Your All-In-One Guide to Improving Your Security Posture
Introduction
Cybersecurity is a top priority for businesses across the world.
Executives want to ensure that they’re taking the proper steps
to protect their data and their customers’ data while staying out
of the weekly data breach headlines.
After all, the last thing they want is to end up like Equifax, who
leaked the information of 143 million Americans. Or Target,
which let slip the information of nearly 70 million customers.
In truth, it’s essential for everyone, at every level, to understand
at least the basics of cybersecurity. Most importantly, the
general knowledge of it and how to mitigate daily risk factors.
On a higher level, your entire organization must be protected,
and all team members must work together towards a united
goal of a well-protected enterprise organization.
After all, even a single data breach can devastate a company. The average total cost
of a data breach in the US was estimated by IBM to exceed eight million dollars, and
that’s a bill most companies simply can’t foot.
Developing a proper security framework is essential to ensure you have adequate
protection to the parts of your business that are most essential to you and your
clients’ functioning.
Below are 3 important aspects of cybersecurity preparedness.
1. Risk Assessment from an Outside Perspective
Perspective really is everything in cybersecurity. You won’t have the best protection to
the threat landscape if you can’t put yourself in the hacker’s shoes. Have your IT team
identify risks from a hacker’s perspective. Developing a working strategy to prevent
cyberattacks means looking for loopholes and weak spots that you wouldn’t normally
consider outright threats.
Remember, this isn’t something your average IT person can do. If necessary, you’ll
want to hire a team of security experts to do the heavy lifting for you. Security
experts live this world and have access to numerous environments to build
their experience.
“Cybercrime damage costs to hit
$6 trillion annually by 2021.”
– Cybersecurity Ventures
A talented security expert will be able to identify openings or shortcomings in your
current security and direct the best way to close any gaps. They can also assist with
creating a plan for what happens should a breach occur.
By identifying each risk, making a plan and properly training those responsible, you
strengthen your security posture.
This step helps to transform your security from reactive to proactive, reducing the
overall risk you have while also strengthening your response to a breach.
2. Security Architecture
Once you’ve developed a security framework and completed an environmental
assessment, you’ll need to determine how your security architecture stacks up. Most
organizations have perimeter security products. That includes things like intrusion
prevention systems, email and web security products, endpoint protection services,
VPN security clients, cloud security, and much more.
These are all foundational, but they’re not enough to create a holistic
security protocol.
Once you have the right solutions in place to meet the goals of your security
framework, you’ll need to focus your shift to tools that provide real-time insights into
what’s happening. After all, monitoring, analytics, and automation are all important
parts of the overall security architecture.
All of this can become overwhelming, but partnering with security experts can help
you develop a strong roadmap to keep you and your customers safe.
3. Educate Every Team Member
We briefly mentioned employee education earlier. But what does that actually entail?
Here are the top security issues employees should be kept abreast of:
Hacking
This type of cybercrime can cause huge financial damage to any company. In simple
terms, hacking is when someone is able to access information without permission.
This is done directly or remotely.
In most enterprise-level cases, hackers target unsecured website accounts and
passwords to get access. Once they access your accounts, they can get their hands
on your data. A hacker can then manipulate your data – either they’ll destroy it, sell it,
or hold it for ransom.
“For the fourth consecutive year, ‘123456’ and
‘password’ topped the list of leaked passwords.”
– TechRepublic
Identity Theft
Some hackers work on targeting specific people so that they can steal important
data. If not protected, your team members may be unknowingly giving those
hackers access.
In a practice known as “spoofing”, malicious actors disguise their communications to
look similar to legitimate sources.
For example, spoofers may take the form of your boss sending you an email asking
you to send personal information, such as a social security number or credit
card details.
With this vital information, the scammer can further their ploy and use a victim’s
identity to make purchases.
But identify theft causes more than financial damage there’s also emotional stress to consider, too.
The solution is minimizing spoofing attacks is to have 24/7 network monitoring and
an active email filter to block these fictitious emails.
Still, the absolute best course of action is to train employees to recognize these false
emails, usually denoted by their odd tone or incorrect spelling.
Malware
Malware is software that exists explicitly to harm or steal your information. In
short, they’re computer programs developed for the sole purpose of corrupting and
damaging other computer systems.
Malware is tricky to spot, as it often comes as an add-on to legitimate programs. But
what’s worse than one infected computer? Multiple infected computers.
Malware can spread throughout the network and become a nuisance to deal with. To
fight it, you’ll need to use robust antivirus programs and training that helps people
understand how to avoid risky websites and fishy links.
The Evolving Threat Landscape
Of course, with more advanced technology come more sophisticated cyberattacks.
We’re now seeing the possibility of AI/Machine Learning (ML) software used
by hackers.
In order to safeguard against these more sophisticated attacks, you must also use
better technology to guard your critical assets.
“73% of firms fail cybersecurity
readiness tests.”
– Hiscox
As the cyber threats evolve, take a proactive stance. We recommend having dedicated
cybersecurity resources at your disposal. Look for trusted, experienced personnel you
can count on to manage every aspect of your cybersecurity.
This way, you know for a fact that your organization is in good hands.
The Right Approach for the Right Outcome
Naturally, all of the above are huge challenges. With planning and a methodical
approach to address these challenges, you put yourself in a much better position for
success. It’s never too late to bolster your security measures, and there’s no better
time than today to get started.
Aavex Technology Corporation. We design, deliver and operate
our security services and solutions with care. A few of our
services include:
• Assessments and road mapping
• Vulnerability scans and penetration testing
• Solution design and implementation
• 24/7/365 Managed Services
• Real people – local – ready to help!
With our team of highly certified professionals, you’ll have all the
support you need at all hours of the day.
Call us today to find out how you can be secure in every aspect of
your organization.
