October 25 2022 |
When most people think of cybersecurity, they likely think of personal cybersecurity – protecting their own devices and data. However, there is a whole other world of cybersecurity that exists beyond our individual devices: enterprise cybersecurity.
Enterprise cybersecurity refers to safeguarding a company’s digital assets and data. Anything from the company’s website and online presence to its internal networks and data might be included in this. Organizations must have a thorough cybersecurity policy in place to safeguard these assets.
This plan should contain steps for preventing cyberattacks, spotting them when they happen, and taking the required countermeasures. Cybersecurity includes safeguarding against unintentional breaches, data theft, and other sorts of assaults, in addition to fighting off hackers.
All businesses, regardless of size, worry about completing orders, generating new business, supply chain issues, and now, cyber threats from every conceivable angle. IT personnel can never relax or get comfortable when it comes to company cybersecurity because of internal leaks and external threats. Internal security threats brought on by human mistakes or dissatisfied workers can be reduced by safeguarding information and IT assets against unauthorized access.
In this article, we will discuss enterprise cybersecurity, how it compares to traditional cybersecurity, its benefits, best practices, and how to choose the best enterprise cybersecurity solution for your business.
What Is Enterprise Cybersecurity?
What most people miss is that enterprise cybersecurity combines a variety of elements to ensure appropriate protection. For instance, mitigating internal and external cyber risks requires having a complete insight into the IT infrastructure and user interactions.
Enterprise cybersecurity, as a result, is a sophisticated set of tools that should cover every aspect of a company’s cybersecurity environment.
Enterprise cybersecurity focuses more on protecting information exchanged on various media types, including wired and wireless transmission, cloud systems, ERPs, and networks. Traditional cybersecurity tactics are made to protect data and systems from common attack methods.
Understanding enterprise cybersecurity helps firms defend both their on-premises infrastructure and cloud-based solutions. Assessing the security practices of supply chain partners and third-party providers and safeguarding the endpoints connected to a network are all important aspects of enterprise cybersecurity.
Who Needs Cybersecurity?
Even small size companies are becoming targets and a constant source of interest for fraudsters and hackers. Therefore, cybersecurity is a necessity for all businesses. However, some sectors are more exposed to cyberattacks than others.
Because healthcare organizations frequently retain highly sensitive and private data, the sector is a prime target for cyberattacks. While the average cost of a data breach worldwide was $4.24 million in 2021, it cost $9.23 million in healthcare.
Additionally, the e-commerce sector is frequently assaulted. Online payment theft cost the e-commerce industry $20 billion in 2021, up from $17.5 billion in 2020. It’s likely that fraudsters are already sending you nasty bots if you sell anything online.
A common target is the hospitality and travel sector. Travel and hospitality businesses have been the target of some of the greatest breaches in history. One famous example is the 2014 Marriott data breach, which exposed hundreds of millions of customer records and cost the company millions of dollars in fines.
Traditional vs. Enterprise Cybersecurity
Between traditional cybersecurity and enterprise cybersecurity, there are significant differences. Traditional cybersecurity seeks to stop online threats. Enterprise cybersecurity, on the other hand, is also concerned with safeguarding corporate data and assets from online dangers.
Additionally, enterprise cybersecurity deals with incidents that may interrupt business operations or reveal sensitive information as a result of unauthorized access, whereas traditional cybersecurity deals with crimes like cyber fraud.
Last but not least, while enterprise cybersecurity staff members prioritize the protection of resources over mitigating threats and attacks, specialists in cybersecurity are educated to tackle advanced persistent threats.
Why Is Enterprise Cybersecurity Important For Your Company?
Enterprise cybersecurity is essential for your company for a few reasons. Below we’ve listed some top reasons to consider including:
Prevents Data Leaks
Despite the numerous data leaks reported in the media, most businesses continue to undervalue their effects. Your brand could suffer irreversible harm from a data leak, and you could also face very steep fines. Regardless of the quality, any data that is stored, especially personally identifiable information (PII), must be protected.
Data leaks frequently result from phishing, social engineering, and the usage of stolen or insecure credentials.
