The Time To Review Cybersecurity and Disruption Plans Is Now

If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to make sure you’re as prepared as you can for disruptions to digital platforms because of cyberattacks resulting from events unfolding in Ukraine.

To a large degree, there’s only so much you can do and while the risk to arts and culture organizations being targeted deliberately is low, the systems and platforms they rely on are much higher priority targets. At the most basic level, groups would be wise to consider the following:

1. Confirm critical data is backed up.
2. Reset account passwords for email, websites, social media platforms, and other digital providers that are 12 characters or longer. Use upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Update them monthly until tensions subside.
3. Ask your web developer and/or hosting provider to block all incoming traffic from countries other than those responsible for the lion’s share of legitimate traffic. Most reputable providers can put “block only” or “allow only from” rules in place.
4. Use two factor authentication or similar added security measure (biometric, Yubikey, etc.) where available.
5. Keep a very close eye on your websites and email clients to make sure they are not compromised and being used to spread malware or misinformation.
6. Review how employees can identify phishing attacks (they have become remarkably more sophisticated in the last six months).
7. Make sure company owned mobile devices are running the latest version of its operating system.
8. Confirm key employees have a communication strategy if email service is unavailable.