12-27-21 | Blog Post
Cyberattacks are common place these days with an ever-expanding Internet of things. It is important to be aware of the potential for attack and to be prepared in the event that an attack on your systems or data does occur. The biggest trend in cybersecurity right now is that IT professionals and leaders are losing control of their technologies. Cybersecurity needs to be at the forefront of any businesses mind today, and oftentimes it is not and attacks occur. Let’s take a look at the constantly evolving threat of cyber attack and look at some ways that you can secure yourself.
Many people falsely assume that cloud computing is less secure than traditional methods of computing. This could not be further from the truth! First, where your data is stored means very little if there is a means to access it. People assume that since they have their servers on site they are more secure than if they were stored in a cloud, but what a lot of people fail to realize is that people who build cloud computing systems tend to have more of a focus on security and governance than people who build traditional enterprise systems that will sit behind a firewall. If you do not take the rigorous steps necessary to make security a priority when you build your system it does not matter if you are on the cloud or have a traditional set-up, you are just as vulnerable.
The future of computing is in the cloud. Back in 2010 the federal government of the United States of America embraced cloud and mobile technologies with its “cloud-first” policy. That was nearly ten years ago now, and more and more systems are moving to cloud-based networks because it is better technology. Security is your responsibility. You need to take the steps to ensure your safety, and newer cloud technology makes it easier than ever before to stay safe and respond to incoming attacks.
There are a lot of different ways that a cyber attacker could potentially launch an attack against you. With a constantly evolving Internet, more and more devices being linked to the Internet, and a class of cyber attackers that is getting more intelligent all the time, stopping every attack is not very realistic. The good news is that you don’t have to stop them. In fact, it is better to have a fast-response prevention strategy instead. This way you are able to learn how an attack started and where it got in. Quick prevention allows you to evolve your defenses along with the evolution of the attack itself. A lot of security teams focus too much on total prevention instead of spending more time responding to real-time attacks. In a lot of cases they don’t even realize they are being attacked right away. A responsive defensive plan aims to know the second an attack starts, which is something that a preventative defense cannot do. It is important to have both strategies employed in your defensive plans, but it is time to put more resources and energy into response instead of prevention.
To highlight the importance of cybersecurity in a constantly evolving world of sophisticated cyber attacks one only need to look as far as the recent WannaCRY ransomware attacks. These attacks affected over 300,000 people around the globe. It got into people’s computers by exploiting a gap in Microsoft Windows operating system. It then locked people’s computers and information and demanded a ransom in untraceable Bitcoins for their return. These attacks also affected the UK’s NHS, Fedex, and many other large-scale organizations as well as regular people.
Cybersecurity has never been more important than it is today. In such a volatile and quickly evolving area of business, businesses are building out their security teams and processes more than ever before. Your business is worth protecting; make sure you’re prepared with the most up-to-date security and best practices.
