Month: June 2025

If you thought 2024 would be the year cyber threats took a breather, think again. From hospital
systems locking up to massive leaks by security vendors themselves, it was a front-row seat to
“what not to do” in cybersecurity.

So grab your cold brew (and maybe an aspirin) because we’re about to relive some of the most
significant cybersecurity stumbles from US-based organizations — and what your business can
learn from them.

1. US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Breach

Sector: Government / Healthcare

What happened? In a significant breach, attackers exploited a third-party file transfer tool used
by HHS vendors — compromising sensitive health data.

Who was affected? Millions of individuals had their protected health info (PHI) exposed.
Lesson: Third-party risk is real — and needs just as much attention as internal systems.

2. Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack

Sector: Healthcare / Tech

What happened? One of the largest health IT firms in the US was hit with ransomware, halting
payment systems and data exchanges for weeks.

Who was affected? Healthcare providers, pharmacies, and payers nationwide — leading to
operational gridlock.

Lesson: Critical infrastructure needs layered protection — downtime costs more than just
money.

3. Microsoft & Midnight Blizzard

Sector: Tech / Cloud

What happened? Russian state-sponsored hackers (Midnight Blizzard) breached Microsoft
corporate email accounts, targeting senior leadership and cybersecurity teams.

Who was affected? While customer systems were not compromised, it revealed how even top-tier cloud providers can be infiltrated.

Lesson: Nation-state threats are rising. Supply chain and internal vigilance must evolve with
them.

4. LoanDepot Data Breach

Sector: Financial Services

What happened? A ransomware attack exposed the sensitive financial data of over 16 million
customers, prompting the mortgage giant to enter recovery mode.

Who was affected? Customers’ Social Security numbers, bank info, and personal data.

Lesson: Financial institutions are high-value targets — and must build zero-trust environments.

5. Ardent Health Services

Sector: Healthcare

What happened? A ransomware attack forced Ardent to take 30 hospitals offline across
multiple states, cancelling surgeries and rerouting patients.

Who was affected? Hospital operations, staff, and countless patients.

Lesson: Operational downtime in healthcare isn’t just costly — it’s dangerous.

6. Schneider Electric (US Operations)

Sector: Energy / Tech

What happened? US-based operations of Schneider Electric were part of a breach involving
project tracking systems and internal data.

Who was affected? Customers and employees in multiple regions, highlighting global risk
exposure.

Lesson: Internal systems need external-grade protections — no exceptions.

7. CISA’s AI Red Team Hack Simulation

Sector: Government / AI

What happened? Not a breach — but a revealing simulation. CISA’s red team hacked multiple
generative AI tools to demonstrate emerging vulnerabilities.

Who was affected? Major AI providers (undisclosed) participated, indicating that the technology is not as “secure by design” as initially hoped.

Lesson: AI security is the next frontier — and businesses must start preparing now.

5 Tips to Strengthen Your Cyber Defenses Today

These high-profile attacks weren’t just headlines — they were a stark reminder. Here’s how to
avoid joining the next breach roundup:

1. Vet your vendors – Third-party tools are often the weakest link.
2. Patch fast, patch right – Delayed updates = open doors.
3. Build a response plan – Don’t just detect — respond with speed.
4. Train your team – Humans are still the favourite target.
5. Adopt a zero-trust approach – Assume breach, segment access, and verify everything.

Excelien: Your Cyber Security Ally

At Excelien, we help businesses stay ahead of evolving threats — before the headlines. Our
cybersecurity advisory sessions are designed to identify your weak spots, provide guidance on
fixes, and support implementation with the right tools and partners.

Whether you’re handling sensitive healthcare data, managing cloud environments, or securing
remote workforces — we help plug the gaps before attackers find them.

Book your cyber health check with Excelien and take the first step toward resilience.

When you hear “FinOps”, your first thought might be: How do I cut my cloud bill?

But if that’s all you’re focused on, you’re missing the bigger opportunity.

In reality, FinOps isn’t just about reducing spend — it’s about transforming cloud cost
visibility into business value. It’s the financial strategy that turns the cloud from a cost centre
into a revenue driver.

Let’s clear the fog around FinOps and explore how a modern FinOps strategy helps your business
not only survive in the cloud era but also thrive.

