Connecticut Needs More Cybersecurity Professionals
Whether it’s guarding top-secret plans for nuclear submarines or protecting corporate assets, cybersecurity is a crucial field to work in. And, the threats are no joke. From ransomware that hit the New Haven Public Schools system to China stealing classified military documents, cyberattacks are becoming more commonplace.
This is especially true in Connecticut, where a recent hack inflicted a large amount of damage on the insurance industry. The breach cut a wide swath, exposing information from the personal and business accounts of 255,000 Connecticut residents, the Department of Insurance says. It was the largest data breach this year and one of the biggest in history.
As a result, insurance companies are pushing for stronger cybersecurity protocols from the businesses they insure. This includes penetration testing (sometimes known as ethical hacking), vulnerability scanning and risk assessments. These are designed to identify risks and help prevent cyberattacks.
A cyber incident response plan is also critical to have in place, which is intended to reduce the impact of an attack by providing guidance for responding quickly and efficiently. This includes identifying what the attackers are doing and how they’re doing it, determining what the damage is and how it occurred, and taking steps to prevent it from happening again.
Those in the cybersecurity field are encouraged to keep learning and expanding their skillsets, as software, science and technology evolve and criminals continue to seek ways to exploit systems vulnerabilities. The University of New Haven, for instance, recently established the state’s first Women in Cybersecurity chapter. It’s designed to increase the number of female students pursuing careers in cyber security and other computer science fields. cybersecurity connecticut