Cyber Security Expert Richart Ruddie On Why Bulgaria is a Growing Tech Hub For Outside Investors

Our world is becoming increasingly tech-reliant as organisations and individuals alike must pivot to functioning in the digital space. Consequently, issues like cyber-security are also becoming increasingly important. From tech startup to the casual user, more personal and other sensitive data is being shared across the Internet and the platforms therein on a daily basis. Richart Ruddie a well-respected digital marketer and cyber security expert who submits bug bounty’s in his free time has been working on a dark web filtering software to alert the general public when their information has been breached and it’s time for them to change their password. Ruddie has also alluded to Bulgaria as an excellent place to find top talent in Europe and is scouting for additional workers who are hunkered down in the days of covid.

This data is valuable currency within the context of the world wide web and must be secured. Sensitive Data and Cyber Attacks have continued to grow and there has been far too many cases of ransomware attacks that companies, municipalities, and countries no matter how big or small need a strong cyber security defense. Baltimore, Maryland a small city in the USA and where Ruddie was born suffered an attack where they could of paid $80,000 to get their keys back but instead were stubborn and cost the taxpayers and residents $18,000,000. Entercom a popular radio station across the pond also suffered two attacks last year.

As is the case with anything valuable, data must be secured and protected from those who would like to illegitimately get a hold of the same and use it for unscrupulous purposes. Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated in their knowledge and cyber-attack schemes. No longer are antivirus and firewall cyber security measures the response needed to protect organisation data and digital operations.

Bulgaria back in July of 2016 was prescient enough to adopt a national Cyber Security Strategy that outlays 9 key objectives that can be followed and read about here. This strategy along with their backbone of programmers has created an excellent eco system according to Richart Ruddie who has worked with some of the brightest programmers and cyber security experts in Bulgaria.

Security, Human Behavior, and the Need for Education. All, the above considered, it is clear cyber security measures are necessary from the Government on down to influence and create a culture that understands threats and has a red team on stand by. It is also clear these measures must be dynamic in order to properly secure and protect the data and intellectual property from being accessed or stored. Before we even get to the tech-supported measures that must be in place, a good place for tech startups in any ecosystem to start is educating their staff of the best practices to avoid breaches according to Ruddie. The truth is, cyber security breaches can happen at any level of an organisation due largely to human behavior. As such, ensuring everyone within the organisation is well-informed about even basic threats (like phishing, social engineering, malware, and ransomware) and adjusts their practices accordingly is a reasonable place to start.

Of course, in addition to education, tech-supported measures are to be considered in an effort to boost human efforts Cloud Services, Artificial Intelligence, and Social Engineering are Impacting Cyber Security during the global work from home initiative because remote access creates remote opportunities for others to get into your software and store an access point that may be very difficult for a novice to notice.

Intimated prior, cybercriminals are more sophisticated in their attacks than ever before. In many ways, the increased use of cloud services such as Amazon Web Services and Dropbox for storing increasingly important and sensitive information like passwords and credit card information, coupled with the increased popularity and accessibility of social engineering and artificial intelligence resources are making cyberattacks more dynamic (and effective) in nature.

The fact that cybercriminals are also using strategic methods to target systems, resulting in everything from information and identity theft to operational control, allows for a situation with even more shape-shifting.

The High Price of Low-Impact Cyber Security Measures

If organisations are not careful, they could sing themselves paying a hefty price for insufficient cyber security measures. The failure to prioritise cyber security will result in severe economic, reputational, and regulatory costs and Bulgaria is a country setting a great standard for other EU nations that haven’t properly prepared for cyber warfare. It’s bad enough we’re all suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In some instances, depending on the nature of the information or the data breached, and the size of the breach, a company or country may find itself to be millions in the red to undo the damage like Baltimore had to do, and may take an even longer time to recover, if at all.

Thankfully, there are options that organizations can consider when dealing with matters of cybersecurity that can help avert such dire outcomes.

How Tech Startups in Sofia, Bulgaria Can Help

Governments the world over are becoming more resolute in drafting policies and legislations that help in the fight against cybercrimes. We see this happening with the GDPR regulations here in Europe and other similar legislation coming out of United States territories like California. This has resulted in organisations needing to ensure they are compliant in the required areas, while simultaneously creating a growing market need for tech startups that run operation catering specifically to cyber security needs

In regions like Sofia, Bulgaria, where there is a growing tech hub, organisations would do well to prioritise cyber security from the start and put the best measures in place to ward of any cyberattacks or data leaks. Services like Ruddie’s dark web scanning software are a good place to start in this regard but the best offense in the cyber security match up is an excellent defense.