Since they frequently go unnoticed, most businesses are unaware of them as they take place. We will discuss ways to defend oneself against those threats later on in the text.
Prevents Financial Damage
The majority of nations today have legislative frameworks in place to protect consumer data and privacy under their individual national laws. The GDPR for the EU and EEA and the CCPA for California are the two most well-known examples. Both regulatory regimes impose hefty fines on businesses that fall short of protecting the privacy and data of their clients.
But when you experience a cybersecurity assault, you also run the danger of suffering other financial losses. Your finances will be impacted by any kind of online payment fraud. Customers who have been defrauded will request a refund from their bank or credit card company, which will result in a chargeback fee for you. Not to mention the consumer’s damaged trust, which will make them hesitant to do business with you again.
Protects Customer Data
Equifax quickly lost $5.3 billion in market value after disclosing the data breach that exposed the personal information of almost 150 million Americans in September 2017. The business has been working hard ever since to win back customers’ faith. And that’s Equifax, a sizable business with a lot of cash. Most businesses cannot bounce back from a data breach that exposes client information.
A CISO, CTO, or CIO’s first goal should be to prevent customer data leaks. Customers value their data security and privacy. They wouldn’t take well to any data leak if they trusted you with their information.
Prevents Your Website From Crashing
While a crashed website is the least permanently damaging point on this list, any e-commerce company will tell you that you probably cannot afford to have your website down for too long. Some cyberattacks come in the form of a huge number of bots flocking to your website until it slows to a crawl or crashes entirely.
Customers become concerned when a service goes offline because it’s obvious that something is wrong. A website crash results in lost sales, a spike in customer service requests, and an increased possibility of being attacked while your focus is elsewhere.
Benefits of Enterprise CyberSecurity
The benefits of enterprise cybersecurity include:
Enhances Productivity
As technology advances, fraudsters find new ways to attack data, increasing the risk of a data breach.
Malware may have an adverse effect on networks, operations, and workflows, which lowers productivity. As a result, the company will experience downtime, which may bring the operation to a halt.
Having a mature enterprise security program can contribute to the productivity of the organization thanks to the ability to detect network and security problems that left unattended may cause irrevocable financial damage.
To ensure maximum productivity, security solutions as well as the human factor (employees) should undergo security training to ensure they are informed about email phishing, scams, dubious links, and other suspicious activities that may open a backdoor into the organization – even when it is using all the necessary security tools.
Assists Remote Working
Businesses now have access to a variety of remote models for their operations thanks to the times we live in. Teams must, however, be in agreement on the security measures and steps that need to be taken if they are to work remotely.
The average cost of a data breach has grown due to remote work by $137,000, making it crucial for organizations to protect sensitive data.
In contrast to how comfortable it may be for workers, it could be disconcerting for businesses to send their important data around the world without putting in place a cybersecurity architecture.
IoT, Wi-Fi, and personal gadgets are all potential entry points for cybercrimes.
Analytics, strategies, and sensitive data are constantly vulnerable to hacking and leaks. However, cyber security can help shield from data theft and minimize risks significantly by blocking suspicious connections and reporting anomalous behaviors.
Helps Educate The Workforce
A layer of safety can be added to an organization’s daily operations by educating the staff about potential hazards, including ransomware, spyware, data breaches, and more.
The staff will know what to do in case something goes wrong and be less likely to click on harmful sites or suspicious files.
This lessens the likelihood of mistakes and time wastage. The staff doesn’t waste time asking IT specialists to confirm or clarify their operations. They gain the fundamental understanding needed to easily handle day-to-day dangers as a result. Knowledgeable staff members understand the value of data security, preventing the company from coming to a complete halt.
Helps Maintain Trust And Credibility
One significant advantage of cyber security is solidifying trust and credibility among the customer. A customer base can rapidly decrease with an incorrect move. Due to this, firms risk losing devoted clients.
Instead, when the company has a track record of safeguarding client and corporate information, the customer base will grow. Customers are becoming more aware of data fraud; thus, data security is important to them. In addition to the worth of the data, they are aware of the consequences of data misuse.
