In the modern age, commerce is becoming more and more digital all the time, so in order to achieve meaningful success, your business needs to leverage the power of the Internet to its advantage. All well and good, but with cybercrime becoming more widespread and hackers continuously working to devise new methods of attacking organizations, there is a very real degree of risk associated with being online.
To maintain a sustained level of growth over a meaningful timescale, you need to take measures to ensure the longevity of your organization. That means adopting a proactive outlook on cybersecurity so that you can stay one step ahead of would-be attackers and protect your vital digital resources. Here, we’ll explain exactly how you can do this by outlining 5 key ways to strengthen the cybersecurity of your business.
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Employee Training
Given that human error is the primary factor in the majority of cyber incidents, it makes sense to begin with employee training. Staff should be educated on common cyber threats and attack techniques, such as phishing and social engineering, so that they know what to look out for ahead of time. Additionally, they should be given guidance on password management and encouraged to stay up to date on the latest cybersecurity trends in order to be aware of emerging threats.
Furthermore, it’s worth establishing a clear framework for the reporting of perceived or identified threats so your threat-conscious workforce can act as extra eyes and ears for your security teams. By establishing a culture of cybersecurity awareness and vigilance in this way, you can ensure that your organization is working to defend itself against threats at the micro level.
Comprehensive Endpoint Protection
At modern digital businesses, there are all manner of endpoint devices in use at any given time. This can include PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and more, all of which represent attractive targets for hackers in search of viable attack vectors. All of these devices add significantly to your total attack surface, so it makes sense to employ a robust endpoint protection solution to protect them.
An Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tool can help you to do this. Using an EDR tool will allow you to closely monitor your endpoints and gather data to help identify threats and potential threat patterns early on. Moreover, these platforms will notify your relevant cybersecurity personnel in real-time upon detecting a threat, giving them the option to contain or remove it. By using a comprehensive endpoint, you can ensure that your endpoints are fortified at all times to significantly reduce your organization’s exploitable attack surface.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Cyber threats are growing more sophisticated all the time, so it’s no longer wise to rely solely on passwords for authentication on your network. Rather, you need to implement Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) technology, such as that of Google Authenticator, for example. This can add greater complexity to the process involved in accessing your systems.
Multi-factor authentication requires users to identify themselves in multiple ways before they’re granted access. This could be a one-time code sent to a mobile device, for example, but there is a wealth of other authentication options, including email, biometrics, and more. By adding this extra layer of authentication, you can add extra barriers to access all of your critical systems to ensure that gaining access to a password is never enough for hackers to breach your defenses.
Encryption and Backups
Another critical aspect of proactive cybersecurity is enhancing resilience. To that end, it’s advisable to utilize data encryption and backups where possible.
By leveraging encryption technology, you can render your sensitive data indecipherable to third parties, thereby protecting it against hackers who may contrive to intercept data packets in transit and exploit them. In addition, creating secure data backups can prepare you for the possibility of data loss or, worse still, a ransomware attack. Having secure backups will ensure that you are never beholden to the demands of cybercriminals because lost or compromised files can always be swiftly recovered if a data breach occurs.
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)
Last, but by no means least, is CTEM. This is an approach to cybersecurity that emphasizes front-foot cyber defense at all times. It involves a continuous cyclical process whereby your organization assesses its security controls, and then identifies and remediates vulnerabilities, before proceeding to validate security measures once more. This process typically involves the use of a continuous threat exposure management platform, such as that offered by industry leader Pentera.
Using a CTEM platform can enable you to automate the process of assessing your security measures. This means your organization can carry out red teaming and penetration testing exercises continuously, rather than intermittently, to ensure maximum coverage and the early identification of security vulnerabilities. Moreover, scheduled assessments utilize the tactics, techniques, and procedures of real attackers to ensure that your defenses are prepared for the threats they’re most likely to face.
By embracing CTEM, your organization can act pre-emptively in patching out vulnerabilities, ensuring that potential attacks are thwarted before they can even begin.
Final Thoughts
To succeed in the contemporary marketplace, your business needs to leverage the power of digital channels, but that can put your organization at risk of falling victim to emerging cyber threats. To ensure this doesn’t happen, your best bet is to engage in proactive cybersecurity. By employing the techniques and technologies above at your organization, your organization can stay one step ahead of potential attackers, allowing you to focus on driving your enterprise to new heights.