Last week, the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline was victim to a ransomware attack and temporarily shut down. The ripple effect of this ransomware attack was significant: gas stations from Florida to Virginia to closed pumps because of the fuel shortage, and the governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency.
Reportedly, about 24 other companies were also affected by the cyber attacks.
In addition to the immediate ramifications, the cyber attack on Colonial Pipeline served as a reminder of growing cyber threats.
“This is what businesses now have to worry about,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “Unfortunately, these sorts of attacks are becoming more frequent… and we have to work in partnership with business to secure networks to defend ourselves.”
U.S. Government Response
Wednesday the Biden administration issued an executive order to “strengthen cybersecurity for federal networks and outline new security standards for commercial software used by both business and the public.”
The White House fact sheet elaborates, “”Recent cybersecurity incidents such as SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and the Colonial Pipeline incident are a sobering reminder that U.S. public and private sector entities increasingly face sophisticated malicious cyber activity from both nation-state actors and cyber criminals.”
The executive order aims to shift cybersecurity in the U.S. to have a greater focus on prevention and not simply incident response. To do this, it will update the security standards for government networks as well as require companies to report information about the cyber breaches they experience. It will also establish a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board to review incidents, modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board.
Recent incidents including the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack serve as a reminder that cyber security is critically important, and not properly protecting our cyberspace can have far-reaching consequences. In addition to the government’s precautionary measures, businesses should also look to protect themselves from cyber attacks.
The best way to protect your business from cyber attacks and focus on both prevention and incident response is through a dedicated cyber security center.
How a cybersecurity operations center can help
In the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, threats need to be assessed in real-time. To successfully overcome cyber threats, an organization should prevent more attacks, find and fix breaches faster, and reduce breach impact. All of these actions are more effectively enabled through a cybersecurity operations center (CSOC).
When it comes to cyber-attacks, the question is not if your organization will face a threat, but when. Having a cybersecurity center to conduct 24/7 threat hunting, real-time incident response and breach containment ensures that your organization can resume normal operations as quickly as possible after a cyber incident.
Successful CSOC design
Within a CSOC, highly skilled analysts and engineers analyze data from a variety of sources. The space they operate in needs to be carefully designed to facilitate this vital work.
Using the right video wall system to display real-time data is vital to ensuring that the time between breach and detection is minimal. From display resolution to sizing and placement, the selection of your operations center video wall plays a key role in ensuring proper data management.
It’s also important to select video wall technology that can withstand the demands of a cybersecurity operations center. Not all displays are created equal; those in a CSOC run 24/7 for constant monitoring. That means the technology needs to be resilient, and the system design should include redundancies in case of any system failure. Working with an experienced integrator for video walls in mission critical environments ensures that your display will be effective and reliable.
When furnishing your CSOC, it’s important to select furniture that’s purpose-built for round the clock use. Choosing operations center consoles over mass-produced, prefab desks ensures that your furniture will last despite constant use. Consoles for mission critical spaces also feature more effective cable management, greater flexibility for monitor mounting, and more options for customization in comparison to regular office furniture.
Constant Technologies: operations center design experts
Functional design for cyber operations is a balancing act. It takes true expertise to ensure that not only will all components work together, but they can also stand up to constant use. Constant Technologies can provide all of that and more. We provide expert audiovisual integration for large format video walls, walking you through the process all the way from initial design consultation through installation and service. At Constant we also design operations center furniture to fit your unique space and requirements.
Our decades of experience in the industry mean that no one does it better. Due to our comprehensive knowledge of the complex needs in mission critical spaces, we deliver solutions that make operations simple for the end-users.
To learn more about our video wall and console furniture solutions for cybersecurity environments, contact us today. Our design and budget consultation is always free
