Cyberattacks pose a threat to any individual, business, community, or country regardless of their economic status. These attacks can cause loss of data, damage to reputations, theft of financial resources, disruption to the usual course of business, and legal costs from possible lawsuits. Many people believe hackers tend to target larger, more profitable organizations where they feel they can get the most financial gain, but that’s not necessarily true. Hackers have all sorts of different motivations and, more importantly, all sorts of methods for accomplishing their goals. Smaller businesses and start-ups with fewer cybersecurity safeguards in place are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks designed to upset normal business operations.
Whedly Beautelus provides solutions to entrepreneurs and businesses by helping them to protect their data and information systems, developing cybersecurity policies in accordance with national and international standards, and ensuring that employees know how to respond when they see something suspicious, like a phishing email. Research is an integral aspect of his work because investigating cyber threats and how they reflect upon business operations is key to crafting improved risk mitigation strategies in the future and fostering solutions that are at once innovative and practical. He knows that businesses require a safe environment to thrive, and his expertise and passion for the subject matter lay the groundwork for a wholly protected organization.
“This means developing tailored risk management programs, creating and conducting training programs for employees, and facilitating partnerships among businesses in different cultural contexts as well as partnerships with local governments,” Whedly explains.
His work helps foster said safe environment for businesses on multiple levels, the first being to help businesses develop their policies regarding cybersecurity, ensuring that they can be proactive when it comes to preventing cyberattacks from ever occurring. This means evaluating risks and developing a plan to manage those risks. When it comes to the actuality of a cyber threat, Whedly institutes patch management, identity and access management, antivirus and firewalls, and more to ensure organizations have systems in place to identify and report incidents. Beyond that, he creates a plan to address and recover from incidents if they do happen.
“Other key aspects of my work to create this safe environment for businesses are awareness regarding cyber threats and research on practical and scalable solutions,” he shares. “Research is paramount in creating a safe digital environment.”
Whedly believes the biggest gap in America’s current approach to cybersecurity is a lack of focus on awareness about cyber threats. He points out that in 2011, the U.S. president declared the month of October as Cyber Awareness Month and encouraged citizens to acknowledge the importance of cybersecurity by participating in activities, events, and training to enhance the nation’s national security and resilience. The importance of cybersecurity awareness has only increased with the rapid growth of technology and artificial intelligence.
While many organizations enforce training as part of their requirements, employees often view this as a necessary but uninteresting chore and not necessarily because they believe that cyber threats pose real risks to their organizations and, therefore, their own lives. On the other side, some organizations don’t protect their data and information systems as well as they should, putting at risk their customers and employees and, of course, their own reputation.
With his multilingual and cross-cultural skills and international experience, Whedly plans to continue working with all types of communities to raise awareness, train professionals, and support businesses and institutions. He foresees great improvement in cybersecurity through promoting collaborations between businesses, academic institutions, and local and international organizations.
It’s essential to diversify and train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, too. In the global talent industry, there is a gap of approximately 4 million professionals. Whedly suggests that businesses recognize this gap and provide education to help fill it, as the U.S. is increasingly relying more on individuals passionate about cybersecurity to uplift communities and create brighter futures.
