In a year that delivered a steady stream of breakdowns, tumult and facepalms to the world of cybersecurity, the Trustwave Blog has always prided itself on being a source of calm and voice of reason amid the chaos - helping to keep you sane as you brace for the latest headlines and confront new challenges.
So without further ado, here were our top seven most-read posts from 2017:
1) Dry Those Tears: A Primer on Preventing, Detection and Responding to Ransomware Like WannaCry
WannaCry was no laughing better. Shortly after the monster ransomware outbreak took hold of businesses around the globe, we prepared this full-on primer (including a Q&A with one of our SpiderLabs consultants) outlining tips for halting WannaCry and other malicious operations like it.
2) 9 Ways to Create a Security Awareness Program People Won't Hate
While you will never be able to correct all of your employees' bad tendencies and habits, you can be influential in helping to rewire their behavior. As this oldie-but-goodie post implies, delivering the most optimal security awareness requires some fine-tuning and creativity.
3) What You Need to Know About PCI DSS 3.2 (and Why Security Comes First)
This post from spring 2016 remained popular among merchants and service providers as they sought knowledge around version 3.2 of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which transitions from best practice to requirement in less than a month.
4) 12 Common Cybersecurity Mistakes and How to Help Avoid Them
You're only human - which means, like your employees, you're not immune to making blunders and miscalculations. This post, also from 2016, continues to draw eyeballs as it lists the most habitual strategic mistakes that security professionals make - in many cases catalyzed by in-house resource shortages.
5) Get Wise to These 5 New Cybersecurity Laws
With cybersecurity incidents now a regular part of the evening news, it is no surprise that lawmakers and regulators from across the world are working to implement new requirements. Not every piece of legislation is created equal, however, and this post helped discern their distinguishing features.
6) 9 Steps to Slowing and Stopping Your Next Breach
The mantra of "assume compromise" has never been more valid for businesses, with the difference between a garden-variety event and a colossal breach coming down to how well an organization can detect and eradicate the threat. This post delivered real, practical tips to help you survive yet another "Year of the Breach."
7) 8 Reasons Why Businesses Say They Are Moving to Managed Security
Based on data from our 2017 Security Pressures Report, in which we asked respondents what has or what would inspire them to partner with a managed security services provider, we listed their responses and expounded upon why each threat or business driver presents serious headaches that can be better handled by an MSSP.
What will 2018 bring? We're excited, albeit a bit anxious, to find out. Either way, the Trustwave Blog will remain by your side throughout the inevitable bedlam.
Dan Kaplan is manager of online content at Trustwave.