Preserving cybersecurity in an interconnected world
01 October 2020
It’s more important than ever for organisations and their staff to keep security top of mind.
Just as the Internet connects businesses and customers, it also presents security risks – which is why it’s imperative that security measures keep pace with the tools and tactics employed by cyberattackers. By raising awareness of these issues and leveraging cloud technologies, business and government organisations can mitigate the risk of cybersecurity breaches.
Raise awareness about security to mitigate the risk of breaches
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month began in the US and has since been adopted by South Africa, with National Cybersecurity Day on 5 October. This presents a great opportunity to raise the topic of cybersecurity with your employees – remind them of the importance of maintaining strong passwords and educate them about the latest email scams.
Phishing tactics, for instance, where criminals pretend to be someone else in order to gain information or network access, have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years. There are already reports emerging of AI-based software being used to impersonate the voices of senior executives to authorise fraudulent transactions.
Being mindful of security at every level of the organisation can reduce the chances of a breach occurring.
Leverage cloud solutions to ensure your organisation is secure by design
With enough processing power, brute-force attacks – where criminals enter millions of potential password combinations until they guess correctly – can be highly effective. A network of IoT devices exchanging information can be breached if even one device is compromised. And the frequency of powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, where criminals use vast networks of malware-infected machines to disrupt services, continues to rise.
Technologies such as cloud can keep you one step ahead. That’s because the cloud allows for attacks to be predicted and dealt with in real time by leveraging big data and expansive user analytics. And through a collaborative approach to analysing events, eventually it will be possible to create a global monitoring system for cyberthreats. So, as interconnectivity grows, the best way to secure your business is to embrace it.
Get advice and assistance from the experts
It’s becoming increasingly impractical and risky for many organisations to manage all their cybersecurity in-house, which is why the market for Security as a Service (SECaaS) is rapidly growing. Even smaller companies can outsource security to a respected managed service provider with extensive experience in designing and implementing security solutions, and solid service levels.
When implementing a cloud solution, it’s best to consult a trusted and experienced provider than go it alone. That’s because improper configuration of the cloud creates vulnerabilities, such as inadvertently allowing for the circumvention of internal data protection policies or failing to properly isolate a user’s data in a cloud environment. An established service provider will help you avoid these issues.
Securing the future
To unlock the potential of your business through technology solutions that enable digital transformation while minimising vulnerabilities, consider leveraging our high-level expertise and world-class managed services, including cloud services.
