With the recent rise in cyber attacks, the need for a strong cybersecurity posture is at an all time high. In a report done by IBM, the average cost in 2020 for a data breach was 3.86 million USD globally and about 8.64 million USD in the United States. Ransomware attacks are still a problem in today’s modern world especially with small businesses, government, and education. These attacks can have significant damage to an organization’s reputation.
Enhancing cybersecurity protections is a necessity that organizations need to be installing. Organizations need to be implementing active security measures and compliance that are preventative against cyber attacks. Two-factor authentication is compatible with many applications that can help your company maintain a strong cybersecurity posture. Outlook, Gmail, and Google are examples. OWA 2 factor authentication is a great option for maintaining digital security.
What Does Maintaining Digital Security Do?
In order to maintain your digital security posture, you need to know exactly what you’re protecting yourself from. Security attacks and breaches normally come from cyber attackers however, sometimes they happen unintentionally.
Data Breach
A data breach occurs when personal or confidential information is viewed or shared without authorization. Most breaches are intentional. Hackers target network vulnerabilities, email phishing, etc. But data breaches can be unintentional as well. If a piece of hardware containing confidential information somehow gets lost, wrong access permissions are given to an employee.
Cyberattack
Cyberattacks are committed with intent. They occur when an organization’s network is targeted with the goal of disrupting, disabling, or controlling stored information. These attacks are carried out by external factors such as hackers, criminal groups etc. The attacks can even be from internal employees such as contract workers, or disgruntled employees.
Vulnerabilities and Threats
Breaches and attacks directly correlate with your organization’s cybersecurity posture. But, the better you maintain your digital security, the less chance your organization has to be a victim of cyber attacks.
A security vulnerability is a weakness within the organization’s network. They can range from weak password requirements to using old versions of operating systems. A vulnerability doesn’t just happen, likely the organization already has that vulnerability and it’s just not protected.
Threats on the other hand are more hypothetical situations that could have a negative effect on the organization due to security vulnerabilities.When you can understand and analyze any potential threats to your organization, the better you can prepare and protect yourself.
How To Assess Your Digital Security
Before your organization develops a new or strengthens an existing security posture, you may find it helpful to complete a security risk assessment. Here are a few ways to do so:
- Understand how information is stored and who has access to it. Whether your company is big or small, it is important to keep track of who has access to your company’s assets. When doing this review, you will learn about any vulnerabilities that could lead to possible breaches or attacks and develop a plan to protect them.
- Review and evaluate types of security risks. While we know to expect the worst, it’s in the organizations best interest to learn about the different types of security risks in order to be proactive and protect themselves against them.
- Evaluate the security of your organization’s vendors. This is sometimes overlooked as most companies don’t vet who they’re working with. All vendors that touch your corporate network should be evaluated on top of your organization’s evaluation. Many organizations require their vendors to show proof of various compliance frameworks in order to work together.
What we’ve highlighted above, will help your company improve your cybersecurity posture and maintain your digital security. If your company wants to create the best security posture possible, it’s in your best interest to do a full evaluation of your company’s security systems in order to make sure that any vulnerabilities detected will be thoroughly protected.