Why FinOps Matters More Than Ever

Cloud costs are soaring, and many companies are left wondering: Where is all the money going?

Spoiler: it’s not where you think.

While moving to the cloud may have promised agility and savings, many businesses now find
themselves overspending without insight or accountability. That’s where FinOps — financial
operations in the cloud — comes in.

FinOps brings visibility, control, and collaboration to your cloud investments, ensuring you’re
not just spending less… but spending smart.

What FinOps Actually Does

At its core, FinOps is about aligning finance, engineering, and operations to make real-time,
data-driven decisions on cloud usage.

It’s not about picking the cheapest option. It’s about:

1. Understanding trade-offs between performance and price
2. Forecasting costs with confidence
3. Optimising spending without compromising innovation
4. Ensuring every department is accountable for their cloud consumption

This isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it approach. It’s a continuous cycle of improvement.

The FinOps Lifecycle: Inform. Optimise. Operate.

Inform

Gain total visibility into your cloud estate — what’s being used, by whom, and why. Tagging,
allocation, and forecasting all start here.

Optimise

Rightsize workloads, negotiate rates and leverage committed use discounts. Use your newfound
insights to spend with precision.

Operate

Embed FinOps into day-to-day operations with automation, cross-team collaboration, and regular
reviews. It’s about ongoing efficiency, not one-time fixes.

Why FinOps Is a Team Sport

FinOps only works when finance, engineering, and operations work together.

Gone are the days when finance teams were in the dark about cloud bills or when engineers were
disconnected from budgets. FinOps bridges that gap — creating a shared language around cost
and performance.

This cross-functional visibility allows you to:

1. Predict and manage cloud budgets
2. Understand where cloud spend delivers ROI
3. Build a culture of ownership and accountability across teams

The Real Question: Are You Wasting Cloud Capital?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most businesses don’t know how much money they’re
wasting in the cloud.

A mismanaged cloud estate leads to:

1. Overprovisioned resources
2. Underused instances
3. Missed discount opportunities
4. No clear accountability

FinOps changes that. It empowers your teams with the insights and tools to take back control — not just to save money but to reinvest it into the future of your business.

The Business Value of FinOps

A strong FinOps strategy unlocks tangible business outcomes:

1. Real-time reporting and actionable insights
2. Improved collaboration between IT, finance, and ops
3. Smarter cloud architecture decisions
4. Predictable budgeting and accurate forecasting
5. The ability to fund innovation, not just react to overages

Excelien: Plug the Gaps, Reinvest the Gains

At Excelien, we go beyond identifying wasted spend — we help you close the loop between
cloud usage, cost control, and business impact.

Through our tailored FinOps advisory sessions, we help you:

1. Visualise and govern your cloud estate
2. Eliminate unnecessary costs and inefficiencies
3. Build a cost-aware culture across your teams
4. Free up capital that can be reinvested into R&D, innovation, and market growth

The cloud isn’t getting cheaper — but it can get smarter.

Let Excelien show you how to make FinOps not just a cost-cutting initiative but a growth
strategy.

Nothing is more crucial for your business’s connectivity than ensuring you always have quick,
dependable internet access. To ensure that data is safe and applications function correctly, you
need security and performance features in addition to high-speed internet. SD-WAN and SASE
are helpful in this situation.

With its robust technology for creating quick and secure connections, SD-WAN is the foundation
of connectivity. SASE also has features for enterprise-level security and application performance
that are unmatched by competing services. These resources work effectively together to boost
any company’s productivity and efficiency.

What is SD-WAN?

Networking techniques have changed paradigms with the introduction of SD-WAN. Due to their
reliance on complicated hardware and complicated configuration protocols, traditional WANs
can be challenging and time-consuming to administer. In contrast, SD-WAN is software-driven,
making the system’s administration more straightforward and flexible. Thanks to this, businesses
can change their network settings as their needs change, which boosts productivity and lowers
costs.

