Top Techniques for Cybersecurity Mitigation in an Organization

With the adoption of internet solutions, hacks have become more prevalent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, because of the increased number of remote workers, cybersecurity breaches increased by four times the previous rate in 2019.

Due to an increase in the number of home devices being used to access online workplaces, it has become simpler to breach an organization’s network. Hackers have improved their malicious techniques for penetrating networks. Whether you work at an auditing company, a marketing agency, or a website that gives a professional Quotex broker review, you’re not safe from hackers.

Firms have begun to implement IoT devices to boost employee productivity. Nevertheless, IoT is a relatively new and unexplored technology. This translates to IoT devices being hacked more easily than conventional tech devices.

There’s also the issue of increased ransomware attacks on computers. Since 2020, this form of cyber-attack has affected more devices since cybercriminals can get away with cryptocurrency ransoms and not get discovered. Even cloud services aren’t entirely safe. Cyber-attackers are starting to breach cloud services by attempting to blend with legitimate ones.

Financial Consequences of a Cyber-Attack

The financial consequences of a cybersecurity attack vary between companies. For a firm implementing cybersecurity mitigation measures, the cost is highly reduced.

The Ponemon Institute released research stating that the median cost of a cybersecurity breach on a business is $5 million. However, when all factors are considered, the average cost of a hack is higher. For one, there’s the loss of consumer trust in the business. This could lead to a drop in earnings, especially if sensitive customer data gets lost.

• Loss of Data

2021 saw at least 3 billion records reported as getting lost in cybersecurity breaches. The cost of this data loss is usually divided into data recovery and financial penalties for the organization.

• Loss of Business Reputation

A cybersecurity hack typically leads to a loss of business reputation in the eyes of potential investors and existing customers. For more prominent companies, it can be argued that the financial consequences are worse because the losses run into millions of dollars. For small and medium-sized businesses, the company might crumble because of negative media.

• Operational Loss

A frequent technique used by hackers is the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. This type of attack prevents visitors from accessing your website. In this case, you experience operational losses because new customers will tend to visit your competitors’ websites.

Best Cybersecurity Mitigation Strategies for your Company

Here are some best cybersecurity mitigation strategies for your company:

• Frequent Risk Assessments

The importance of a risk assessment lies in discovering the security lapses in your network. With an IT risk assessment, you’d be able to pinpoint the areas you need to protect. You would also determine the existing susceptibilities in your network.

Like every other attacker across industries, Hackers attempt to probe for weak points in a system. A single weak point can be exploited to maximum effect, allowing a security breach to occur.

The instant these vulnerabilities are discovered, your cybersecurity team can emphasize the ones that hackers commonly utilize. After the first set of security lapses have been fixed, lower rankings vulnerabilities can be dealt with.

• Restrict Network Access

Allowing several of your employees to have access to a lot of sensitive data increases the chances of an IT security breach. The more workers with access to the data, the greater the points of failure. Apart from insider threats, employees could have their home devices infected by malware, opening up your network for easier security breaches.

You need to restrict network access to employees who do not need to get their hands on a sensitive level of data. This way, even if their devices get hacked, your data remains safe. The moment an employee leaves the firm, the account with access to the network has to be removed instantly.

• Firewalls and Cybersecurity Tools

Without firewalls and other basic cybersecurity tools installed on their computers, any organization is set up for a cybersecurity breach. While a firewall can’t stop all forms of malware attacks, it’ll aid in protecting your device from the majority of internet threats.

Firewalls are crucial because they come preinstalled with operating systems like Windows and Macs. It is practically the security guard that fends off attacks right from the fence that is your device’s memory. The instant a suspicious data packet gets sent to your computer network, it becomes restricted by a firewall.

Other basic cybersecurity tools include antiviruses. Antivirus programs are key for fishing out and disposing of existing malware threats on your PC.

• Create a Patch Management Schedule

If you’ve often wondered why software teams release frequent updates to applications, it’s because of cybersecurity. When updated versions of the software are released, hackers try to find out where the previous security lapses came from.

By examining the code, they can find the vulnerabilities in the program and exploit them. Hence, if you’re behind on updating your programs, you’re susceptible to hacks. Your IT security team needs to ensure that the programs get updated immediately after software patches are released.

Conclusion

Since the coronavirus and the subsequent explosion in remote working, cybersecurity attacks on organizations have increased. The cost of a successful break-in on a firm runs into millions. It leads to an overall loss of trust and reputation for the company.

Apart from the loss of data and reputation, there are associated losses like operational losses. To prevent hackers from accessing your systems, your organization needs to perform risk assessment, restrict network access, install firewall and cybersecurity tools, and create a patch management schedule.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)