Being an IT Supervisor to a small-to-medium company is a job that comes with a unique set of challenges. We will get into what those challenges are in a moment, but for now, we will start with what an IT Supervisor is. Fundamentally, the definition of an IT Supervisor is as follows: the person responsible for the installation, maintenance and upgrades of an organization’s technology systems. An IT Supervisor generally works with a team of tech admins and various support personnel to oversee the day-to-day of a company’s tech systems and components. Simply, it is the job of an IT Supervisor to “run point” so to speak, acting as the first like of defense against coded threats. These threats, of course, can take on many forms. Some of them even have sub-categories, so it goes without saying that an IT Supervisor has their hands full from the get-go.
Living in 2020 has come with its’ own colorful array of dangers, including whole new evolutionary lines of cyber threats. Among this new strain of digital diseases are AI Fuzzing (AIF) and Machine Learning (ML). What makes them new and fresh? Well, as AI technology gets better at “learning”, the potential to use them maliciously increases. To paraphrase, if it can “learn” what’s keeping it out, theoretically it can “learn” how to get around the barricade. In a similar vein, here in the futuristic year of 2020, we have finally come into the realm of “Deepfakes”, a term coined in 2017 following a particularly malicious video of a popular political figure. A Deepfake is a simulated person which can be made by building upon pre-existing pictures, videos and audio recordings. What they do is simulate a recording, and as the technology becomes more sophisticated, the Deepfakes look more and more realistic.
Of course, along with the new threats an IT Supervisor would face in this day and age, there are still the good old-fashioned scams that have plagued companies from the start. Among these classics are the Social-Engineering Attacks (remember that Nigerian Prince who desperately needed your bank account info?), and Cloud Vulnerability. The Cloud is a wonderous tool for anyone, businesses included, but it has always presented a unique challenge for companies. If the safety measures fail, then one malicious eye can become privy to information ranging from all your customers’ sensitive information to important business details.
Far from the final threat, we have the relatively new Smart-Contract Hacking. A baseline for what it is, is that a contract comes with a self-executing code that allows the developers to make the rules. Because it is a new system, there are still many bugs to be worked out.
How does a company defend itself from so many threats, both old and new? It’s an ever-changing science that constantly needs to evolve in order to meet these problems on equal ground. But there are some basic rules that any IT department should be familiar with regarding the above-listed issue. Protecting your company from hacking and phishing. Make sure that you and your employees are keeping their personal and business accounts separate. Require admin passwords, and make it so that employees are not privy to information that does not pertain to their positions.
We’ve covered hacking and phishing, but what about AIF and ML? Again, it’s not a perfect science, but good ways to keep business and customer information safe is to regularly update the system software, consistently back up information and store it across multiple devices, and keep your employees up to date on what forms of malware to look out for. Cloud vulnerability. This one is interesting because the government actually requires intensive defenses in place before a business can even think about using the cloud to store consumer data. Businesses must have privacy policies that are made clear to the customer, they must report a data breath within 72 hours of it happening, and failure to comply with the list of requirements can result in a hefty fine. Other failsafes can include third-party encryptions and two-step authentication processes. Finally, let’s touch on deepfakes–not that they’re a huge threat to smaller businesses. However, as technology progresses, it pays to be vigilant and in the loop on what’s happening in the tech-scape. Again, it’s important to train employees on what they are and how they could potentially threaten a business (especially via reputation). Monitor the company’s online presence, and most importantly, be transparent with the clientele.
Works Cited
https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/deepfakes-can-ruin-your-business/
https://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/protect-critical-business-data-cloud-01939026