Fundamentally, SD-WAN uses intelligent traffic routing techniques and cutting-edge software
algorithms to improve performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional WANs. With the aid of
these advanced technologies, SD-WAN enables enterprises to monitor real-time network activity
from any location quickly and to swiftly optimise network architecture in response to shifting
weather conditions or spikes in traffic. Overall, SD-WAN has emerged as a crucial tool for
managing contemporary networks, allowing companies across all sectors to thrive in the digital
age.

What is SASE?

SASE, or secure access service edge, is a cloud-based security architecture that unifies various
security functions into a single, integrated platform. These functions include firewall as a service
(FWaaS), web security, identity and access management (IAM), and data loss prevention (DLP).

Additionally, SASE offers fine-grained visibility into network activities, enabling organisations
to recognise and address security concerns immediately. Businesses may safeguard their data
from various threats with the help of this all-encompassing security strategy.

How SD-WAN and SASE Work Together

While SD-WAN and SASE are crucial components of contemporary networking, combined, they
can offer businesses of all sizes a genuinely transformational experience. SD-WAN provides the
quick and dependable connectivity required to enable cloud-based services and applications.
SASE simultaneously increases security by adding a layer, ensuring that data is safe from
internal and external attacks. Additionally, SASE simplifies network security management by
combining several security operations into a single platform, enabling enterprises to protect their
data.

Benefits of Using SD-WAN and SASE Together

There are several benefits to using SD-WAN and SASE together, which include:

Increased flexibility and agility: SD-WAN and SASE are software-based solutions that don’t
require complicated hardware or configuration and can be rapidly and easily installed. This
increases the agility and flexibility of enterprises by enabling them to alter their network
architecture as their demands change quickly. Additionally, SASE simplifies network security
management by combining several security operations into a single platform, making it more
straightforward for enterprises to protect their data.

Performance gains: SD-WAN optimises network traffic using sophisticated algorithms, and
SASE offers granular visibility into network operations. Businesses may quickly and easily
discover potential performance issues with this feature set, which enhances overall performance.

Reduced costs: SASE can assist in reducing the cost of WAN by up to 90%, whereas SD-WAN
can help reduce the cost of security infrastructure by up to 50%.

The Challenges of Integrating SD-WAN and SASE

Despite the numerous advantages of combining SD-WAN and SASE, there are a few difficulties
that should be taken into account:

The complexity of management and implementation: The complexity of setup and
management when combining SD-WAN and SASE is one of the main difficulties. Both options require proper deployment and configuration, which might make your network architecture
significantly more complex.

Cost increases: The initial cost of deploying these solutions can be high, even though SD-WAN
and SASE can help you lower the overall cost of your WAN and security architecture. Fees may
also rise due to the difficulty of managing and executing these solutions.

Lack of standardisation: Currently, there is no accepted method for integrating SD-WAN and
SASE, meaning each supplier has its own proprietary solution. Due to the lack of
standardisation, businesses may need help to compare multiple vendors and choose the best
solution for their needs.

Increased security risks: SASE can help your network become more secure, but it also brings
new hazards that must be controlled. Incorrect configuration of your SASE system, for instance,
could allow attackers to get over your security measures and access your data. To correctly
configure security measures, SASE also necessitates that enterprises have a thorough awareness
of their network traffic. If your company lacks this knowledge, you can endanger your data’s
security.

Businesses may enhance the performance and security of their networks with the help of SD-
WAN and SASE, two potent technologies. These solutions must be designed appropriately and
implemented to prevent rising complexity and expenses. Additionally, it may be challenging to
analyse several solutions and select the best one for your needs due to the need for more
consistency across supplies. With that said, SD-WAN with SASE may be the best option for
your company if you’re seeking a strategy to expand the speed and security of your network.

Banks are investing in cloud technology as a significant priority. According to a recent survey by
American Banker, over 40% of executives consider cloud technology among their top five
spending priorities. Additionally, 80% of respondents expect to migrate at least 20% of their
computing infrastructure to the cloud by 2023.

This shift towards cloud adoption is appropriate due to the advantages it offers banks, such as
scalable resources based on usage and the ability to avoid unnecessary onsite hardware purchases
to meet increasing resource demands. However, banks currently face three major challenges in
managing cloud effectively.

The first challenge is the need for more visibility, as they need to understand their cloud usage,
deployment details, and locations to make the most of it. Increased cloud spending can lead to
cloud sprawl and loss of control.

