Adapt or get Hacked - It takes a Village to Secure a Network
We’ve all heard that it takes a village to raise a child. What you’ve probably never heard is that it takes a village to secure a network. In this post, I’ll explain why the conversation of network security must be brought out from the shadows of the server room and into the bright lights of the board room.
The Golden Hour
New data from the 2015 Verizon Data Breach Report shows that businesses have a one-hour window to detect a data breach and contain it – this is called the Golden Hour. After that, you risk losing control of your network. Defending your network from today’s threats is all about speed and accuracy. Speed comes from advanced software and accuracy comes from a team of security professionals. Simply put, adapt or get hacked.
It has to start at the top. Policies, culture, company direction are all determined by C-level executives. The C-Suite has the power to influence change across the entire business. The ultimate goal of the boardroom buy-in is that it has a trickle down effect that filters down to every employee in the company.
Because cyber criminals are targeting end users, we must create policies that can protect them. Without proper endpoint security, you’re fighting a battle that you cannot win.
Exercise
Physical activity is a great way to stay healthy. It just so happens that companies can also exercise their networks. One such exercise can determine just how susceptible your company is to a phishing attack. Just ten spear-phishing emails carry an over 90% chance of successfully compromising your network. Third party companies like PhishMe perform non-threatening phishing campaigns that assess your companies risk to email based attacks.
Education
Every employee should take part in annual cyber security awareness training. By re-enforcing that they, the end users, will be the target of many cyber attacks you are giving them information that will help them to defend themselves and ultimately the network. As a favorite Public Service Announcement says “The more you know!”
Patching
I’ve explained it in other posts why patching is so important, and I encourage you to read more about that topic here, top threats still the same. Also, check out my youtube video that challenges President Obama to make cyber security mainstream!
What a fantastic book! If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend Who Moved My Cheese. I definitely see a birthday present in the future for my nieces and nephews. Stopping today’s cyber threats requires not just a change in perspective, but a change in acceptance. Everyone has to buy into the idea that we all play an important role in our companies’ cyber-based security.
Don’t Go it Alone
There are many valuable tools online that will help a company understand and assess their risk. Organizations like NIST provide great tools for practical adaptation of cyber security defense. WatchPoint’s Comprehensive Cyber Security services provides companies with advanced software and a village of expert analysts.
Software will get you part of the way there, but stopping today’s advanced threats requires a full-time team. The days of being reactive are gone, and those who don’t adopt proactive solutions will undoubtedly suffer data breach after data breach. Change isn’t easy for anyone but then again, it’s just cheese.