“As cybersecurity leaders, we have to create our message of influence because security is a culture and you need business to take place and be a part of that security culture.”-Britney Hommertzheim
Cybersecurity has become a matter of global concern because of the increasing rate of cybercrimes. Any successful cyber breach has the potential to crumble an entire business and damage its reputation.
Here is a look at some alarming stats about cybercrimes:
It is because of these trends that there is a high demand to find cybersecurity solutions to tackle cybercrime.
Cybersecurity can be defined as a body of technologies, processes, and practices designed for the protection of devices, networks, systems, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access.
The objective of cyber security is to provide systems, networks, data, etc. defense against cyber-attack.
Cyber-attacks have become rampant in modern times. Hackers are finding new and ingenious methods of attacking. The purpose of the attack is no longer for just financial gains but has become more complex. Therefore, a business needs to have an approach where the people, processes, and technology work in unison towards cybersecurity. Only then it will be possible to have multilayered protection spread across computers, networks, data, programs, etc.
Let us see how the different entities in an organization can contribute to a secure system:
People:
The people in the organization should understand the importance of using cryptic passwords. They should also make sure that they change their passwords frequently.
They should be cautious of the attachments in emails. They should back-up their data regularly.
Processes:
An organization should have a framework that establishes how they deal with both attempted and successful attacks. The framework should enable the organization to identify attacks, protect systems, detect and respond to threats, and how to recover in case of an attack.
Technology
Technology provides organizations the essential cybersecurity tools. Common technologies used for protecting computers, smart devices, routers, networks, and the cloud are firewalls, DNS filtering, malware protection, antivirus software, and email security solutions.
With the increasing rate of cyber crime, businesses must protect themselves with cyber security solutions.
Perimeter security serves as a barrier between the internet and your network. It guards access to vital data, applications, and services. Examples of perimeter security are firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, spam protection, etc.
It safeguards individuals’ devices and computers from malware that has infiltrated your local network. Strategies used for intranet security are updating and patching software and anti-malware software.
Data reveals that not all cyber-attacks are from external hackers. Security breaches are also a consequence of human actions such as weak passwords, answering spam emails, connecting to insecure networks, etc. Therefore, the employees in the organization should be trained to follow cybersecurity measures. Security testing should be carried out to ensure that the employees have learned and are adopting cybersecurity measures.
Cybersecurity software protects your data and apps using encryption and enables you to plan for disaster recovery by early assessment of the risk and development of a strategy to overcome it.
Some of the best cyber security solutions in 2019 are:
The cyber threat landscape is changing fast with the emergence of new technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things) and increased volumes of data that are stored in desktops, mobiles, etc. Cyber threats that are predominant currently are trojans, phishing, botnets, etc. Sources of cyber threats could be foreign countries or nation, state or national governments. And, it is the cyber threats by the organized sector that poses the greatest information security threat to enterprises. Therefore, cyber threat intelligence is required to get visibility into advanced threats targeting enterprises and infrastructure.
Although most cyber crimes are caused by hackers outside the organization, a good proportion of breaches are caused due to carelessness of employees or malicious insiders. Besides businesses have an IT infrastructure that is a mix of legacy systems, new applications, and public and private cloud. These aspects also make the business vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Therefore, businesses today require an enterprise cybersecurity system.
An enterprise cyber security system protects the on-premise cloud-based infrastructure and vets, third-party providers, besides securing the growing number of end-point connections to your system through IoT (Internet of Things).
Some of the cybersecurity tools being used to restrict cyber crimes are:
It is one of the most effective tools used against cyber-attacks. It is an AI-based self-learning and self-evolving system.
The IBM QRadar tracks the section. It then collects the data and links online, offline, and within the system with the code. It formulates a strategy to encompass it. When a threat occurs, it kills the threat. Hence, effectively it is a proactive tool that eliminates the section even before the threat occurs.
It is a cybersecurity tool that is used to assess the vulnerable sections of the network on which the user is working. The Wireshark can view the incoming and outgoing data packets and protocols used in transmission. It helps in tracking the network by creating an offline sheet based on real-time data.
Currently, it is one of the best tools to tackle ransomware and malware attacks. It detects the bots encrypting the files and deletes them, thereby securing the system. It also isolates the workstation and the affected areas so that ransomware does not affect more areas.
It is an open-source utility for network security. It is well-suited for both small and large networks. N Map recognizes host and receiver on the network. It also runs on all the distributions of the operating system. It can scan a large number of machines on a network in a second.
It is a web scanning algorithm tool for scanning web-based applications. This tool can check and penetrate a compromised system. It checks different surfaces that might be affected due to an attack. It also checks the sender and the destination’s request and response to the threat. In case any threat is detected, it can be quarantined or eliminated.
Various companies provide comprehensive cyber security services to businesses. These cybersecurity services help businesses to assess, build and manage their cyber security capabilities. They equip businesses to respond to incidents and threats. These services offer several benefits to an organization.
Having a reliable cybersecurity system protects the business. Employees can easily surf the internet as and when they want without the risk of threat. This leads to better productivity.
Personal information of employees and customers is at a risk in case of a cyber-attack. If a business has a reliable cyber security system, the personal data of employees and customers is not compromised. Employees are more comfortable working in such a safe environment, and it raises the confidence your customers have in you.
A virus in the system can slow down the system drastically impacting the productivity of the organization. Having a secure system ensures that there are no viruses, safeguarding the productivity.
Adware is a computer virus that fills your system with advertisements. These advertisements affect your productivity and they can also other viruses to enter your system if you click on them.
Spyware is when your system is infected such that all your computer actions are spied upon and relayed to the hacker.
A cyber security system protects your systems from these types of attacks.
The Bottomline
Organizations are becoming vulnerable to cyber threats because of their reliance on computers, networks, programs, data, and social media. Global connectivity and increased use of cloud services with poor default security have increased the cybersecurity risk.
It is now the responsibility of each organization to take the required cybersecurity measures to secure themselves from cyber crime.