Long-term client relationships are especially well cemented by businesses with sound data privacy policies.
While using sound data procedures gives customers the confidence to interact with the company.
Streamlined Access Control
Enterprises feel in control of all the tasks when the internal and external processes are under understood and followed.
Additionally, it enables them to spend their time on worthwhile activities, andAdditionally, it enables businesses to build strategic management accountability.
It standardizes access to computers, resources, and systems, lowering the threat of cybercrime. Business intranets, social media, websites, emails, business websites, passwords, online portals, and other places can all benefit from enterprise cybersecurity practices.
Disadvantages Of Enterprise CyberSecurity
The disadvantages of enterprise cybersecurity include:
The High-Cost Of Cybersecurity
Building and maintaining a mature Cybersecurity program comes with a high cost. Businesses that lack the resources to adequately protect their data and systems may be at a disadvantage. This is one of the main factors deterring many businesses from making significant cybersecurity investments. At the same time, not investing in a comprehensive cyber security plan can bring even multi-billion dollar enterprises into bankruptcy.
The Complicated Nature Of Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity may prove to be too complex for businesses or organizations. Implementing sufficient cybersecurity safeguards requires a lot of time and work. It can even be too challenging for certain businesses to understand. This could cause a variety of problems at work. If the business does not have proper security measures in place, it may also lead to data loss or even a security breach.
The Need For Constant Monitoring
Continuous monitoring is necessary for cybersecurity. The cybersecurity of a company’s overall system must be continuously maintained, especially because thieves and hackers are continually coming up with new ways to enter a company’s network. Furthermore, continuous monitoring is the greatest way to keep any system secure and up to date. This continues to be the best and most reliable strategy for maintaining security and functionality.
The Lifelong Process
Cybersecurity is a never-ending process that is sustained through ongoing upgrades and improvements. Regarding cybersecurity, you can’t just set it and forget it. It takes years to plan and put into action. All systems and applications, including the security systems in place must also be continuously monitored and updated as every tool or application that is used and not properly monitored may introduce a vulnerability.You must keep making investments in cybersecurity if you want to benefit from it. Every exception and item that cannot be patched no matter the reason can create a vulnerability.
Not Having a Cybersecurity Plan Introduces a Massive Risk
Cyber attacks can fatal for any size of an organization. Small businesses sometimes hesitate to put effective cybersecurity measures in place out due to cost and resource concerns but doing so may jeopardize their data and result in security breaches, which might cost them millions of dollars (more than the cost of a proper security plan), damage their brand, hinder their business, and even drive the business into bankruptcy.
Enterprise Cybersecurity Best Practices
A few enterprise cybersecurity best practices include:
Assessing Your Company’s Vulnerability
Endpoint security can occasionally be jeopardized by flaws in a software application, even in the most fortified and modern networks. This is partly a result of the perseverance of online criminals, who are always trying to identify loopholes in the most recent program updates and security fixes. Therefore, it’s imperative to stay one step ahead of these online criminals and defeat them in their own game. Remember a vulnerability is not exploitable from the moment that you were notified, it has been exploitable for a lot longer period of time, it is just that you are now aware of it.
You need to have an immediate management and remediation plan in place if you want to reduce potential system vulnerabilities. Your team should be ready to patch things up as soon as a security risk, or system vulnerability is found in the network of your firm. Your security team needs to have a seat at the table during all EA discussions, and any new EA should be designed with security in mind or at least have input in the overall architecture.
The time it normally takes an exposed firm to identify the issue is one of the most concerning parts of data breaches. Sensitive data from a firm may be accessible to hackers for up to six months or longer before the issue is identified, resulting in irreparable harm to the company’s finances and reputation. Your team should be able to reduce the time to discover a system breach using an efficient remediation process.
Take Advantage of Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise architecture (EA) draws up a plan for when and how to expand your company. It examines existing data trends to determine the quickest route to your business goals. This architecture style is employed to increase profitability, take a company online, or launch new product development divisions.
