In this heavily digital world, security threats are a fact of life for every business. Truth be told, few industries are excluded from the need to protect their data. Most organizations have some basic cybersecurity tools installed, but this barely covers the operating system and local files.
It’s time for all businesses to take an honest assessment of their current level of vulnerability and consider a holistic approach to cybersecurity.
The Right Security Tools
As mentioned earlier, basic cybersecurity tools are largely inadequate for the majority of businesses. Depending on the amount of operations-critical and customer-sensitive data stored, there could be a massive oversight in the level of cyber protection in place. Even using more robust security tools with big promises leave little oversight and a big chance for security breaches.
Most attacks come from hacks that are fully aware of the tools and leverage any vulnerability possible – even down to human factors. If people are accessing protected data, or if people are responsible for maintaining updated security software, there is a vulnerability. Hackers will use the weakest link as the quickest way to a full data breach.
Cybersecurity professionals can audit an organization’s current security tools and determine how well they match with baseline security practices. Better yet, dedicated security teams should be in place to continue to monitor and update these systems and continue to assess cyber threats.
The Right Security Team
A holistic cybersecurity approach goes beyond the tools. Investing in the people resources to have ownership of the organization’s cybersecurity program is a great step in the right direction. These security professionals should be certified in the skills and technology your company requires to effectively address cybersecurity. They understand the threat landscape of your specific industry, the type of data you store, and potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities your company may have.
While this is an all but mandatory role to have in place at any company, oftentimes small and medium sized businesses lack dedicated security teams or proper cybersecurity training for their IT staff. Organizations facing this challenge should put a high priority on partnering with a qualified cybersecurity company that can audit, monitor, and respond to your specific needs.
The Right Security Training
Every company is made up of people with all levels of experience and knowledge when it comes to technology and cybersecurity. A holistic cybersecurity approach considers people a great asset, but they can also become insider threats without proper training. Small and medium organizizations become targets for ransomware threats and phishing attacks due to lack of essential training on how to handle sensitive information.
Not every staff member can become an expert in cybersecurity. However, basic education on what can cause a data breach, how easy a cybersecurity attack can happen, and best practices on password choice, user permissions, security updates to technology tools, and identifying phishing emails are all great topics to cover. A standard company policy on security process and protocols is also helpful to have updated and reviewed regularly.
The Right Recovery Plan
In this digital age, many experts are of the opinion that the conversation should not be about if you fall victim to cybersecurity attacks, but what to do when it happens. A plan for data breaches should be in place long before it happens. This includes a cybersecurity strategy for correcting the incident, retstore data, and understanding how to get back on line as quickly as possible.
Another angle of a holistic cybersecurity approach is to identify the root cause once the disaster recovery plan has been executed. Often times there are plans to prevent, detect, and correct cybersecurity attacks. What’s missing is identifying what caused a specific incidence to occur, then adapting your strategy to prevent that from happening again.
A Holistic Cybersecurity Plan Provides Complete Protection
When looking for your cybersecurity partner, make sure you consider everything above to establish a holistic approach to your information security. Having one or two areas covered leaves your organization vulnerable to major data theft that could have devastating consequences. Connect with our team of specialists today to learn more about how we can develop a custom solution to protect your organization.