Strengthening Defences: Practical Cyber Security Advice

Numerous business data breaches have featured in the news recently, with even the largest organisations susceptible to attack. More than two-thirds of firms say they feel inadequately protected. In a recent article, the Technology of Business editor for BBC News discussed Six Things Firms Should Do To Improve Cybersecurity. This blog highlights three of these things.

Protect Company Data

Most businesses have firewall technology to protect their network, spending up to 87% of their security budget on this. But on its own this is an outdated approach to network and data security. Having just one line of defence against hackers and potential breaches is no longer sufficient, and leaves all company data exposed if attackers breach the systems.

A more effective strategy against data breaches is micro-segmentation – building lots of smaller walls to protect individual groups of important data. Groups of data are cryptographically signed with unique codes, creating additional barriers against threats. This approach prevents a large company-wide breach, with a hacker able to access only a small amount of data if they break through defences.

Increase Monitoring of Systems

Networking monitoring should be an important part of a business’s cyber security strategy. Constant monitoring of the network will enable businesses to react to potential threats as soon as they occur and be alert to any weaknesses in the network that need patching. Ensuring security certificates and software are updated as soon as new versions arrive is also vital to prevent vulnerabilities in the network.

Invest Time and Money on Cyber Security

With companies holding more customer and sensitive data on their systems, there is an increasing need to invest in security systems. Many businesses are building cyber security into their processes as it becomes a business-wide concern to keep data safe.

Recent research estimates that cyber-attacks are the number one risk for companies, costing the global economy around £300 billion a year, so it is well worth investing in a cyber security strategy to avoid costly breaches which damage a business’s reputation and result in fines for non-compliance. Managed security services can help businesses which need to protect against breaches where constant monitoring of the network in-house is not viable.

You can learn more about improving cyber security here.