The second challenge is agility, which allows banks to act quickly based on information. Legacy
solutions can hinder this advantage, making it crucial for banks to identify areas they need to
modernise to enhance their agility.

The third challenge is managing cloud spending efficiently. While the cloud provides cost-
effective solutions, expenses can escalate beyond control without proper oversight.

To address these challenges and stay competitive, banks can adopt a CloudOps approach,
emphasising visibility, automation, and continuous optimisation in the cloud. This approach
aligns business objectives with cloud operations, providing banks with a complete understanding
of their cloud-based services, identifying areas for improvement and optimising operations.

Intelligent automation can enhance flexibility, allowing banks to adapt to changing conditions
swiftly. Moreover, optimisation based on the principles of continuous integration and continuous
delivery from DevOps can help banks save money.

Nevertheless, the elastic nature of the cloud presents challenges in managing resources
effectively. Many banks may find themselves surprised by their monthly cloud spending and its rapid growth without a clear strategy to control it. However, with the right approach and
solutions, banks can optimise their cloud operations, ensuring efficient resource utilisation and
cost control.

How Excelien Can Help Financial Services

Of course, it’s one thing to talk about CloudOps for banks; it’s another to implement it at scale.

Excelien also can help banks by finding unused resources in current cloud infrastructure and then
offloading those resources to other consumers. In other words, Excelien allows banks to
effectively sublease some of their excess cloud resources to other businesses, allowing them to
eliminate cloud sprawl and reduce costs without compromising performance.

Banks need the cloud to stay current, connect with fintech firms and effectively address
emerging market challenges. But just having the cloud isn’t enough. Banks need to boost
visibility, improve flexibility and control costs to make the most of cloud deployments.

Cyber Disasters of 2024: What Went Wrong & How to Stay One Step Ahead

Let’s face it — cyber attacks in 2024 came in faster than a Monday morning inbox. From
national defence leaks to update-induced meltdowns, it felt like every week brought a new
“surely that can’t happen” moment. But happened they did.

So, grab a cuppa (and a biscuit if you’re feeling brave), and join us for a rapid-fire rundown of
some of the biggest UK cyber security fails of the year. Some are ironic, some are shocking, and
all are reminders that digital defence needs to be tighter than ever.

1. Ministry of Defence Payroll Breach

Sector: Government

What happened? A contractor’s error exposed sensitive payroll data, impacting over 272,000
current and former military personnel.

Lesson: National security = no room for cyber shortcuts.

2. CrowdStrike’s Falcon Flop

Sector: Technology

What happened? A software update triggered system crashes across 8.5 million Windows
devices.

Lesson: Even cyber superheroes need a rollback plan.

3. NHS England Ransomware Leak

Sector: Healthcare

What happened? A ransomware attack on Synnovis derailed over 3,200 medical procedures
across London hospitals.

Lesson: Patient safety now includes cyber security.

4. Southern Water’s Leak (Not the Wet Kind)

Sector: Utilities

What happened? Hackers slipped into server systems, exposing customer and employee data.

Lesson: Real-time threat detection isn’t optional.

5. National Public Data Breach

Sector: Public Data

What happened? A cross-border privacy nightmare with personal data leaked across the UK,
US, and Canada.

Lesson: International data sharing demands top-tier defences.

6. Transport for London (TfL) Gets Derailed

Sector: Transport

What happened? Hackers tapped into customer data. Thankfully, the trains kept moving.

Lesson: Incident response plans should be as slick as your morning commute.

7. The Billericay School Breach

Sector: Education

What happened? A cyber attack shut down school operations and leaked student data.

Lesson: Schools need cyber drills, not just fire ones.

8. Schneider Electric’s Security Irony

Sector: Energy & Automation

What happened? The cyber security provider got hacked. Enough said.

Lesson: No one is too “secure” to be breached.

5 Ways to Strengthen Your Cyber Security Right Now

If 2024 proved anything, it’s that no sector is safe. But there are steps you can take to lower your
risk:

1. Run frequent audits – Spot vulnerabilities before attackers do.
2. Test everything – From backups to patches, simulate failure before it’s real.
3. Train your people – Human error is still the #1 way in.
4. Know your data flows – Understand where your data lives and who has access.
5. Have a response plan – Because reacting quickly can save your business.

