Is your business ready for a cyberattack? This is how to prepare

Companies of all stripes are confronted with an increasingly difficult cybersecurity scenario. Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are in just as much danger as huge corporations because bad actors don't make distinctions. SMBs serve as a preferred hunting field for sensitive data and potential ransom payments for threat actors, but many also act as vital links in the supply chain and exploitable entry points into the networks of larger companies.

Every size of business must be prepared for cybersecurity issues. Figuring out how to get ready for it, meanwhile, can be difficult, especially for SMBs on a tight budget. Businesses can obtain insight into how to develop the best security for their organization by looking at the greatest cyberthreats they face and practical solutions to protect themselves from them.

An information security breach or hack will affect 50% of organizations.

The business atmosphere surrounding cybersecurity has been rapidly heating up. 49% of the companies we surveyed for the Kaseya Security Insights Report 2022 admitted to being the target of successful cyberattacks or security breaches to our researchers. When probed further, one in five of those who responded to our survey claimed that their company had endured at least one successful hack or security breach in the previous year. These worrying statistics show the strain that organizations and the IT specialists who protect them are facing in the chaotic cybersecurity landscape of today, and that strain won't be abating any time soon.

Companies are already dealing with an ever-rising number of cyber threats, and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, according to Jason Manar, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Kaseya.

Be ready to deal with four big threats.

SMEs are at risk from many different types of cyber threats, but a handful stands out as being the most prevalent. Phishing and email fraud, which include hacks like Business Email Compromise (BEC), are the largest security challenges that businesses are currently facing, according to 55% of the poll participants. The top threat for slightly under a quarter (23%) of our study respondents is ransomware, which comes in second. Password compromise (15%) and account takeover (6%) are also on the list.

Any cyberattack can cost a company a lot of money if it succeeds. A successful cyberattack can have a negative impact on a company's finances, reputation, downtime, and productivity, in addition to the significant expense of organising an incident response and recovery operation. Almost two-thirds of those who responded to our study (63%) believed that even though their businesses would probably recover from a threat like ransomware, they would probably lose data and face costly downtime. Businesses can lessen the effects of a cyberattack or avoid one altogether by taking a few wise precautions.

Every company must have an incident response strategy.

The development and testing of an incident response plan is one of the top defensive strategies suggested for firms by cybersecurity professionals. Anybody creating an incident response plan must consult the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Special Publication 800-61 Ver. 2 Computer Security Incident Management Handbook. Businesses can also profit from incident response planning by using it as a powerful tool to avoid an occurrence altogether. By identifying potential security weaknesses and areas in which their defensive buildout needs improvement, businesses can lessen the likelihood that they will ever encounter an incident. To make sure their strategy is effective, businesses should codify a plan and conduct tabletop exercises.

The key to responding to a cyberattack swiftly and limiting the damage is knowing what to do and who to call, according to Manar. Without an incident response strategy, the pressure and stress of the circumstance can result in costly errors.

Get professional assistance identifying and reducing threats.

Because malicious actors are always looking for ways to get around cybersecurity defenses, cyber threats are continuously changing and becoming more complicated. They are therefore challenging to find for a company's security personnel. Strong threat intelligence and a trained eye to assess it are essential for accurate threat identification. For managing these activities, a security operations centre is frequently a vital instrument. Finding and hiring the specialists a company needs to set up a security operations centre (SOC) may be challenging and expensive for SMEs, too. The answer to that problem is managed SOC or managed detection and response (MDR).

With managed SOC, organizations can hire a team of security specialists quickly and affordably without having to increase their staff or invest in costly infrastructure. With real-time threat detection across three crucial attack vectors—endpoint, network, and cloud—it should ideally offer round-the-clock security. Companies receive access to a security professional-staffed nerve centre that can hunt, triage, alert, and collaborate with their security team at crucial times, such as when a threat is detected or if they suffer a cyberattack.

What steps can you take if the worst occurs?

The FBI is the principal government agency in charge of looking into cyberattacks and intrusions in the United States. Each of the Bureau's 56 field offices has a specially trained cyber squad that can assist firms in handling a network incursion, data breach, or ransomware assault. If a company is having one of those issues, they should call the FBI field office that is closest to them or report it online at tips.fbi.gov. Businesses can get guidance from the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) on what to do if they become the target of cybercrime or a cyberattack, as well as a breakdown of the information the FBI will need when called upon for assistance. many state governments, more federal agencies, and non-profit organizations.

The sooner you begin the process, the more you'll profit from the assistance they can provide you to fix the matter, suggests Manar, a former FBI Cyber Supervisory Special Agent. "Don't wait to approach the authorities for help if your organization is the victim of a cyberattack," he says.

Invest in reasonably priced cybersecurity protections.

The following tools are some additional low-cost security measures a company may implement in addition to incident response planning and collaborating with a managed SOC to effectively and efficiently protect it against cyberattacks:

Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems, such as two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication, require identification evidence in order to prevent intrusions using stolen, phished, or hacked credentials (MFA). According to Microsoft, such technology alone can thwart up to 99% of account-based intrusions.

Training in security awareness can help turn employees from security liabilities into security assets by teaching them how to recognize online dangers and manage data safely. Phishing simulators also teach staff members how to recognize and evade cybercriminal traps.

Email Security - Considering that most of the today's most heinous cyberattacks, like ransomware and BEC, are email-based, investing in the finest email protection available is a wise move. Alternatives to a Secure Email Gateway or conventional email security leverage AI and automation to catch additional risks (SEG).

Backup and recovery - In the age of ransomware, it is wise to back up a company's data. Businesses have a variety of alternatives, including deploying an on-site backup server. Cloud-based backup is the best option for frictionless backup and quick data recovery for a business, if necessary, in today's cloud-based world.

Dark Web Monitoring - This security tool gives organizations 24/7/365 access to a database of business and personal credentials, including domains, IP addresses, and email addresses. It monitors these credentials for any occurrence of sensitive data in a dark web market, forum, or data dump and notifies the company's IT team. This helps organizations who frequently experience password reuse risks on the dark web.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) - EDR finds threats that slip past existing safeguards so you may act swiftly before harm is done. With alarms that are mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK architecture to provide context and assist clarity and reduce the need for security experts to successfully respond, EDR lessens the load on security teams.

Prepare yourself today for upcoming cybersecurity challenges.

Going forward, businesses should continue to prepare for a challenging security environment. Supply chain risk has recently increased and is now a significant security threat. To reduce supply chain risk, more than half of the firms that we studied (67%) said that they regularly monitor the dark web for both their own domain and the domains of their suppliers. Savvy businesses also regularly do security awareness training to reduce dangers brought on by phishing scams or staff errors with data. Most poll participants—4/5—said they regularly hold security awareness training for all staff.

Any modern company's success depends on a strong commitment to cybersecurity, which will only become more crucial as the globe continues to undergo a digital transition. But, putting up a strong defense against cyberattacks should not be expensive. Businesses can make sure they are prepared for the cybersecurity problems they will face today and future by taking reasonable, cheap safeguards including seeking professional security advice, investing in quality security solutions, and engaging in incident response planning.

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