Dear Reader, 

We started an experiment in content delivery this past year by producing two special issues in print. The first looked at API security and the second at cloud security. The response was tremendous. We distributed both issues via a couple of trade shows and “sold out” each in a matter of minutes. Downloads of the PDFs numbered in then thousands. Readers could not get enough.

This year we hope to do more. At least four, all distributed at trade shows and via downloads from the website. The tentative subjects are:

•   Operational Technology Security
• •   Managed Services
• •   Secure Processors
• •   Career Opportunities in Cybersecurity

Sponsors will get to participate in the editorial process bringing an elevated trust between you, your customers, partners, analysts and other press. The articles will help, fine tune markets, approach new customers, initiate funding and M&A discussion and create a long tail as each publication can be used as collateral over the course of a year.

One of last year’s sponsors, HarborShield Security, used the first issue to build credibility at several events during the year and landed enough new business to cover their sponsorship 10 times over.

The foundational element of a good cybersecurity platform begins with the customer trusting the ability of the service or product provider. That begins with how a company presents its story. Print is the quickest, and demonstrably best way to make that presentation.

A good way to start the process is to drop us a line at Cyber Protection Magazine. Ask for Joe.

With that blatantly self promoting intro, let's take a look at what else happened last year and what will happen in 2023.

Enjoy reading!

Best regards

Patrick Boch & Lou Covey
Editors 

Cybersecurity Awareness Pays Off

The decimation of the social media industry, both businesses and influential platforms, has caused the loss of jobs, revenue. Even users are abandoning Facebook and Twitter for smaller nich-ier options. But there are upsides. Cybercriminals are less effective because fewer people can be fooled all of the time. The better news is more people are looking for more trustworthy sources of information.

A few months ago we posted a story about how successful data breaches were declining as the general public and companies are getting more cyber aware. Our year-end forecast for 2023 had multiple predictions on how that awareness is blunting the growth of ransomware and that criminals will be going back to tried-and-true fraud to make up the difference through volume over big scores.

The advertising spend on social media has been declining as well and not just because of recession-era cutbacks. Companies are increasingly finding no return on investment in advertising on social media as consumer trust in the major platforms has significantly eroded.  This is not new information, however.

According to research by McKinsey, Gallup and Pew Research, 70 percent of SMEs and 97 percent of Fortune 500 companies have relied on social media advertising to reach their markets, but as of last year, trust in the content found on social media has plummeted. More than 90 percent of the social media audience do not trust the content on social media, and the advertising even less.

The silver lining in all of this is a resurgence in trust in print media. The same surveys listed show that while only 6 percent of consumers read print publications, almost 70% trust independent print publications for information (Pew Research 2022). That means that most companies have been spending their ad budgets in the wrong place. And the common trope that people don’t trust ANY media is a gross oversimplification.

And that’s it for this issue of the Cyber Protection Magazine newsletter. If you have a comment, question or pitch on any of the above subjects, drop us a line on the website, or a one-minute audio comment on the Crucial Tech podcast. We will get back to you.