As the JSCM Group team gets ready for Nationwide Read 25 Day, we’re all sharing our favorite resources for learning more about cybersecurity, staying ahead of threats, and expanding our knowledge base. Below you’ll find a list of the JSCM engineers’ favorite sources. We’d love to hear from you about your go-to learning sources, as well. Drop us a message and let us know!

It’s impossible to deny: everyone’s work days are packed. Calendars are stuffed with in-person meetings, Zoom meetings, project updates ... actual work on projects ...  

With all that taking up our time, reading can become something that we relegate to the “when I have time” list. (And we all know nothing ever gets crossed off that list.) But that approach vastly underestimates the importance that regular reading plays in helping business leaders and cybersecurity professionals stay ahead of cyber criminals.

In this article, you’ll find some of our team’s preferred resources for staying ahead of threats.  

Cyber attacks have grown exponentially in complexity and danger, now leveraging AI-driven automation and nation-state backing to infiltrate even well-defended networks with devastating speed and precision. And yet, debates rage in boardrooms across the world: How much cybersecurity is enough? The answer, it turns out, depends on who is answering.  

Educational institutions face an unprecedented cybersecurity crisis that demands immediate and comprehensive action. Schools at every level—from elementary schools with our tiniest learners to protect to all the various institutions of higher learning—have become prime targets for cybercriminals, creating risks that extend far beyond technological disruption to threaten the core mission of education itself. 

The choice facing schools is clear: invest proactively in robust cybersecurity measures, or face the far greater costs of recovering from inevitable attacks while dealing with the educational, financial, and reputational damage that follows. In an era where cyber threats specifically target educational institutions, strong cybersecurity is an essential piece of the infrastructure for modern education. 

In today’s digital landscape, employee security awareness training is often touted as a critical defense against cyber threats. Yet, despite its importance, many organizations do not have effective training in place. In fact, 67 percent of organizations report concerns that their employees lack fundamental security awareness. So what's getting in the way of efforts to empower employees (and protect the organization) with this critical knowledge?  

Email. Just the sheer volume of it is enough to inspire a person to want to run screaming in the other direction, but add on the constant and ever more sophisticated phishing, malware, and malicious spam of all types, and it’s simply too much. And yet, email remains the most effective channel for business communication, one that’s impossible to avoid. But there's good news! Just as cyber criminals have advanced their methods, email security solutions have also become more sophisticated. By unraveling the complexities of email security, you can arm yourself with essential strategies that ensure your communications remain private and your organization is protected.  

This article will guide you through practical steps to elevate your email security, enabling you to navigate the digital landscape with confidence. Whether you're a seasoned techie or a reluctant user, you’ll discover actionable insights that will help you safeguard your inbox, keeping your data and peace of mind intact. Ready to take control of your email security? Let’s dive in and explore the essential methods to fortify your communications! 

Small businesses are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals due to limited IT resources, weaker defenses, and a false sense of security. This article outlines the top cybersecurity threats facing small businesses—including ransomware, phishing, weak passwords, shadow IT, outdated software, and third-party risks—and provides actionable strategies to combat them. From enforcing strong password policies and enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) to employee training, software updates, and secure backups, the guide offers practical steps to improve cyber resilience. By implementing a layered defense approach and staying proactive, small businesses can significantly reduce their risk of cyberattacks and safeguard critical operations, data, and customer trust.

Private equity (PE) firms operate in a high-stakes environment where cybersecurity risks extend beyond their own digital infrastructure to encompass every company in their portfolio. With vast amounts of sensitive financial data, frequent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, and complex regulatory landscapes, PE firms face unique vulnerabilities that demand proactive and layered security strategies. Below, we explore the critical cybersecurity concerns these firms must address and provide actionable insights for mitigating risks. 

Cyber threats are evolving so quickly, it can seem impossible to keep up. Actually, with the advent of AI to fuel and multiply new kinds of attacks, we have probably reached the point where it actually IS impossible to keep up. Not only are cyber criminals more sophisticated than ever, leveraging advanced tools, automation, and social engineering to bypass traditional defenses, but also, digital transformation is opening up all kinds of new vulnerabilities. As companies rely increasingly on interconnected systems, cloud platforms, and remote work, the old model of relying on a single line of defense—like a firewall or antivirus—has become dangerously obsolete. Today, adopting a layered cybersecurity approach is not just recommended; it is essential for survival and resilience. 

In a survey conducted by technology leadership-as-a-service firm Fortium, 67% of CEOs responded that they are very concerned about cybersecurity, but 44 percent of them also disagreed or strongly disagreed that their companies were prepared for a breach. There is no reason for any CEO to continue feeling that their company is exposed. That’s no way to sleep well at night.

Whether you are the CEO of a company with a CISO and an entire IT team supporting you, or the CEO of a small company with 20 employees and all of your IT needs outsourced, you are the face of the company during any crisis. Successfully leading a company through a cybersecurity breach requires decisive, transparent, and strategic actions in order to protect the organization, its stakeholders, and its reputation. This article provides the framework to do that successfully.

According to a recent Forbes article, 43 percent of SMBs don’t even have network-based firewalls – and firewalls are the most basic brick in cybersecurity, which should not just be a brick, but a wall, in fact a multi-layered wall.  

So why, when one-third of SMBs, according to a Microsoft Security study, experienced a cyber attack in 2024, are so many SMBs failing to take action to protect themselves?  

If you’re a CEO or technical leader at an SMB that’s historically considered itself “too small to be attacked,” today is the day to make a change. Until now, you’ve been lucky. But the data indicates your lucky days might be numbered. We have solutions.

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, CEOs must be prepared to navigate unexpected challenges and crises. This comprehensive guide outlines essential strategies for effective risk management and crisis response, helping CEOs protect their organizations and lead with confidence. 

As the ultimate decision-maker, a CEO plays a crucial role in shaping an organization's approach to risk management. Part 1 of the CEO’s Cybersecurity Playbook will walk you through the basics of risk management and crisis response planning.

For the last couple of days, warnings have filled the headlines: 23AndMe files for bankruptcy; delete your data now. And while that’s important, and 23AndMe customers should certainly take the precautions recommended by experts, there’s another critical factor underlying these headlines: a cybersecurity breach.  

Cyber criminals specialize in breaking in to your network. To stay ahead of them, you must have specialists whose sole focus is keeping them out. Particularly with the advent of AI, cybersecurity has now officially moved out from beneath the IT umbrella and risen to a strategic concern that must be planned for and addressed by every organization’s senior executives.  

In the past five years, that has come at a steep price: according to one study, the global cybersecurity market saw premiums double between 2018 and 2023, and those premiums are expected reach $29 billion by 2027.[1] But you don’t have to be a hostage to rising premiums. You can safeguard your company’s data, clients, and future and slash your cyber insurance premiums at the same time with one simple move: hire a cybersecurity firm.

The heart of protecting your business is data classification. Today we’re going to break it down into manageable parts and shed some light on its pivotal role in safeguarding sensitive information as well as the future of your organization. 

Building a fortress around your data is the foundation of your company’s future.