Cyber Crime and planning your defence is like a game of chess
CSCM IT Solutions
Cyber criminals may use clever computer technology to carry out their attacks but it is the people behind the attacks that are making the moves.
I personally think protection against cyber criminals is like your defensive strategy in Chess.
My grandfather once told me “You never start out to win a game you only plan to defend then learn how your opponent operates”. h
H also said “without having a first class defence it is almost impossible to win”.
This can be used when it comes to planning a strategy for defending yourself and your business against a cyber-attack, the object is not to win only to begin to understand what your opponent is trying to achieve and defend against their advances Cyber Criminals have a very clever strategy and they rightly assume that 99% of the world do not play Chess or at least don’t play at a strategic level.
Now, you don’t have to Play Chess to be able to defend against Cyber Criminals but you do need a plan.
This is my take on how the pieces in a game of chess relate to your company and how it can be used to plan your businesses defence against a cyber-attack, each piece has its role and like the game itself when working together in a strategic formation can form an effective defence that will help you force that important stalemate.
The King Your Money and Your Reputation!
This is what you are protecting!
Chess is all about protecting the King and in your Cyber security defence its protecting your Information technology, DATA and business critical applications.
As this being unprotected can lead to a win for the Cyber Criminals, it’s also about protecting the other pieces on the board as without these the criminals will ultimately win anyway.
The Pawns Your team!
These are your most effective and yet the most vulnerable pieces on the board.
The first line of defence is nothings to do with technology it’s all about people, no disrespect to anyone but your team are like Pawns in a game of Chess, individually they may not have dynamic moves or travel very far but used together create the first and best line of defence.
Your team with no understanding of a defensive strategy often open the door and let cyber criminals in, educating your team is not easy and you need the help of the other pieces on the board and that’s where you start to build the defence.
The Bishops Your HR
In business your Bishops are your educators the people who help set out your Human Resource strategy and influence the training needed to help your Pawns defend.
The Bishops often have all the right information and may need guidance, like in the real world Bishops may not be the highest ranking piece on the board and they do take instruction from other more senior pieces, but they do hold the important information that can help your Pawns defend against an attack.
The Knights Your Technical experts
Techies are known as the Knights in the defence against Cyber Crime, like the Knights in the game your technical experts move in an unusual way,.
Quite often they work and understand the same things as the cyber criminals, essentially the attacks are performed by the opposing chess pieces and often the knights of the criminal underworld studied alongside the knights defending your systems.
The knights are an important element in your defence as these pieces develop support and maintain your technical defence, they also provide essential information to the other pieces on the board that can help defend your business as part of a complete strategy.
The Rooks Hardware & Software
The Rooks or Castles are your hardware & software defence and are pieces in our Cyber Protection strategy board that are not human.
A good strategy in Chess is to use your rooks in conjunction with other pieces such as knights to create a defence that is hard to break down, as in business it is important that you invest in these pieces as they will protect the King.
Like in Chess they are the only piece on the board that can swap places with the King creating confusion for the attacker, good technology Hardware and Software can be use in this style of defence and prevent Cyber Criminals from getting what they want.
The Queen Backup
Often seen are the final and last line of defence the Queen is the most dynamic piece on the board. I see her as your Backup and Disaster recovery as the Queen is something that has the ability to bring your business back from defeat.
You see in the game of Chess your pawns can be recreated as Queens if they reach the other side of the board and this makes a complete circle of defence around your business.
If you do suffer a severe cyber-attack and your team have to rely on your queen or backup to bring everything back your Pawns will become Queens and help resurrect your business and defence ready for the next attack.
The Board
The board is very simply the area in which we play, everything is very black and white you either make a move or you don’t.
However if you don’t make any moves there is no defence! If we can help at all don't hesitate to get in touch.