Cyber security impacts almost everything

Working in cyber security and living in a rural community makes for an interesting mix in the pub at the weekend. Conversations start off fairly simple but often lead to in-depth discussions on how cyber security impacts us all, and not just large corporate organisations. This is especially true in a day and age where geopolitical tensions are running so high.  

We are at a pivotal moment where ongoing conflicts, trade tariff threats, and changes in world leadership will lead to more state-sponsored attacks across all walks of life. It isn’t all about making millions of pounds from an attack anymore (don’t get me wrong; this still very much exists), but it is also about how much damage can be done to an organisation and, ultimately, a country.  

We have all witnessed attacks on critical national infrastructures, such as transportation, hospitals and government departments, such as the cyber attack in 2024 on the NHS. While these places generally have good security infrastructure and effective detection and response capabilities in place, our nation's critical assets extend far beyond these organisations. If we are brutally honest, we must ask ourselves: are these assets being protected as well as they could be? 

Technology affects everything, yes even farming 

In an ever-connected world, we are more and more reliant on technology in every part of our lives, some of which we wouldn’t even know about unless we stopped to think about it. Take farming as an example. Farmers are working towards farms of the future to improve our food security and their environmental impact, to name just a few. We live in an age where even cows are connected. They take themselves in for milking, and in real-time, the farmer knows the health status of that cow, the milk yield, if it needs any vitamins or additional food, and so on. Tractors are planting exactly the right number of seeds in the ground per acre and then mapping exactly where it was planted and when so that the highest yields can be gained to ensure food stability here in the UK.  

Now, imagine if the infrastructure that controlled all of this was completely compromised. What would happen then? Milk yield could quickly be compromised if the cow wasn’t fed properly or was given the wrong vitamins and drugs. If every large blue, red or green tractor in the UK (others are available), or even the world, started operating without regulation, we would end up in a situation where expected production would not match reality. We would soon start to run out of the produce we expect to see on the shop shelves every day, or it would at least get a lot more expensive as a result of importing requirements. This is an extreme situation, I get it, but hopefully you understand my point.  

If we really stop and think about it, we’ll realise how interconnected everything is. This interdependence means that so much of our infrastructure could be compromised. Many of these critical systems are in places where cyber security is far removed from the “day job.” I don’t believe in scaremongering; in cyber security, we have a habit of doing that. However, these threats are real.  

Cyber professionals have a responsibility  

Every cyber professional has the ability—and, in my opinion, responsibility—to educate everyone we encounter, no matter the sector or the walk of life. It’s crucial to teach people how to protect what is critical to them from cyber threats, and generally, at a cost they can afford. I am not saying we should go off designing solutions for every person we meet, but the simple things that we can help with, we should. This can be as simple as determining what strength password you should use. If it’s a password for your Gran’s flapjack recipe that has been put on every blog site in the world, then use whatever password you want; who cares? However, if it is for the infrastructure that controls critical farming operations, for example, then make sure it is as strong as possible and use multi-factor authentication.  

The more we educate others as cyber professionals, the safer our “critical infrastructure” becomes. This reduces the likelihood of geopolitical-based attacks happening where we least expect them, therefore protecting everything and anything we hold dear. As a good friend of mine says, not all heroes wear capes!  

How can Softcat support organisations? 

Softcat is available to help your organisation achieve a stronger security posture. We offer an evaluation of your security posture through an assessment process; we can provide advanced threat protection, security intelligence and automation through our Managed Sentinel service, and we can offer expert advice on protecting and managing your data - and that’s just the beginning!  

Click here to find out more about our cyber security solutions.