Cybersecurity readiness is an issue that extends to all sizes and types of businesses, many of which are not well-enough versed in or prepared for cyber attacks and data breaches, according to Akilah Kamaria, account manager and consultant for cybersecurity firm Blue Fields Digital. The firm is a Microsoft partner, and is hosting a free event for local business executives to learn about how to better protect themselves from cybercrimes at the Microsoft Store in the Los Cerritos Mall on April 27.

 

Kamaria and FBI agent Joey Abelon, who works in the bureau’s cyber crimes division, are the guest speakers at the event. As a Microsoft business partner, Kamaria’s role is to “work with associations, trade groups and nonprofits to offer education content and classes for their members based on their needs,” she said. As an account manager at Newport Beach-based Blue Fields Digital, she assists manufacturers in the aerospace and defense fields with cybersecurity preparation and compliance.

 

“Really, cybersecurity is a C-[suite] level problem. It’s a CEO problem, it’s a CIO problem, and historically, it has been sent over the wall to IT,” Kamaria said. “There’s a cultural change that needs to happen around security and our data. And the privacy of that [data] is the responsibility of everyone in a company, not just the IT guy.”

 

An 87 percent majority of top level business executives whose companies are at high risk of cybersecurity incidents reported they don’t consider their firms’ malware, antivirus and software patches to be completely up to date at all times, according to a new survey by Nasdaq and Tanium, a digital endpoint platform developer.

 

The survey of 1,530 upper level executives also found that 91 percent of board members aren’t able to interpret cybersecurity reports, and 98 percent of executives “are not confident in their organization’s ability to track all devices and users on the system at all times.”

 

The level of understanding of and competency in cybersecurity issues among business owners is very low, in Kamaria’s experience. The solution is educating everyone from the highest-ranking executives to the lowest level employees, she said.

 

“If you care about your business and you want to know more, you should definitely attend,” she said of the upcoming event. “It’s interactive, so it’s not like you’re going to stand there and people are going to lecture you. It’s really a forum for people to ask questions and get answers, and network and meet other C-level executives.”

 

The event takes place at 8 a.m. at the Microsoft Store at 331 Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos. To register, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/are-you-protecting-your-business-why-cyber-threat-is-a-c-level-priority-registration-20095331678.