Inbound Logistics | January 2023

DISRUPTION-BUSTING MOVES FOR 2023 AND BEYOND

SIX STRATEGIES TO BOLSTER CYBERATTACK RESILIENCE

5) Penetration test your systems. Penetration testers mimic hackers breaching your systems to expose vulnerabilities and assess your company’s internal network security. Experienced testers uncover common vulnerabilities, such as unencrypted trafc and weak passwords, and can often prevent threats before they happen. 6) Train your team to prevent phishing attacks. Actions by well-intentioned employees are still the most common way hackers access networks. Teach your team to use strong passwords and avoid downloading attachments or clicking links in emails without verifying the sender. Encourage them to spot and report unusual emails with typos, mismatched URLs, or odd addresses and to tell IT about any suspicious requests. These building blocks are critical for robust network support. Your business is part of a larger ecosystem. As we become more connected, it’s critical to take measures to keep commerce moving. Every supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Attacks will happen. Bolster your organization by building resilience.

Start by answering some key questions. How quickly can you get back to business after an attack? How can you lessen the blast radius? What should your team do today to ensure operations don’t come to a standstill when cyberthreats happen? Next, evaluate all the software your organization uses—inventory and rate management, compliance, shipment tracking, and others. The complexity of your systems requires careful monitoring and support to stop unauthorized access and data breaches. Finally, devise your plan and ongoing support to prevent attacks and limit damage and recovery time should one occur.

These building blocks create resilient networks.

1) Patch systems to prevent hackers from targeting known vulnerabilities. Updates, known as patches, repair bugs and vulnerabilities in software and systems. Most breaches happen because hackers know about vulnerabilities and exploit weaknesses. Regular patching builds resiliency and reduces risk from vulnerabilities as soon as they become known. Some businesses forgo patching, assuming doing so could disrupt critical applications. How would your system handle a ransomware attack if it can’t survive an update? Patching is worth the risk. 2) Design and manage immutable backups and ensure credentials to backups are secure. Use a 3-2-1 backup system. Keep three copies of your data, two backups on site on different systems, and an immutable offsite backup. An external team should secure and manage your immutable (unchangeable) backup. A hacker will be less likely to discover this backup because it’s not connected to your network. 3) Monitor your networks for suspicious activity and take action before a breach occurs. Often hackers breach a system and lurk around until they uncover the opportune time to strike. Implement careful monitoring to discover and block hackers before attacks occur. 4) Use multi-factor authentication (MFA). Numeric codes sent via SMS or email, often required when logging in, are examples of MFA. MFA adds an extra layer to logins, making it harder for hackers to breach your networks if passwords are compromised.

–Tyler Helwig Director of Automation and Process Improvement Airiam

During times of inflation, plug-and- play tech is essential to obtaining accurate data for informed cost optimization decisions. Enterprise shippers should offset cost increases by having improved data quality with carriers.

–CHRIS CASSIDY, CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, TRAX TECHNOLOGIES

162 Inbound Logistics • January 2023