Just last year, the popular Q&A site Quora suffered a data breach, as reported by Techworld in their article on UK’s most infamous data breaches. This just goes to show that even the best of businesses are finding it a challenge to secure their data and vital business information in this age of digital advancements.
IT security is, no doubt, an overwhelming, daunting, and expensive task. With cybercriminals getting more advanced and sophisticated, organizations are struggling to find security solutions that will effectively counter them.
Cybersecurity is Big Business
With bigger security challenges come a greater need for security solutions and bigger budget allocations towards cybersecurity. Over $1 trillion is estimated to be spent by organizations, solely on cybersecurity, by 2021. However, over $6 trillion is expected to be lost during this period – due to cybercrimes! That’s exactly why software developers around the world are scrambling to make the ideal IT security software that would be the cure-all for this unfair battle between businesses and cybercriminals.
IT security is faced a number of challenges but they can be broadly classified into two kinds. The first is to know how to prevent costly and embarrassing breaches that can cripple a company’s earnings and bring down its reputation. The second is to know how to allow legitimate sharing of data, both from external and internal systems, which is critical to power intelligent products and services.
How Technology Can Simplify IT Security
As complicated as IT security may seem, technology has found a way to make it simpler and easier to manage. Here are some tips to simplify IT security with technology:
Security Essentials
The most common struggle for organizations when it comes to protecting mobile devices, data in the public cloud, and user behavior, is in identifying threats that mimic the actions and behavior of normal network traffic. It is recommended, therefore, for every organization to begin with these network security essentials:
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- Firewalls: Next-generation firewalls that are threat-focused combine monitoring software options with advanced malware protection and next-gen IPS to prevent incoming threats as well as restrict those that have already breached the system’s defenses.
- VPN: This technological solution empowers employees to work anywhere without having to worry about data invasion, helping keep the company data protected and safe.
- Endpoints: These malware protection solutions detect, respond, and prevent advanced threats from today’s advanced and sophisticated cybercriminals.
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Cloud- and Web-security Systems
Cloud- and web-security systems are considered the first line of defense from threats coming through the internet. Cyberattacks in the form of malicious web content have been on the rise and, according to experts, is expected to become more rampant. Fortunately, there are tools for such cybersecurity threats:
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- Web Security Software: These are designed to block harmful sites and test potentially harmful unknown sites before allowing end-users to access them.
- Secure Internet Gateways: Deployable in a matter of minutes, secure internet gateways act as the first line of defense against harmful threats on the internet.
- CASB: Cloud Access Security Brokers assist customers to protect their apps, data, and users on the cloud.
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Visibility and Policy
When industrial control systems are breached, companies find out too late that their visibility and policy protocols are lacking, making their servers and other computing resources vulnerable to threats. To avoid these kinds of issues, it is highly recommended that companies review their systems and update any patches as soon as they are available. It is also extremely important to review the vendors they decide to work with.
The implementation of strict policies on the use of ICS is also suggested. Enterprises are now shifting their priority to policies and visibility to know who is on the network and what they are doing.
As organizations change to digital businesses and begin to embrace new practices and technologies, there is a greater need for them to increase visibility in order to maintain security. Fortunately, technology now offers visibility solutions that can outsmart emerging threats through the use of machine learning and behavioral modeling.
Email Security
When it comes to email security, most businesses use security software that constantly filter spam and the occasional malicious email. But with the sophistication being displayed by cybercriminals, social engineering techniques like phishing, corrupt attachments, and malicious links are still making their way to inboxes. The key is to have a multi-layer approach towards security since this will keep attackers out of our inboxes and put a stop to business email compromise, phishing, ransomware, and other common email attack vectors.
Protect Your Data to Protect Your Business
The lack of focus on the IT security of your business can be greatly damaging. Not only are we talking of direct economic cost, but reputational damage that can cost your business. All businesses need to make sure that everyone in the company is aware of the latest cyber threats and knows how to protect company data. There is no better time to prioritize cybersecurity than Now.
To know more about how to implement data security that prevents cyberattacks, get in touch with us now.
