Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nuclear Security Culture: Insider Threat Assessments at Nuclear Facilities
In an ever-changing environment, risk takes on a more fluid form. Pinning down who or what is a threat in the U.S. nuclear space becomes more and more challenging in a world filled with disinformation and evolving circumstances. What exacerbates these efforts to identify individuals who pose a risk to nuclear security is the flaw in the underlying framework for how we assess insider threats.
For decades, the U.S. has constructed the image of a ‘threat’ to fit a very particular image – specifically an image of someone who doesn’t present as an ‘American.’ This default American image is almost always presented as a white individual, with people who fail to present in this way being subject to additional scrutiny. This ‘othering’ of non-white and otherwise ‘non-American’ presenting individuals reinforces problematic biases in national and nuclear security frameworks.
DAF Counters Insider Threat Risks
Every September, all departments and federal agencies team up to raise awareness amongst the workforce to promote reporting of insider threat risks. The goal is to get employees to lookout for and report risky behavior that could be indicative of potential harm to themselves, others or the organization.
RackTop Systems Partners with Merative to Reduce Cyber Risk Across the Healthcare Sector
RackTop Systems has partnered with Merative. This partnership integrates RackTop’s BrickStor SP cyberstorage product, the data storage solution that can defend against ransomware, into the Merative Merge imaging solution stack to further minimize cyber risk, combat ransomware, and help preserve patient safety and privacy.
When combined, RackTop and Merative will offer a medical imaging and security offering that operates within a zero trust architecture for end-to-end protection of critical healthcare data assets.
How Healthcare Cyberattacks Can Impact Patient Safety, Care Delivery
Despite these shortcomings, many healthcare organizations are still taking proactive steps toward enhancing their security postures. A combination of various detection, prevention, and response strategies can help organizations significantly reduce risk.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that their organizations took steps to educate employees about cyber threats, with 63 percent saying that they conduct regular training and awareness programs. Employee training programs are crucial to mitigating the risk of insider threats and ensuring that employees recognize the signs of phishing and other social engineering tactics.
Swedish Intelligence Accuses Iran of Trying to Steal Nuclear Technology
While all international attention is focused on the negotiating tug-of-war between Washington and Tehran – to reactivate the 2015 nuclear pact – Swedish intelligence, through a report, has denounced the Persian Islamic Republic’s attempts to get its hands on the Scandinavian country’s nuclear weapons technology. The 80-page document, entitled ‘Swedish Annual Security Report’ for 2021, revealed that “Iran also conducts industrial espionage operations, such as those aimed primarily at the Swedish high-tech industry and Swedish products, which can be used in nuclear weapons programmes”.
The Ransomware Problem Won’t Get Better Until We Change One Thing
Ransomware is the most significant cybersecurity issues facing us today, as cyber criminals hack into businesses, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure and more in order to encrypt files and demand a ransom payment for the decryption key.
Despite warnings not to, many victims pay these ransoms, under the impression that it’s the quickest way to restore their network, particularly if the cyber criminals are also threatening to leak stolen data. But all this means is that the attack cycle continues, with ransomware groups using their ill-gotten gains to finance more ambitious attacks.