Newly established security departments can leverage enterprise architecture to help them address cybersecurity challenges. It will assist you in developing a strategy based on corporate data trends from conception to implementation.
Also, EA can be utilized for the implementation of new company software or gadgets. For example, your team may desire to update the core software that operates your ticketing system. Having an enterprise architecture team will allow you to plan for what the new software will need.
By using EA, you may determine the optimal approach to progress and define a schedule for your company’s goals and commercial operations.
Understanding your company’s future direction will help you plan for it and stay on top of any trends. This is the key to enterprise architecture. Planning ahead allows you to implement security for new features before they happen and be a leader for emerging cyber threats.
You Should Educate Your Team
Ensure that all personnel in your organization have received the necessary training to handle sensitive information. Give them security training on topics like phishing, social engineering, scamware, and pretexting, for instance.
To access sensitive data, use two-factor authentication and safe passwords. Larger businesses can set up a VPN or internal network that is not immediately accessible from the Internet and implement a key card system to gain access to their property. Secure internal email gateways to stop phishing and fraudulent communications from reaching unaware employees. Keep an eye out for dangers or unusual activities on your network.
Once these actions have been taken, do regular access audits to make sure the security controls are effective.
The breadth of your security and access points should be evaluated for vulnerabilities in every component. If a compromise is made, it must be undone. All hardware and software components of your data and data transfers should be subjected to these tests.
Undoubtedly, data transfer will take place when you manage your company. The important thing is to limit data transfers and to move data as securely as you can when you must.
The bulk of effective cyberattacks is generated by automated scripts and bots that are designed to identify and take advantage of vulnerabilities in your websites, mobile apps, and APIs. Modern data protection software called DataDome thwarts those assaults before they reach their target.
DataDome, which is trusted by organizations like TripAdvisor, ASUS, Reddit, and many more, offers you real-time online fraud and bot detection that decides whether or not to provide access to a certain bot in less than two milliseconds. DataDome is easy to install, interacts with any infrastructure, and provides an immediate improvement in cybersecurity for your business.
Boosting Your Mobile App And API Protection
Avoid the mistake of merely safeguarding your websites when you also have mobile apps and publicly accessible APIs. Hackers attack every target available to them. Make sure your mobile app has been developed and tested in a secure manner, that the data is encrypted, and that users are encouraged to enable two-factor authentication and biometric security.
For any type of data transmission or interaction, your API should be designed with security in mind. Businesses frequently use a secure API gateway as a middleman between their API and the users who want to interact with it.
Always Have A Backup Plan
Whatever you do, technology is constantly evolving and getting better. Even the most modern networks are susceptible to data leaks. In the event of a data leak, any enterprise-level firm will be able to consolidate and minimize losses with the aid of a remediation plan for data backup and disaster recovery.
Prior to a data breach, having a plan and a routine in place will give you and your team the ability to respond as swiftly as feasible. You and your team can be prepared to patch the problem up after the cause has been identified.
Early Detection Systems Are Important
Incoming threats will be identified by good end-to-end data protection software before they reach you. However, even without such software, you must still put in place an early detection system. Many businesses don’t, which is why hackers may have access to databases for months before they are found.
This means that you must keep an eye on a wide range of factors for unusual behavior. The specifics of these variables will vary depending on your business and industry, but examples include the following:
- Slower-than-usual internal networks
- Suspicious emails sent to employees
- Unusual password activities
- Website requests from countries where you don’t do business
- Sudden, unexplained spikes in website traffic
Limit Access Privileges
Block administrative access to all but the most essential operations performed by authorized people. The entry point that hackers and online criminals most frequently target in a company’s computing system is administrator access. As a result, it’s critical to evaluate the staff members who now have administrative access capabilities and decide who genuinely needs to have this kind of access.
Make a list of the employees on your team whose accounts have administrative access. Does each of these people play a crucial part in your company’s administrative tasks? Limit the privileges of anyone who does not absolutely need administrative access. Administrative access should only be granted to those who do crucial administrative work that needs to be completed. If not, any administrative portal should be empty.
