A regional health network in Illinois was forced to shut down two rural hospitals last summer, in part due to losses sustained during a prolonged ransomware attack two years earlier. It marked the first time a hospital closing was directly linked to a cyberattack.

Since the beginning of the computer age, IT teams have doggedly worked to prevent all cyberattacks and system outages that could disrupt operations. That may no longer be an achievable objective. Modern technologies and threats have become so complex and sophisticated that IT failures now seem nearly inevitable — 96 percent of IT organizations worldwide experienced at least one outage in the past three years, according to one study.

Stolen or compromised credentials are the leading cause of data breaches, but password-based authentication isn’t going away anytime soon. With more than 80 percent of organizations still depending on them, passwords are easily the most prevalent method of user authentication.

In an ideal world, our IT security systems would be so excellent that we’d be able to thwart all manner of cyberattacks. In reality, there’s no way to fully prevent the onslaught of threats hitting networks.

Independent IT security institute AV-TEST registers more than 450,000 new malware and potentially unwanted applications every day.

We live in an age of remarkable advances in healthcare technology, including such breakthroughs as genetic sequencing, 3-D-printed prosthetics, robotic-assisted surgery and AI-powered imaging systems. However, research shows that outdated and inefficient communication technologies create persistent challenges in the industry.

In our last post, we discussed the importance of threat-detection solutions that can find and stop cyber threats that have secretly taken root in your network. The good news is that C-level executives and board members are taking an increased interest in cybersecurity and actively encouraging increased investment in threat detection and other security controls.

Microsoft 365 is among the world’s most popular Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms, with some 345 million users worldwide. Analysts estimate that companies using the suite of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools collectively generate a whopping 100 petabytes of data each month — much of which is extremely sensitive information that could lead to serious financial, legal and operational damage if lost or compromised.

The integration of technology into classrooms has transformed the educational experience. Unfortunately, it has also opened the schoolhouse doors to electronic intrusion by hackers, crooks and thieves. According to one new study, ransomware attacks targeting K-12 schools grew by an astonishing 827 percent in 2022. Phishing, malware and denial-of-service attacks also increased substantially.

It’s like we aren’t even trying anymore.

Despite years of repeated warnings, millions of Americans rely on preposterously simple passwords that offer little or no security for critical data and systems. NordPass’s annual list of the 200 most-common passwords includes such gems as “password,” “123456,” “guest,” “qwerty” and “111111.” Researchers note that 83 percent of the passwords on that list can be cracked in less than one second.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of reliable wireless connectivity in a work-from-anywhere world. Organizations must support more wireless users, devices and applications than ever, and analysts say total Wi-Fi traffic is doubling every three years.