In the first part of this series, we covered what is the biggest threat to an organization’s asset when it comes to cyber threats: Its People.
Now it’s time to start going over the overall preparedness of the organization’s team, should a breach happen.
Think of it this way: Is your team prepared for the unthinkable situation?
Prepare Your Organization For Rapid Response
Attitude.
That’s really the first step to preparing any organization. If a culture of being prepared and doing due diligence to make sure the organization is safe is being cultivated within the people, it’s easy to keep the team in the right frame of mind.
A solid foundation is built by getting everyone on board with the company’s policies and procedures.
Next, choosing the people, processes, and technology that best suits the organization will help with preparation. This step entails choosing an appropriate monitor intrusion technology or service that can detect viruses and other intrusions, prevent malware from entering your network, and block attackers who have already gained access or are in the process of attempting an intrusion.
Some Best Practices to be Better Prepared
Cyber security can be a huge challenge for many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. The cost of cybercrime can be crippling to a company’s finances.
Here are some ways businesses can prepare for cyber-attacks:
- Employees: Like we’ve said before, and we’ll keep hitting on this subject, should be trained on how to recognize suspicious behavior on the web; they should also know how to report a potential breach of company information without compromising the integrity of the investigation.
- Backup strategy: A backup strategy should be in place so that if the main system goes down due to a cyber-attack or malware, the potential of a total loss of information is lower.
- Network monitoring: Network monitoring can help an organization see what’s happening on the web at any given moment; it will also help notify the correct parties if there are any unusual activity reports coming from outside sources
Why Using an MDR Provider is a Great Solution
The purpose of an MDR provider is to address the problem of cybersecurity skills gaps inside an organization.
Ideally, at a cost that is lower than what a company will need to spend to build its own specialized security team, it tackles more advanced threats that could not be handled in-house.
If an MDR, like CyberMaxx, has a SOC with a team of experts that work 24/7/365, the intention is to augment the in-house IT department and protect their networks and devices – not replace the IT department.
Furthermore, MDR provides access to tools that the organization might not normally have access to.
What Happens if an Intrusion Occurs
That unthinkable situation just occurred. Now what?
If the line of defense has been crossed and an intrusion has taken place, consulting your incident response plan for dealing with potential threats should be the next step.
If a bad actor does manage to get into your network, even if it is only for a few minutes or hours, it could cost your company a lot more than just reputational damage.
If an intrusion should take place, we highly recommend consulting a DFIR team to help with this process:
- Preparation
- Identification
- Containment
- Eradication
- Recovery
- Lessons Learned
Staying Informed
One of the biggest things you can do to keep your organization safe from cyber threats is to stay informed about current cyber threats and malicious techniques.
The best way to stay informed is to keep an eye on the news, social media, and other sources of information. Make sure your team members know what’s going on in their industry so they can share information with you.
Just for instance, in June and July of 2022, North Korea was launching state-sanctioned attacks using the malware Ghost as their main tool. If a team is educated that something like that is coming down the pike, then it knows what to look for.
Be Prepared
Just like Scout’s motto, it’s best to always be prepared. Sure, sometimes a curve ball may be thrown into the mix, but in the end having a plan in place, educating employees, and having tools in place to help detect and remediate will give an organization the upper hand when it comes to potential infiltrations.
And then there is always utilizing an MDR like CyberMaxx to help pick up the slack should it be too much undertaken immediately.
What’s Next
In the last part of this three-part series, we’re going to cover if best practices are in place inside.
Preparing for and Mitigating Potential Cyber Threats: Part 3 – Are Best Practices in Place?