Let Excelien Help You Plug the Gaps

At Excelien, we don’t just observe — we advise. Our cybersecurity advisory sessions are
designed to identify your weak points, prioritise what matters, and protect your organisation
against evolving threats.

From ransomware readiness to third-party risk, we help you stop threats before they start.
Want to find the gaps in your cyber armour?

Book a session with Excelien today — and turn reactive into resilient.

Hackers now have more opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities due to new technologies. But
what are the most typical security risks that organisations must face nowadays? The top 10
security risks that enterprises should be aware of:

Phishing

Attacks involving phishing are getting increasingly frequent and complex. Data breaches,
malware infections, and even identity theft can result from phishing campaigns. Hackers are
becoming more adept at making their phishing emails appear to be from a reliable source. They
are tricking people into clicking on infected links or attachments using more advanced social
engineering techniques. Even if phishing emails are getting more sophisticated, you may spot
them by looking for specific indicators. A generic greeting is one typical indication (“Dear
Valued Customer”). Grammar and spelling errors are another.

Additionally, unexpected attachments or website URLs are frequently included in phishing
emails. Be wary if the sender sends you an attachment when you weren’t expecting it. Only click
the link if you are familiar with the website it leads to. Lastly, be sceptical of any email that
conveys a sense of urgency or requests personal data. When in doubt, contact the business to
verify an email’s veracity.

Malware

All sizes of organisations struggle with malware. Hackers use malware to access computers,
manipulate them, and even take down entire networks. Phishing emails, hacked websites, and
even malicious advertising can spread malware. When it is in the system, it is very challenging to
remove. To protect your business from malware, ensure that:

1. A robust anti-malware solution is in place.
2. Employees have been trained in cybersecurity best practices.
3. The software is up to date

Ransomware

Ransomware encrypts your data and demands payment to unlock it. Attacks by ransomware can
be disastrous, particularly if you don’t have a recent data backup. Even with a backup, recovering
your data can be expensive and time-consuming.

Additionally, you must exercise caution while opening documents or clicking on links from
unidentified sources. You should have a strong security system, including anti-malware software
and a backup solution, to safeguard yourself from ransomware.

SQL Injections

An exploit known as SQL injection enables hackers to run harmful code on your database server.
They might access delicate information like a private client or proprietary business information.

SQL injection attacks are frequently simple to identify. These could happen when user input is
added directly into a SQL statement without being appropriately screened first. As a result, the
attacker might insert incorrect SQL code into the statement, allowing access to or modifying
database data.

You must ensure that your database servers are correctly set up and secured if you want to
safeguard your company against SQL injection attacks. Additionally, you need to install a robust
firewall. A firewall can defend your company from SQL injection attacks by preventing
unauthorised users from accessing the database server. It can also aid in preventing the server
from running malicious programmes.

Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks

Users cannot access a website or service due to a denial of service (DoS) attack. DoS attacks
target smaller firms and are frequently employed to target well-known websites or services. They
can be costly to fix and result in significant disruptions.

You need a robust firewall in place if you want to defend your company against DoS attacks. A
firewall can protect your company from DoS assaults by filtering outbound traffic from unknown
sources. Doing this can help stop attackers from saturating your network with traffic and
overloading your systems to the point where they break. A strategy for how to react if your
website or service is attacked is also necessary.

Distributed Denial-Of-Service (DDoS) Attacks

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack uses multiple computers to flood a website or
service with traffic, preventing users from accessing it. Typically, botnets—networks of infected
computers under a malicious actor’s control—are used to carry out DDoS attacks.

DDoS assaults are incredibly destructive and frequently target well-known websites or services.
DDoS assaults, however, can also target less popular, smaller websites or services. These
websites or services might occasionally lack the resources necessary to protect themselves from
a DDoS attack, which could result in their removal.

Use a web application firewall (WAF) to restrict malicious traffic to safeguard your company
from DDoS attacks.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

An attack known as cross-site scripting (XSS) enables hackers to insert harmful code into a
website. They may be able to steal private information like login credentials or client
information. XSS attacks can also be used to rob accounts and hijack user sessions.

