The frequency of cyberattacks and the damage they do to the companies that are the target of these assaults has grown as the people behind these attacks have become more proficient and sophisticated. Any company or organization operating in today's world runs the risk of being the target of a cyberattack, with potentially devastating results. The number of cyberattacks that occurred each week in 2021 increased by fifty percent compared to the previous year, and high-impact hacks such as SolarWinds and Log4j showed the vulnerabilities that existed in the defenses of many businesses.
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Why it's So Crucial to Stop Cyber Attacks Before They Happen
Identifying and neutralizing potential dangers are often the focal points of security measures for corporations. After a possible danger has been detected, the security team evaluates it and takes measures to remediate the problem.
On the other hand, taking a defensive stance toward security means that the security team must respond to the attacker. As a consequence of this, the attacker may have the chance to inflict considerable harm, steal or encrypt important data using ransomware, or take actions that make it more difficult and costly to remediate the assault.
A better and more cost-effective approach to security is one that places a primary emphasis on threat prevention. If a company can stop an assault from happening in the first place, they won't have to worry about the possible costs or harm it might do to their business.
4 Ways to Protect Yourself from an Online Attack
The most effective method for handling a cybersecurity problem is to stop it from happening in the first place. The following are four actions that businesses may take to strengthen their skills in the area of threat prevention:
1. Observe Proper Safety and Hygiene Procedures
Inadequate security hygiene inside a company is a typical vulnerability that cybercriminals may exploit. If a business has massive security flaws in its digital attack surface or no internal threat awareness, then this simply makes them simpler to target as potential adversaries. By exercising proper security hygiene, an organization may make itself a tougher target for an attacker and avoid further assaults.
The following are some essential examples of good security practices:
- Patching: After a newly discovered vulnerability has been made public, fraudsters will often search the internet for susceptible systems they may attack. The quick installation of patches is one method that may assist in protecting an organization from automated assaults.
- Network Vectorization: An attacker typically has to travel laterally across an organization’s network to accomplish their aim. Incorporating network segmentation with a next-generation firewall (NGFW) with an intrusion protection system (IPS) makes this lateral movement more observable and avoidable.
- Continuous Monitoring: The warnings that security systems provide are pointless if no one looks at them or takes action in response. In order to provide a speedy reaction to incidents, businesses should regularly check incident records and notifications.
- Assessing for Security: An organization must conduct frequent safety checks and penetration testing to analyze the company's existing overall security and identify possible hazards that need to be addressed.
- Least Privilege: When conducting their assaults, cyber threat actors often use accounts with excessive rights and privileges. It is far more difficult for malicious software or intruders to fulfill their goals if the rights of users, devices, and programs are reduced to the absolute minimum.
2. Implement a Unified Security Architecture
The typical business has implemented hundreds of different security solutions on its own. Each of these solutions calls for its own monitoring and administration, and they produce many security warnings, which overwhelms the staff responsible for security. In addition, these solutions could have features that overlap with one another, which would present severe security holes.
A centralized cyber security architecture is crucial for successful cybersecurity. With a unified security architecture that spans all platforms — including networks, endpoints, cloud, and mobile devices — and handles significant risks, an organization can effectively enforce a uniform security policy and avoid attacks throughout the whole enterprise.
3. Address All Possible Points of Attack
One of the main advantages that an attacker has over defense is that the attacker only has to get fortunate once to succeed, while a defender needs to guard against all conceivable threats. Threat actors in the digital realm have access to a wide array of diverse attack vectors, including the following:
- Phishing: When someone sends you an email or other communication that is harmful, and that message may include a link to a malicious website or an infected file.
- Internet Browsing: Internet browser hacks or malicious files may install malware on a user's computer, or a phishing website can steal important data. Both threats can be avoided by using caution while surfing the web.
- Vulnerabilities: Attackers may use vulnerabilities that have not been fixed to gain access to corporate systems or cause damage to them.
- Mobile Applications: In recent years, malicious applications have become one of the most significant challenges to the safety of mobile devices.
- External Storage: Malware may be sent to an organization's computers even if the perimeter-based protections have been successfully bypassed if the USB devices and other mounted drives are infected.
It is essential for the cybersecurity architecture of an organization to provide protection against all possible attack vectors. Otherwise, an attacker may sneak through a security loophole and harm the company.
4. Keep Security Up-to-Date
Cybersecurity is a game of cat-and-mouse because those who pose a danger online are always working to find new ways to circumvent online protections. Cybercriminals constantly develop new attack operations that involve new malware or creative tactics for accessing an organization’s systems.
Because the nature of the threats posed by the internet is in a state of perpetual growth, it is necessary that security solutions and threat intelligence be kept up to date. An organization runs the risk of falling behind its competitors and becoming more susceptible to attack if it does not implement solutions that make use of the most recent advances in cybersecurity innovation and information about current threat campaigns.
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5. Check Point Infinity is Your Best Defense Against the Upcoming Attack.
Companies confront escalating numbers of high-impact and costly cyberattacks. In order for businesses to successfully handle these cyber risks, they need to place their primary emphasis on threat prevention. This may be accomplished by building robust and integrated cyber defenses that cover their whole IT infrastructure.
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