Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Are Your Systems Ready?

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the federal lead for the campaign, provides resources for organizations to help educate employees and other organizations that are connected in some way. Recently, CISA sent out reminders that October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This year's theme is **Securing the Next 250**.

With advances in AI tools like Super Intelligence, the rate at which hackers can find and take advantage of weak spots in our computer software and systems is accelerating. This puts businesses at risk. CISA shares a number of recommendations to help make sure businesses can protect themselves. Some of the recommendations highlighted include the following. For more details, visit CISA's Cybersecurity Awareness Month page.

For Employees of a Business

• Avoid and report phishing scams.
• Use strong passwords.
• Use multifactor authentication and a password manager.
• Update software.

For Business Owners

• Reduce attack surfaces.
• Replace end-of-support devices.
• Recover quickly to sustain operations.

The transportation, shipping, and logistics (TSL) industry faces these challenges just like any other industry. In fact, U.S.-based cybersecurity firm DeepStrike compiled statistics on cyberattacks for the TSL industry and suggested that the average cost of a breach in 2024 was nearly $4 million. Realistically, this value could be materially greater for larger companies. This raises the question: What else can a TSL company do to prevent costly cyberattack issues?

From Synter Resource Group's perspective, we want to highlight two key risks: internal security standards and external vendor security standards. Different security standards apply to the type of data being managed. Unfortunately, some businesses and vendors maintain only a minimum level of compliance for transactions under PCI DSS. Rarely does the bare minimum ever truly suffice.

At Synter, we are ISO/IEC 27001 compliant, which is widely recognized as a leading international standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). If your business or its vendors are not aligned with this standard, that may place the organization at increased risk. Consider the following steps:

• Audit your internal security protocols and determine what risks exist. If you are not ISO/IEC 27001 compliant, you could take steps to obtain this standard. Alternatively, you could explore engaging a vendor that is ISO/IEC 27001 compliant to take over select business activities and help mitigate risk.
• Audit your vendors to determine whether they are ISO/IEC 27001 compliant. If they are compliant, that is one less concern. If they are not, you can provide a timeline to obtain compliance or seek out a vendor like Synter that already prioritizes this standard.

Cybersecurity is a critical topic for all businesses given the interconnected nature of technology, systems, and infrastructure. The last thing you need is a costly disruption that could jeopardize relationships with customers. We strongly encourage everyone in the TSL industry to use October as a reminder to audit internal and external cybersecurity policies.

Contact a member of the Synter team with questions about this important topic at sales@synter.com.