Eurovision 2019: Can Your Organization’s Cybersecurity Win ‘Douze Points’?

“Douze Points!” would naturally sound like an amazing compliment to any European organization, meaning it has scored the highest grade possible.
Oh, you don’t get it? Every year, the phrase is used several times by the Eurovision song content presenter when a country gets the maximum number of points (“douze points” means twelve points in French).

Eurovision 2019 is coming up. I know, many Americans and other non-Europeans across the world may have never heard of it. But believe me, it is one the greatest shows on earth. Broadcast every year since 1956, it is the longest-running annual international television contest and one of the world’s longest-running television programs.

This year, forty-two countries will take part in the contest. Because its “Euro”-ness is very elastic, countries like Israel and even Australia are among the participants.

Eurovision 2019 at the ‘Cyber Nation’

The song content’s 64th edition will take place in Israel for the third time, after 1979 and 1999, following the country’s victory at the 2018 edition held in Portugal with the song “Toy”, performed by Netta Barzilai.

Israel’s cyber security is definitely worthy of its global reputation and XM Cyber is proud to part of the Israeli hi-tech ecosystem, which more and more makes our “Startup Nation” become a truly “Cyber Nation.” Eurovision 2019 will be held in Tel Aviv, only a few miles from our main office in Herzliya.

Our multinational and multicultural staff is ready to cheer for several contestants. Are you? Oh, come on, Eurovision rocks! Check out the latest news.

Get Douze Points in Network Protection

While many of our team members are planning to attend the event on May 14-18, we have pulled together some best practices to protect your network in order to reduce the risks of your company joining the year’s feared list of breach victims.

Therefore, if you wish to get douze points in cybersecurity for your organization, stay tuned.

• Implement Two-Factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication works to significantly reduce or eliminate unauthorized access to your networks and information.
• Block Malicious Code: Activate application directory whitelisting to prevent non-approved applications from being installed on your network.
• Limit Number of Privileged Users: System administrators have privileged access that gives them the “keys to your kingdom.” Limit system administrator privileges only to those who have a legitimate need as defined by your management directives.
• Segment Your Network: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by having a “flat network”. Use segmentation techniques so that if one part of your network is breached that the integrity of the rest of the network is protected.
• Lock Your Backdoors: Third parties that share network trust relationships with you may prove to be an Achilles heel by serving as an attack vector into your network. Take action to ensure that all network trust relationships are well-protected using best practices. Have a means to audit the effectiveness of these defenses. Consider terminating or suspending these relationships until sufficient controls are in place to protect your backdoors.

That said, don’t miss Eurovision 2019. Did you know it’s one of the world’s most watched non-sporting events, with audience figures of between 100 million and 600 million internationally? It has been broadcast in several countries that do not compete, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and China. Since 2000, it has been broadcast online via the Eurovision website.

After you make sure your organization deserves douze points in the fight against cyber criminals, sit back and enjoy the contest. And be ready to give the highest grade also to your favorite artists!

If you’re interested, here is a list of some funny and weird facts from the Eurovision song contest history.