The Federal Court Hack Is a Wake-Up Call for Every Board

Yesterday Politico reported on a “sweeping hack of the (US) federal judiciary’s case filing system” exploiting vulnerabilities that had been known about for 5 years. No matter the sector or organisation, outdated infrastructure and weak governance can have terrible consequences.

So how do Digital Leaders ensure their voice is heard and their organisations are better prepared? Having spoken to lawyers, founders and CISOs, here are three strategies we think you should strongly consider:

Elevate Cybersecurity to a Board-Level Strategic Priority and Prioritise Continuous Education

Digital leaders must ensure that cybersecurity is no longer viewed solely as a departmental concern but as a fundamental business risk and a board-level discussion.

Boards have to recognise that cyber attacks are no longer a matter of "if" but "when", and their impact can bring an entire business to its knees, affecting IT systems, payroll, customer services, and attract crippling regulatory scrutiny. That calls for constant education, with leaders being familiar with current cyber risks at a level relevant to their business. 

While historically many organisations thought "it won't happen to us," (especially smaller ones) it's crucial to understand that every business has something worth stealing!

Implement Proactive Preparation and Robust Supply Chain Governance

Organisations must move beyond reactive measures to establish comprehensive preparatory frameworks and secure their entire supply chain, which has become an increasingly concerning vulnerability.

The best way for organisations to deal with cyber attacks is to prepare extensively, including running through mock attacks (war-gaming) with the board to clarify responsibilities, communication strategies, and technical and legal support contacts. The Board needs to be told the "uncomfortable truth" that their supply chain is likely "murky" and that security measures may not have adequately flowed down to all suppliers.

Individual employees also need to be aware of how their digital footprint can be used as a tool for social engineering and phishing attacks, which still account for 85% of attacks. As much as it’s sometimes annoying for me and you, “zero trust” models on devices can help to continuously verify user behaviour and adaptively apply stricter controls if a threat is detected.

So what can be done? Foundational vulnerabilities and mandated security standards will help. In manufacturing (for example) one area of concern is the low cyber maturing in operational technology (OT) environments. 73% of OT devices remain unmanaged and lack proper updates or patches creating a large attack surface. Digital leaders have to get a grip of this environment, including outdated tech that’s still in use.

Governments are increasingly focusing on supply chain security and resilience. Initiatives like the Cyber Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) in the USA aim to mandate a certain level of cyber maturity in the defense supply chain, indicating a shift towards regulated security practices. This means organisations must consider their suppliers' cyber resilience, as an attack on one part of the supply chain can disable the entire delivery capability.

Champion an Industry-Wide Culture of Information Sharing and Adaptive Defense

To truly raise the bar on cybersecurity, leaders must advocate for greater transparency and collaboration across the industry, moving away from a "blame culture" and embracing advanced defensive technologies.

Currently only 25% of cyber attacks are reported publicly, and that contributes to a "blame culture" rather than a collaborative environment for information sharing. This prevents experts from understanding market trends and businesses from receiving necessary support. Whilst it is a hugely pressured situation, organisations must understand their duty to inform regulators during an attack. It’s only through the sharing of information that the overall level of security is raised for everyone.

With the almost terrifyingly rapid rise of deepfakes and AI-generated fraud, there is an urgent need for AI to detect AI, as even experts struggle to discern real from fake with the naked eye. AI is viewed as an "accelerant" that makes everything more efficient for attackers but can also let defense scale. Organisations also need to view security as a system with “guardrails” rather than a "bouncer at the door", something AI makes easier to implement in practice. This can result in successfully adopting adaptive security, which constantly proves intent and applies stricter controls only when suspicious behavior is detected.

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Thank you to Emma Wright , Robert McArdle , Ben Colman , Dmitri Krakovsky , and Barry O'Connell : who didn’t contribute to this article, but did chat to me on Tech Talks this year and helped to shape how we’re seeing the market right now! To hear what each of these leaders had to say directly look for the podcast on your favourite streaming service! We're on YouTube , Apple Podcasts, Spotify , Amazon Alexa (and Music), you know... all the places!