The WannaCry virus has organizations taking a closer look at their cyber security methods and has tech media outlets issuing dark predictions and dire warnings. In the space between, IT professionals are maintaining level heads and navigating a security situation that they intend to mitigate. Here are a few ways IT professionals are handling the aftermath and looking to the future.

Collaboration

Australian companies were fortunate in that the WannaCry hack had done its damage throughout Europe and the United States before making its limited appearance in Australia. During the attack, IT professionals were sending warnings to one another and collaborating on solutions. The sharing of information and the quick work that was made toward exploiting the hack's flaw prevented any further meltdowns of systems. In the aftermath, collaborations have become official. A Memorandum of Understanding has been made between Australia and Singapore, an agreement that promotes cyber security innovations and facilitates the sharing of cyber threat information.

Building collaborations with other governments in the region strengthens cyber security and also works toward increased diplomacy between nations.

Transparency 

Though cyber security experts note that there may be no such thing as cyber security, in the sense that no cyber network is ever truly secure, some are now using the phrase "cyber resilience." They assert that transparency increases the overall resiliency of an organization's IT system, even during times of cyber peace. As a result, organizations are turning to transparency to protect their data and prevent breaches.

Transparency means that every stakeholder in an organization's IT system - from IT administrators, supervisors and chief executives - agree that their systems must be fully visible to all stakeholders, thus ensuring system integrity. When a cyber breach happens, every stakeholder will be able to act appropriately to mitigate the damage and every IT professional will be able to view every aspect of the system.

Increased transparency also ensures that all processes are updated and managed, which is a benefit to the entire system even if a breach does not occur. Well managed systems improve workflow and streamline automation.

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