Your website needs to be appropriately coded and secured if you want to defend your company
against XSS attacks. This entails implementing filters that can prevent the execution of harmful
code and using secure programming techniques.

Again, a web application firewall (WAF) is another tool you may employ to protect your website
from potential assaults. It’s crucial to teach your staff how to recognise XSS attacks and what to
do if one arises.

Insider Threats

Employees or contractors who are permitted to access your company’s systems and data but
abuse that access for malevolent intentions are considered insider risks. Insider threats can
seriously harm your company since they can steal confidential information or compromise vital
systems. Since insider threats frequently possess valid credentials and access, they might be
challenging to identify.

It would help if you implemented effective access control measures to safeguard your company
from insider threats. This contains techniques for password security, authentication steps, and
logging data. Using security guards or CCTV cameras is one way to limit physical access to
systems and data.

Man-In-The-Middle Attacks

A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack occurs when a hacker eavesdrops on two parties’
communications. This allows the hacker to listen to the chat or manipulate the transferred data.
Data theft or fraud may result from dangerous MITM attacks.

All client and staff communications must be encrypted if you want to safeguard your company
from MITM attacks. The use of SSL or HTTPS is one well-liked choice. This will guarantee that
any information exchanged between the two parties is encrypted and inaccessible to third parties.

A VPN can establish a secure channel between your staff and clients. This will protect their info
from snoopers. Using two-factor authentication is another technique to defend your company
against MITM assaults.

Credential Reuse Attack

When a hacker uses stolen credentials to access another account, it is known as a credential reuse
attack. This may occur if a worker uses the same password across several accounts or if a user
credential database is compromised. Attacks that use reused credentials can cause significant
damage, such as fraud or data theft.

You must ensure that your employees are using strong passwords and not reusing them if you
want to safeguard your company from credential reuse threats. Additionally, you must have a
strategy for what to do if your systems are compromised.

Conclusion

Due to the complexity and constant change of the modern business environment, staying
informed about the most recent security threats is challenging. Ensure your business is aware of
the most common threats that exist. Also, teach staff how to identify and react if ever under
threat.

The most crucial thing is to have a fundamental grasp of the different threats and to keep up with
the latest news so that you may be ready for anything.

Over 230,000 computers were affected by the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 across 150
countries, including hospitals, businesses, and federal government agencies. The attack was
particularly devastating since it took advantage of a known security vulnerability in Microsoft
Windows that had been patched months earlier. So even if you are using updated software, you
are sometimes vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Future cyberattacks will only increase in quantity and severity. The risks increased as our
reliance on innovation increased. Because of the Web of Things (IoT) growth, more gadgets are
currently linked to the internet. Therefore, hackers may have access to more potential attack
avenues.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. So now is a perfect time to think about
online risks and take precautions to safeguard your business.

The following are five cybersecurity incidents that happened this year:

1) Shields Health Care Group disclosed a data breach in June 2022 that affected over 2 million
patients. Shields claimed that an “unknown actor” gained access to patient’s electronic health
records using legitimate employee login information.

2)Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency marketplace, tweeted in January 2022, “Several individuals had
their accounts subjected to fraudulent activities. All money is secure.” It was later revealed that
more than $30 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen, despite the hack initially merely
being described as “an incident.” The data leak affected about 483 people, according to
Cypto.com. The hackers accessed some user accounts, where transactions were being processed
even if the user had not entered the two-factor authentication. Crypto.com immediately
terminated all two-factor authentications in reaction to the event, and all users were forced to
change their passwords.

3) Through their “Bug Bounty” programme, Twitter got a tip in January 2022 regarding a
potential security risk that might be abusing a zero-day vulnerability. Twitter disclosed that
hackers were attempting to sell the data of the 5.4 million affected users for $30,000 on the dark
web. The system would check automatically if an email address or phone number already had an
account on Twitter and give the user a list of connected account names when they entered those details.

