Cyber security is an ever-present, global issue that has the potential to impact any organization. The landscape for cyber threats changes constantly and it is important for all organizations to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in order to protect themselves against new risks. The Free Opinion IST will explore how organizations can take appropriate measures to protect themselves from these risks by examining recent trends in cyber security.
The main topics will include the following:
- The Cyber Threat Landscape,
- The Roles of Data and Infrastructure in Safeguarding Against Attacks,
- The Protection of Critical Infrastructure Sectors such as Energy and Transportation.
The Cyber Threat Landscape:
The cyber threat landscape is a constantly shifting and changing environment. While many people understand this concept, they may not be able to adequately protect themselves from the dangers that lurk within it. This blog post will provide some information on how organizations can better protect their data. By understanding the key points about these threats including who the attackers are, what they want, and why they target business entities specifically.
Primary reason
Businesses should be aware that cyber criminals are not just interested in stealing data for financial gain; they also want to use your business’s own systems against you. This means that an organization could end up having their website used as part of a phishing attack or hosting malware on their servers without even knowing it. These types of attacks can cause irreparable harm and send customers fleeing. So organizations need to take all necessary precautions to protect themselves accordingly. That is why you should invest in the best network security design to determine and counter possible attacks.
It is important . Because businesses do not properly sensitive customer information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers. It could lead to a serious financial loss. The primary reason for this is because cyber criminals are constantly finding new ways to exploit their victims’ vulnerabilities by making use of malware and phishing schemes.
Example
One example of how attackers can breach an organization easily through phishing scams is if they were able gain access to the company email system. Most people think that having strong passwords eliminates any sort of risk associated with using it. But unfortunately, hackers have become very skilled at breaking into even the most secured accounts due in part. Because many employees choose weak passwords without understanding the importance behind it.
The main thing about these types of attacks is that once someone has gained access to your account credentials. There isn’t much you can do to stop them from compromising your business’s servers before you realize anything has happened. The primary reason for this is because hackers are constantly looking for vulnerabilities that they can exploit in order to gain access into the system. This means it does not matter how much security software or firewalls an organization puts up if employees fall victim to their own carelessness.
Limiting employee exposure on social media sites
A great way businesses can protect themselves against these types of weaknesses is by limiting employee exposure on social media sites. Especially LinkedIn since so many attackers use this as a tool for stealing information. Every year millions of dollars are lost due to cyber criminals using phishing scams and malware attacks mainly targeting small-medium sized organizations across all industries who typically lack the necessary needed to defend themselves adequately according to data collected by The Global State of Information Security Survey.
That is why it is extremely important to take appropriate steps in order to prevent these types of attacks from happening. Because otherwise, organizations will end up losing business and possibly damage their reputation due to not taking the necessary precautions needed when protecting themselves against cyber criminals.
Recent trends
Recent trends in cyber security have seen hackers, cyber criminals and even state actors turn to more ingenious means of infiltration. The most common method in recent years has been through targeted phishing attacks which see the victim’s credentials extracted by way of a seemingly innocuous email or document attachment with malware embedded within it. The increasing sophistication in these types of attack is only one facet of the ever-expanding cyber threat landscape however.
State sponsored attacks
The proliferation of organized cyber crime syndicates, state sponsored attacks. Even the use of botnets to take down large swathes of a network all pose serious threats that companies must be prepared for. The real question is just how can organizations protect themselves against these ever-emerging types? The answer is to not only embrace the latest security technologies. But to adopt a systemic approach that looks at all aspects of cyber risk. The implications of this are vast and range from securing network devices, preventing malware infiltration, building digital supply chains with stringent security protocols in place. As well as implementing data analytics capabilities for better visibility across an organization’s overall attack surface.
Understanding the motivations behind attacks
The key point behind this holistic strategy involves understanding the motivations behind attacks so organizations can implement appropriate controls. It will mitigate or even eliminate any potential threats before they have a chance to take hold. The responsibility ultimately falls on companies themselves who must be able to react quickly should problems arise by having effective incident response strategies in place. Along with clearly defined policies covering how staff members should act when faced with these types of events. The flip side of the coin is that organizations must also make sure their employees are educated on spotting these types of threats before they can cause any real damage. This means having regular training sessions and security awareness campaigns in place to assist with this particular aspect.
How does an organization identify vulnerabilities?
The first step towards building a comprehensive cyber risk management strategy involves identifying potential weaknesses within the business’s existing infrastructure. Particularly when it comes to third-party components such as servers and browsers along with telecommunications systems like switches and routers among others since hackers will always look for entry points into your system where they know no one else has done so already making them prime targets for attack. The best way to spot anything unusual going on would be by implementing network monitoring tools. It can monitor traffic across the network and pick up anomalies in real time. The ability to collect data from these devices is crucial for not only spotting suspicious activity. But also being able to correlate it with other events taking place on a company’s IT infrastructure at any given moment.
