4 Things About Cybersecurity On IT Projects!

I’m a project manager certification holder – and here’s what I believe are the four most important things you should know about cybersecurity for yourself, your company, and your projects.

1.      It's ok to start small.

You don't need to set up a large cybersecurity response team or infrastructure ahead of time. Especially if you aren't already dealing with a huge cyber-attack. What you must do is begin someplace and at some point, and that time is now. Everything that can be done to hack you and your valuable employee data, project data, and project customer information has already been figured out, but you haven't been targeted... yet. Either you're not on a hacker's radar, or your data isn't valuable enough yet. You may be sure that you will be on their radar in the not-too-distant future.

2.      Not if but when.

It's not so much a question of "if" you'll need to react to a cyberattack as it is of "when." In the next decade... and probably sooner... nearly everyone and everything will be subjected to some form of theft, breach, infection, or cybercrime or cyberattack. In the last two years, 25% of my own clients – some of whom are quite tiny – have been impacted by a cybersecurity issue. As learned while preparing for the project manager certification- the most important thing is to be prepared. Hopefully, to mitigate, but since it may be futile, at the very least, be ready to respond and rapidly correct and shut holes, as well as clean up. You don't need an army of specialists to do this – hopefully – but it's best to have one or a few in-house experts ready to respond, as well as an external expert you've already linked with who could help depending on the severity of the situation and available budget.

3.      Read the books - info is abundant.

About a regular basis, books on cybersecurity become accessible. If you want to start with one or two internal employees, social media and these books are a terrific place to start. To begin, no detailed, expert certification is required; all that is required is basic knowledge, a strong desire to learn, and materials like as books, films, webinars, seminars, and the annual Black Hat conference in Las Vegas and other locations. All of these will help your cybersecurity start-up’s employees gain awareness and understanding. Great books, articles, and other resources are readily available to assist you in getting your response team up and running - take advantage of them.

4.      Start with a consultant. 

You may not require the services of an expert consultant, but it is a good idea to make contact with one in case you do. And if you can't hire or train any employees but would rather pay "through the nose" if and when a cybersecurity disaster occurs, an expert consultancy might be the way to go. Getting an air conditioner repair person on a Sunday in July in Las Vegas when it's 115 degrees or a plumber at midnight isn't cheap, and getting an external cybersecurity expert consultant after a breach isn't going to be inexpensive either. But that may be all you need, and whether or not you hire an outside professional adviser, having the relationship in place is a smart idea.

Want to learn more about the same? Take on a PMP or CAPM Certification training program today!