4) On its dark web forum in April 2022, the Russian ransomware group Conti declared that they
had successfully breached the Costa Rican Ministry of Finance. In a series of well-planned
attacks, Conti successfully breached 27 separate ministries, leading to a $20 million ransom
demand. The Costa Rican authorities declined to pay the ransom. Instead, it shut down its
systems to limit the damage while hiring foreign cybersecurity companies to help with
restoration operations. However, this resulted in a massive public backlash and months of
crippled government services.

5) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) declared in January 2022 that it had
fallen victim to a deliberate supply chain attack in November 2021. An unpatched vulnerability
in the organisation’s system had allowed the attackers access to its network. They had access to
the beneficiaries, volunteers, and employees’ personal information. The hack compromised
roughly 515,000 records in total. The ICRC shut down its systems in reaction to the attack and
hired outside cybersecurity companies to assist in their recovery efforts.

These significant cyberattacks have several vital lessons for us:

Organisations need to be alert that they can be targeted by hackers even if they don’t possess
sensitive data because targeted assaults are on the rise.

Attacks on the supply chain pose a serious concern. As a result, businesses must ensure that their
contractors and suppliers are as safe as possible to avoid being compromised.

It is crucial to use two-factor authentication; to prevent account takeover attacks.

Be on the lookout for suspicious activity, e.g. sudden changes in account behaviour.

The issue of cybersecurity is complicated and calls for a multifaceted solution. Businesses must
make significant security investments, develop incident response policies and processes, and inform staff about cybersecurity threats.

In the era of multi-cloud adoption, the stakes have never been higher when it comes to managing
and aligning your cloud expenditures.

Embracing cloud services is a breeze, but mastering cloud spending can be problematic for
enterprises dedicated to extracting maximum value from their tech investments.
According to Gartner’s latest forecast, global spending on public cloud services is set to
skyrocket by 20.7% in 2023, reaching a staggering $591.8 billion. Meanwhile, Foundry’s Cloud
Computing Study for 2023 reveals that while reducing total cost of ownership ranks among the
top priorities for cloud computing initiatives, reigning in cloud costs is the ultimate hurdle that
can either accelerate or derail cloud adoption.

One of Excelien’s clients points out, “The cloud offers unparalleled potential for growth, but
costs can quickly spiral out of control.”

Navigating Uncharted Cloud Expenses

Worries about soaring cloud and distributed computing costs often leave organisations with two
crucial strategies for cost containment:

1. Optimise computing power to minimise expenses while achieving business goals.
2. Turn off cloud resources swiftly to save precious budgets.

Excelien experts say, “In the pursuit of speed and customer onboarding, cost efficiency can
sometimes take a backseat. Attempting to optimise costs after the fact, while simultaneously
managing operations and growth can become an uphill battle.”

Unleashing cost-efficiency and unleashing productivity hinges on the ability to meticulously
track cloud resource usage, workload execution, and the judicious deployment of available
CPUs.

These factors are central to the evolving realm of FinOps, a fusion of financial wisdom and
DevOps principles. According to the FinOps Foundation’s Technical Advisory Council, FinOps
empowers organisations to bring financial accountability to cloud spending by fostering collaboration among engineering, finance, tech, and business teams for data-driven spending
decisions.

With access to financial insights, organisations can make real-time decisions to optimise costs.
Engineers can now evaluate the financial implications of feature development and product
changes, aligning them with cost efficiency, just as they would fine-tune for performance or
uptime.

Bridging the Gap Between Cost and Performance

“To act upon cloud financial data effectively, it’s essential to attribute costs to the teams
responsible for spending. These teams are best positioned to leverage the cloud’s elasticity.” –
Excelien FinOps.

While all cloud providers offer some level of cost reporting, the complexity of managing
multiple cloud environments can make it challenging to consolidate and align cost and
performance insights across an enterprise. With advanced analytics, organisations can achieve
superior results in less time, extracting maximum value from their cloud investments.

Can you run analytics in the cloud? Absolutely. But will it deliver the performance you need?
For many, that’s the million-dollar question…”

Of course, we can help in all the above with a whole host of tools – Automated reports on where
cost savings are possible, management of payment methods to ensure you’re on the most cost-
effective instance possible, management of RIs to ensure you’re not overprovisioned, rightsizing
of containers.

Speak to Excelien, see how a 2-week PoC can deliver you a RoI report and show precisely what savings are possible.