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“Certain kinds of cybercrime that were considered avant garde or cutting edge in 2004 or 2005 are now daily occurrences.”

That’s the verdict of Grobstein Teeple’s Global Head of Cybersecurity and Risk Management, Erik Rasmussen, who believes one of the biggest changes over the past 20 years is simply the fact that cybercrime is now so prevalent. 

Next month marks the 20th anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month—a joint initiative between the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security first launched in October 2004. 

Some of the advice offered by the earliest incarnations of Cybersecurity Awareness Month—such as updating software two or three times a year, similar to how the average car owner must get an oil change or tune up—now seems comically outdated.

Preventative maintenance is important, but to combat today’s cyber threats, computer owners must be more proactive about updates. Think of it as if the check engine light comes on every time a threat is found, thus making a trip to the mechanic costly and exhausting.

With the Federal Bureau of Investigation receiving more than 800,000 cybercrime-related complaints in 2022¹ it’s clear eternal online vigilance is now a daily necessity.

“Cybercrime is basically so ubiquitous now that the skill level to commit a cybercriminal act is actually very low,” Rasmussen explained. 

“But at the same time, in those higher echelons where nation-states operate, cybercriminals are still as elusive and destructive as ever.

“So you’ve expanded your areas of concern, because more people are capable of committing all kinds of cybercriminal attacks than ever before.” 

“There’s a lot more to worry about because it’s easier than ever for your data to get destroyed or compromised,” Rasmussen added. “So start having those conversations around cybersecurity.”

The simple steps you can take to protect yourself online

The 2022 Cybersecurity report found that despite years of awareness campaigns, more than two-thirds of all respondents claimed they still lacked access to cybersecurity knowledge.²

More than a third of those respondents had fallen victim to a cybercrime—typically phishing scams—with many of those relying on friends and family to help them with their cybersecurity.

“When it comes to staying safe online,” said Grobstein Teeple’s Head of e-discovery and Forensic Technology Solutions, Michael Garlie, “security is one end of the spectrum and convenience tends to be on the other.

“So I think having some fundamental cybersecurity knowledge, along with the quarterly training that is occurring more and more in many organizations, is extremely useful in identifying those phishing scams from text messages or emails that many people still struggle to recognize.” 

For Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2023, campaign organizers have listed four key behaviors they suggest can help ward off malicious intent. 

• Use strong passwords and a password manager
• Turn on multifactor authentication
• Recognize and report phishing
• Update software

However, while Rasmussen and Garlie agree somewhat with Cybersecurity Awareness Month’s central premise—namely that “it’s easy to stay safe online”—both say smartphone technology complicates matters.

“When we say ‘online,’ we really just mean connected to the internet, which is essentially 24 hours a day as long as your phone is on and it has a WiFi or cell-service connection,” Rasmussen said.

“I’m not sure it’s that easy to stay safe online, just given the ubiquity of digital technology.” 

The ever-increasing cost of cybercrime

Want to know why it pays to protect yourself online? Americans lost more than $10 billion to cybercriminal acts in 2022 alone.

That figure is expected to rise to almost $14 billion within the next five years—with the United States almost always the most heavily-targeted country for cyber attacks every year.

Given it costs the average small business around $3 million to remedy the cost of cybercrime, it’s little wonder one survey found “that around 60 percent of small companies go out of business within six months of falling victim to a data breach or cyber attack”.³

Despite the daily threat and ballooning costs of cybercrime, Rasmussen says the prevalence of smartphones and the fact that most Americans have been active online for many years can lead to a sense of complacency. 

One area in which companies can bolster their cybersecurity defenses is by obtaining Payment Card Industry Forensic Investigator (PCI PFI) certification. 

Grobstein Teeple recently helped UHY Consulting obtain PCI PFI certification.

“The PFI certification and its rigorous application process demonstrate the value the Council places on protecting the payments ecosystem and ensuring only qualified forensics investigators join this community,” said our own Erik Rasmussen.

“In successfully completing the application process, UHY Consulting has demonstrated its vast knowledge of the payments and cybersecurity fields, and sophisticated operational skills – resulting in the achievement of this incredibly selective accreditation.”

To hear more of Erik’s thoughts on cybersecurity, click here to listen to the Future of Cyber Risk podcast.

And if you need help with any aspect of your cybersecurity, simply get in touch to book a call.