No company is entirely immune to cyberattacks. Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly using innovative and unique ways to attack businesses, and it’s important to be a step ahead. The online security landscape is constantly evolving. More businesses are operating in heterogenous environments, hybrid IT frameworks, with use of both on-premise and cloud solutions. It’s not surprising that cybersecurity incidents are increasing at an alarming rate. From basic IP camera hack, to network penetration and ransomware attacks, businesses are dealing with constant blows.
Reactive vs. proactive cybersecurity
Having an incident response plan, in case a cyberattack or security breach occurs, is important for sure. Your company has to act in time, use the necessary protocols, inform agencies and authorities where needed, and take steps to minimize damage. However, just reacting to cyber incidents is not enough. It’s not about worrying about risks, but more about finding ways to mitigate the risks. That’s exactly where proactive cybersecurity comes in the picture. The purpose of proactive cybersecurity is to take steps that can prevent a security breach in the first place. However, reactive cybersecurity plans are as important. You have to find ways to take control of a situation, because as we mentioned earlier, every business is vulnerable, often after taking the best proactive measures.
Best proactive measures
- First things first, it is wise to have a cybersecurity plan in place. Training and educating employees on threats like malware, offering advice on various aspects like safe browsing, and showing them to how to protect access and passwords, are critical steps. These small things can create a safer inside environment, so hackers cannot use employees and insiders to launch attacks.
- Secondly, engaging the security community may be necessary. Running a bug bounty program, or engaging ethical hackers, to test your systems, devices and networks, for possible security flaws can help. It can be hard to review and audit security measures, and ethical hackers can be useful for preventing an unwanted hacking attempt.
- Thirdly, businesses need to hire cybersecurity experts, where needed. They can guide on how to protect various networked assets and resources. For instance, using firewalls and network segmentation can prevent extensive damage, in case of a breach.
There is no sure way of preventing a cyberattack, but being proactive helps in keeping an eye on possible threats. When you are unsure of how to move ahead with cybersecurity, consider hiring experts, who can guide and offer assistance for various concerns.