{"id":238948,"date":"2026-06-30T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/cybersecurity-requires-strategy-culture-and-vigilance-local-experts-advise\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T12:35:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:35:06","slug":"cybersecurity-requires-strategy-culture-and-vigilance-local-experts-advise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/cybersecurity-requires-strategy-culture-and-vigilance-local-experts-advise\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity requires strategy, culture and vigilance, local experts advise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cybersecurity requires strategy, culture and vigilance, local experts advise<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/rbj.net\/2026\/06\/30\/rochester-experts-cybersecurity-strategy-culture-small-businesses\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-06-30 12:15:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: rbj.net<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Key takeaways:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Small and mid-sized businesses often struggle with cybersecurity because they are overwhelmed, not because they disregard the risks.\u00a0\u00a0
\nAI is making cyberattacks more sophisticated, requiring organizations to develop secure AI governance strategies.\u00a0\u00a0
\nEffective cybersecurity programs can create business value through cost savings, competitive\u00a0advantages\u00a0and lower insurance premiums.\u00a0\u00a0
\nPrivacy and data-related litigation is increasing, particularly for small and mid-sized companies, making regular risk assessments essential.
\n\t\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

For many small and mid-sized businesses, cybersecurity challenges stem less from indifference and more from uncertainty about where to begin.\u00a0
\nChris Sirianni
\n\u201cSmall businesses aren\u2019t really ignoring cybersecurity,\u201d said Chris Sirianni, president and founder of IT Insights. \u201cMany are really just overwhelmed and don\u2019t know what to do next.\u201d\u00a0
\nSirianni\u2019s remarks came during a June 25 cybersecurity virtual panel hosted by the Rochester Business Journal and The Daily Record and sponsored by Brite, IT Insights,\u00a0OrbitalFire\u00a0Cybersecurity and Phillips Lytle LLP.\u00a0
\nJoining Sirianni on the panel were Anna Mercado Clark, partner at\u00a0Phillips Lytle LLP;\u00a0Reg Harnish, CEO of\u00a0OrbitalFire\u00a0Cybersecurity, and\u00a0Trevor Smith, president of Brite, who\u00a0all\u00a0discussed the latest cybersecurity trends and practical steps businesses can take to better protect themselves.\u00a0
\nSirianni outlined several foundational cybersecurity measures for smaller companies, including implementing multifactor authentication, using password managers, providing security awareness\u00a0training\u00a0and partnering with managed service providers.\u00a0\u00a0
\nHe also encouraged businesses to adopt managed detection and response platforms and evaluate compliance requirements.\u00a0
\nMost importantly, he said, cybersecurity should be woven into an organization\u2019s culture rather than treated as a set of isolated rules.\u00a0
\n\u201cDon\u2019t think of cybersecurity as just a bunch of rules and policies that exist,\u201d Sirianni said. \u201cReally build it into your culture.\u201d\u00a0
\nTrevor Smith
\nArtificial intelligence was another central topic of\u00a0the discussion.\u00a0
\n\u201cThere\u2019s no question that AI has significantly impacted the cybersecurity landscape,\u201d Smith said, noting that cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to make attacks more sophisticated and difficult to detect.\u00a0
\nAs businesses adopt AI technologies, Smith recommended creating a secure AI strategy that begins with understanding what data an organization\u00a0possesses\u00a0and who has access to it. Organizations should also\u00a0establish\u00a0policies governing AI usage, implement oversight and governance structures, and consider the financial implications of AI investments.\u00a0
\n\u201cApply AI where it drives measurable outcomes and tangible business value,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0
\nReg Harnish
\nHarnish challenged the notion that cybersecurity is inherently expensive and overly complex, arguing that a well-executed security program can deliver meaningful returns on investment.\u00a0
\nAmong the potential benefits, he cited competitive advantages, lower operating costs, streamlined business development processes, improved reputations, business process\u00a0enhancements\u00a0and reduced cyber insurance premiums.\u00a0
\nAchieving those\u00a0benefits, however,\u00a0requires a shift in perspective.\u00a0
\n\u201cDon\u2019t think of cybersecurity as something you are forced to do, but instead what can\u00a0you\u00a0accomplish and what are the new opportunities,\u201d Harnish said. \u201cIdentify your objectives and then do the work.\u201d\u00a0
\nAnna Mercado Clark
\nMercado Clark focused on the growing legal risks associated with technology and data privacy. She pointed to a rise in privacy and security class-action lawsuits, many of which target small and mid-sized businesses that may lack the resources of larger organizations.\u00a0
\nShe cautioned companies against\u00a0assuming that\u00a0widely accepted industry practices automatically shield them from liability.\u00a0
\n\u201cJust because it\u2019s commonly being done in the industry, that doesn\u2019t necessarily protect you from litigation,\u201d Mercado Clark said.\u00a0
\nTo mitigate those risks, she recommended conducting periodic risk assessments with the help of legal and cybersecurity experts and carefully evaluating what information third parties can access.\u00a0
\n\u201cWe are seeing a significant rise in this type of litigation,\u201d she said.\u00a0
\n[email\u00a0protected]\u00a0\/ (585) 653-4021\u00a0
\ni
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cybersecurity requires strategy, culture and vigilance, local experts advise https:\/\/rbj.net\/2026\/06\/30\/rochester-experts-cybersecurity-strategy-culture-small-businesses\/ Publish Date: 2026-06-30 12:15:00 Source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/rbj.net\/files\/2024\/01\/Depositphotos_623529826_L-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[26,20,24],"class_list":["post-238948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238950,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238948\/revisions\/238950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}