Here’s the bad news upfront: In 2022 you or your business will be the target of a cyber attack. Whether or not the cyber attack will succeed depends on your level of cybersecurity and how prepared you are to minimize the effects of the intrusion.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You can prevent tons of troubles if you think seriously about what you can do to prepare for and, with luck, prevent—or at least minimize -the damage caused by a cyber attack. That damage extends exponentially to your business in terms of ruined finances, diminished reputation, breaches of contract, and legal consequences—fines, etc.
Luck, as another saying goes, is where preparation meets opportunity. If your preparation includes a robust data backup (and backups of the backup) and a disaster recovery plan that has been tested and supported by senior management you are prepared to cope with and recover from a cyber attack.
Consider these 4 main points in your preparations:
- Prioritize cybersecurity in business decisions
- Do vulnerability scanning and follow-up routinely
- Add Endpoint Protection & the Zero-Trust Model
- Find and retain cybersecurity talent (at Grapevine MSP)
Make cybersecurity a part of your business decisions
Business decisions should take into consideration threats to the business. The biggest threat, according to the World Economic Forum, is that the costs related to cyber attacks “could rise to $6 trillion by 2022.” The eclectic list of companies already victimized by cyber attacks and breached “reads like a who’s who of the retail, tech, telecom, manufacturing and financial services industries.”
Considering the enormous losses in brand reputation, disruption to company operations and finances, cybersecurity has become a fiduciary responsibility of the board and senior management. However, according to the WEF, “in many organizations, top executives and board members still believe that cybersecurity is only an IT issue.”
On the contrary, cybersecurity and IT disaster recovery are important elements of business continuity planning, another leadership responsibility. Business continuity plans must be tested and exercised regularly and include top management support and participation.
So, prioritizing cybersecurity in decisions affecting the survival of the business elevates it as a business function into the board room and filters down to managers. That, in turn, incorporates cybersecurity as an integral part of business decisions.
Vulnerability scanning and routine follow-ups
Vulnerability scanning is a process that uncovers security weaknesses and system flaws in both your business systems and the software that runs on those systems to help avoid cyber attacks. Vulnerability scans:
- are automated (software-driven) and high-level and look for potential security vulnerabilities.
- can be launched manually or on a scheduled automated basis
- should be augmented with live penetration testing to dig deeper and identify root causes of detected vulnerabilities.
Endpoint Protection & Zero-Trust help seal your boundaries
Endpoint Protection: Blocks unauthorized devices from network access
Endpoint security “is a client-server information (IS) methodology for protecting a corporate network….” Endpoint security focuses “on network devices (endpoints) by monitoring their status, activities, software, authorization, and authentication.”
Endpoint security systems scan and protect the devices accessing the system and go far beyond traditional antivirus software. They provide comprehensive protection from sophisticated malware and evolving threats that arise before weaknesses can be patched.
Zero-Trust Policy: Trust only after verifying
A Zero Trust policy ensures “that every user is authenticated, authorized, and constantly validated…before they are given access to applications and data whether they are connected to the network or not.”
For example, when a new employee joins your organization, that employee is not automatically authorized to access everything on the network. A Zero-Trust configuration establishes specific permissions and access levels with management approval. Those permissions and levels are the minimum required for the employee to carry out his or her job responsibilities.
Find and retain cybersecurity talent
Your resource for Bakersfield cybersecurity talent is Grapevine MSP, California’s Central Valley’s leading IT service for security-minded and forward-thinking businesses. If compliance, remote working, or cloud security concerns are stunting your business’s growth and recovery from the pandemic, we have the Microsoft 365 cloud tools that can revitalize your team with the productivity and security you need to help keep you safe from cyber attacks.
Contact us at 661-369-8427 or send us a message online. Let’s put technology back in your driver’s seat so that your business can compete, grow, and stay safe from cybercriminals.