Operating a successful organization requires industry professionals to focus their expertise in a fashion that drives profits and achieves goals. Investing time and energy into seemingly peripheral issues such as logistics and cybersecurity are not necessarily what makes thought leaders thrive. Yet, IT vulnerabilities open the door to hackers who can steal digital assets or take operational control over business networks.
“Today, we also have to be mindful to protect our business from the dangerous world of cyber-attacks. As a business owner or executive, there should be a multi-layered approach to prevention that includes strategies/solutions to keeping your business running to reduce the impact and probability of cyber-attacks,” Keith Marchiano VP of ICT Kyocera Intelligence Mid- Atlantic reportedly said.
Rather than expose sensitive data to potential theft or ransom, industry leaders may want to consider having a thorough systems review, analysis, and cybersecurity consultation. What experts have to say about enterprise-level cybersecurity may make you rethink your current defenses.
What Businesses Don’t Know About Cybersecurity Can Hurt Them
“Cybersecurity is not something which one size fits all. For any size business, it should be planned in such a way that they are the next target because hackers do not know whom they are attacking,” Duleep Pillai of Veltec Networks reportedly said. “They look for an entry point. And once they get in, they find out who it is and how they will be able to maximize from the entry they gained.”
Many business leaders commonly believe that their organization has been pre-targeted before a hack begins. But blanket efforts such as phishing schemes cast wide nets by sending out bulk emails. Only after a misstep occurs, such as downloading a tainted file or clicking on a malicious link, does the cybercriminal focus on a target. Too often, businesses believe they will not necessarily be the focus of a cyber-attack, to their detriment.
Experts Advocate for Developing a Cybersecurity Culture
The notion that cybersecurity measures are a response to critical threats tends to put organizations at increased risk. Business leaders would be wise to consider hackers along the lines of thugs. They want to turn the struggle over your digital assets into a street fight and blindside you with a first punch. It’s a lot harder to recover from that first blow than defend against getting hit. Experts strongly urge business leaders to take steps to create a cybersecurity culture that stands ready to defend your data.
“No cybersecurity tool is 100 percent effective against all threats. For example, if malicious emails can be detected and filtered in the Cloud, then firewall edge devices and AI security workstation/endpoint security tools are only necessary if an email threat escapes detection,” Centerpoint IT president Chris Chao reportedly said. “A proper cybersecurity mindset is focused on eliminating the majority of threats before they reach your critical systems and users.”
The Centerpoint IT cybersecurity expert also believes that layered approaches deliver determined defenses. His sentiments about such multi-pronged strategies echo through the industry.
Multi-Layered Cybersecurity Strategies Deter Hackers
It’s essential for decision-makers to understand that cybercriminals are in the business of penetrating your system defenses. Many are not necessarily unhinged sociopaths typing code in dark rooms. While their moral compass points in the wrong direction, they often value time and effort. Layering defenses can change the perception that your outfit is nothing more than low-hanging digital fruit ready to be plucked. According to OnPar Technologies CEO Jeremy McParlan, these are four ways to harden your defenses.
- Securing all user accounts by requiring strong unique passwords and enabling Multi-Factor authentication
- Ensuring that all software is kept up to date, patched and protected with a quality anti-virus solution to combat threats
- Keeping data safe by implementing an automated and encrypted backup system for business data
- Ongoing security management to quickly detect and respond in the event of a security incident such as a data breach
Ian Brady of Steadfast Solutions advocates for a layered approach that includes “identity and access management review of all platforms,” as well as “DNS Based Web Filtration” that “provides the enhanced protection to a computer without the firewall they traditionally have in the office.”
Joe Cannata of Techsperts, LLC concurs with McParlan and Brady that the “best cybersecurity strategy for small business is a multi-layer approach.” Along with firewall and virus protection, Cannata points out that high emphasis should be placed on email deterrents. That’s largely because email phishing has emerged as a top malicious delivery system.
“Email security is arguably the most important layer of security these days. Email security will scan all emails sent and received for threats such as ransomware, phishing, and other malicious items,” the Techsperts CEO reportedly said. “The combination of these three layers, when applied properly, should be the baseline for most small businesses.”
Hackers have made phishing schemes that leverage email and other electronic messaging tools a weapon of choice because employees too often lack cybersecurity and awareness training.
Cybersecurity Only As Strong As Its Weakest Link
“Security always needs to address the weakest link in any organization: the staff,” Carl Fransen of CTECH Consulting Group reportedly said. “Staff need to be trained on how to properly use the company’s systems, how to identify potential threats, and have a working knowledge of the proper security procedures.”
Along with training and providing actionable intelligence about emerging threats, experts roundly support layered employee login security. Fransen points out that forward-thinking organizations have moved away from on-premises servers and embraced the Cloud. That proactive shift also calls for layered employee login security measures such as “identity management, threat analytics, document protection, and multi-factor authentication,” among others.
Perhaps Infiniwiz co-founder Alek Pirkhalo best highlights the fact that organizations have unique cybersecurity needs and no single strategy works from everyone.
“If this is healthcare or financial industry, I would also make it mandatory to encrypt all devices to improve the security of data, implement threat monitoring SOC/SIEM appliance to improve chances of detection of infections like ransomware, and dark web monitoring in case credentials get stolen,” Pirkhalo reportedly said.
Only after a thorough review of your defenses and a cybersecurity consultation will you know whether your digital assets are secure.