How To Choose The Best Enterprise CyberSecurity Solution
It can be difficult to choose a cybersecurity threat solution supplier. Infosec is a sizable, quickly expanding industry; by 2025, it is expected that the worldwide cybersecurity market will be worth $259 billion. There are many cybersecurity solutions on the market, but there are also many more cybersecurity dangers to be concerned about.
You’re not the only one who has been given the assignment of locating a solution supplier. 77% of businesses that have already implemented fundamental cybersecurity safeguards are looking for more advanced cybersecurity solutions, according to EY’s Global Information Security Survey. These businesses want to improve their skills.
However, selecting a solution provider can seem intimidating, particularly if you are unsure of what you need. Here are a few ideas to help you in your search.
Know Your Cybersecurity Threats
Despite the size of the cyber threat landscape, the specific security problems you’re working to resolve for your company are limited. Be specific about the issues that your cybersecurity solution must resolve.
Threats can be divided into three types: partner, internal, and external. The most recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report shows that external threats, such as attacks, account for over 70% of breaches at companies, followed by internal breaches at over 20% and partner risks at less than 10%.
What kinds of threats are there for your company? You’ll want a different approach to deal with external dangers if you’re frequently targeted by cybercriminals (such as the wrong people having access to specific information).
Be Honest About What You Can Accomplish In-House
Ask yourself honestly if your company has the personnel to handle cybersecurity internally. Ask another question after that: Can your present personnel manage all the risks your business has taken on?
If you answered “no” to those inquiries, you’re not alone. Many businesses use outsourcing. Even many major corporations lack internal security operations centers; according to EY, 30% of large organizations outsource security. Only 40% of smaller organizations have one.
Look at your company closely and be honest about what you can accomplish best internally. You must discover a solution that can address such threats if your current workforce is overloaded or lacks the knowledge to manage particular risks.
Specify Your Business Cybersecurity Goals
While all businesses share the same objective—keeping their data secure—the majority of them also have particular security demands and goals, which are frequently linked to corporate goals. In order to select a solution that will secure your organization’s key data and assets, you need to make a list of them.
You can create cybersecurity goals and focus your search for a solution by being aware of all company assets (and getting top management involved when choosing a product).
Shortlist The Best Services
The next step is to shortlist two to three of the best cybersecurity consulting firms once you are aware of your security requirements. Examine their history and reputation in your field or business, as well as the methods, tools, and processes they use to deliver their services.
Visit their websites, read testimonials, and look for consumer reviews of their prior work. You can also get in touch with them and inquire about their services in more detail. Always go with the person that has a strong reputation and experience in your business.
Know About Their Services
Managed cyber security firms advertise that they offer a variety of services. However, in practice, they lack the know-how and capabilities needed to put those services into place. Ask them how they would implement their solutions and services if you call or visit them. It is better to learn more about their services in-depth.
The potential cyber security services an organization needs may include:
- Security compliance
- Security governance
- Security operations
- Network security
- Cloud Security
- System Security
- Data security
Ask your consulting company for more details about their services, such as pricing, coverage, insurance, and flexibility of the contract.
Final Thoughts: Cybersecurity Your Way With WireX Systems
Businesses today are more inventive and flexible. To reach their potential consumer base, they are making use of every opportunity the Internet has to offer. This has the unintended consequence of increasing cyber-attacks because of the infrastructures used to accomplish this goal.
One security lapse, one flaw, or one improper management of client information could be the deciding factor for customers to move between goods and services.
As a result, implementing a thorough cybersecurity plan has many advantages and should be considered a cost of doing business.
Without a cybersecurity solution, your system cannot protect itself against cyberattacks. It will become an unstoppable target as a result of cybercriminals. Businesses with effective cyber defenses instantly gain an advantage in their specialized markets. Businesses that put cybersecurity on the back burner are unable to develop as quickly as they must to stay competitive.
To get started on handling all of your cybersecurity needs, head over to WireX Systems and Schedule A Demo. We’ll discuss how the WireX Systems NDR Platform automates security investigations and empowers internal security teams and MSSPs to handle more threats in significantly less time.
