’m the CEO and Lazarus Alliance is Proactive Cyber Security™.

Be sure to check out the dynamic group of hybrid entrepreneurs who spend time together at eLiances where entrepreneurs align hosted by David Cogan.

Thank you to Money Radio for inviting me to discuss the differences between Proactive and Reactive Cyber Security.

Resistance is NOT Futile for Cyber Insurance Insurers

If you think that the business general liability or even purpose built cyber insurance policies will cover you in the event of a cyber-security breach, it’s highly likely you are mistaken. In fact, it is in your carrier’s best business interest to deny your claim.

Chances are the exemptions in your cyber insurance policy exclude coverage for access to or disclosure of confidential or personal information which accounts for the majority of claims. Cyber criminals are in it for profit which means they are going after confidential or personal information.

Cyber insurance claims are being denied when breaches occur as the result of hackers exploiting commonly known security vulnerabilities which amounts to negligence on the insured. When on average 96% of all breaches are avoidable, the only thing that stands between being breached and having your cyber insurance claim denied is the effective implementation of controls and countermeasures from taking a Proactive Cyber Security approach.

Lazarus Alliance is Proactive Cyber Security™

Lazarus Alliance will examine your policy during an IT risk assessment or Cybervisor™ readiness review and help you understand where your vulnerabilities and threats to your business may be. It may very well be that cyber insurance policy you purchased to protect your business.

Risk management is so fundamentally important to business survival. Organizations all around the world are suffering through cyber-attacks; some unsuccessfully too. Espionage and Hacktivism is on the rise. Additionally, the global economic crisis exposed major weaknesses in the systems of financial institutions, motivating companies to reassess their IT. As if that were not enough, increased regulatory demands, pressure from top management for faster and better business information, and advances in risk management by top-tier competitors are prompting smart companies to transform their risk IT functions.