Cybersecurity is the protection of computer systems and networks from the theft of or damage to their hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. There are seven main types of cybersecurity and each offers a different technique or method used to help protect your business from cyberattacks, data breaches, and ransomware infections. Simply implementing network security, but ignoring your physical security will still leave your business vulnerable to attack. This guide will show you the role each type of cybersecurity plays in securing your business and how to implement them successfully.
Network Security:
Network Security is the process of protecting your internal network from cyber-attacks. These include servers hosted in your network, devices connected to the network, firewalls and more. Network security is important because it ensures that your network is protected by securing the infrastructure around it and preventing access to it.
Network security involves more than just updating your firewall, however. There are many automated network security tools on the market today that use machine learning to flag dangerous network traffic and alert you to threats that occur in near real-time. Dark Cubed connects with your firewall to score all the traffic passing through it on a scale of 1-9. A high scoring threat like ransomware, DDOS, and port scanning will be automatically blocked by our advanced machine learning algorithms and keep your network protected.
Cloud Security:
More businesses are transitioning their operations to the cloud than ever before. The cloud provides better security, reduced costs, and improved scalability for your business needs. Cloud security involves software-based tools to protect your virtualized IP, data, applications, services, and any associated infrastructure of cloud computing. Organizations like AWS Cloud and Microsoft Cloud services implement security automatically and follow strict security guidelines to ensure the safety of their client’s data.
Some people believe that the cloud is inherently insecure. However, in 2020 this is not the case. Data stored on physical servers on-premise is also prone to security threats, natural disasters, and other vulnerabilities. If your business chooses to move to the cloud or implement a cloud-hybrid approach we recommend that you consult with a security professional first to ensure a smooth secure transition.
Endpoint Security:
The 2019 Global Endpoint Security Trend Report showed 42% of endpoints are unprotected at any given time. This number is suspected to grow as businesses around the world rapidly transform their workforce into remote workers. Endpoint Security is more important now than ever before. As more business is being done from home, cafes, and hotels we must ensure that all endpoint devices are secure. Data from SentinelOne shows that from February 23 to March 16 2020 there was an upward trend of attempted attacks with peaks at 145 threats per 1,000 endpoints, compared to 30 or 37 at the start of that period. Endpoint security is focused on protecting the security of the devices at the edge of your network, like cellphones, iPads, laptops, and other portable devices not connected to the office network.
According to ZDNet, VPN usage has increased by 66% in the United States this year. Dark Cubed recommends using a secure VPN to connect remote workstations to your office network. Dark Cubed Outpost combines the protection of Wireguard VPN with our Dark Cubed Automatic Threat Protection Platform. This means you receive comprehensive visibility and protection for all your devices, anywhere you need it.
Physical Security:
Physical security is the protection of personal information, hardware, software, networks, and data from physical actions that could cause damage or a severe loss to an organization. Physical security includes protection from fire, flood, natural disasters, burglary, theft, and vandalism. Physical security is often overlooked and underestimated by both employees and the I.T. department. Organizations instead focus on more technical threats like ransomware, DDOS attacks, and malware threats.
Physical security is just as important as digital security. If one of your employees leaves their computer unattended and unlocked at work, important information can be stolen from the device right under your nose. The same goes for employees shoulder surfing over each others computers and piggybacking with other employees swiping in their badges at the door. These are common mistakes that can easily cause a security breach when left unchecked.
Employee Security:
The majority of cyber attacks, 82% to be exact, begin with end-users. When an attacker compromises one device, like an employee’s laptop or tablet, they gain a valuable foothold into the entire network that can be exploited to launch further attacks on your organization.
Providing comprehensive security awareness training that includes education on frequent attacks like phishing, business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, and physical security is the best way to ensure your employees know what to do in the event of a breach and decrease the risk of future attacks. It is essential to take preventative measures and provide comprehensive security training before an attack occurs. Many government regulations and compliance requirements now hold companies liable for data breaches that expose customer information and levy hefty fines against businesses found to be negligent.
Users need to know what is expected of them to succeed. Dark Cubed recommends providing unambiguous written guidelines to empower employees to take cybersecurity seriously. Encouraging a culture of cybersecurity hygiene can be difficult, especially in cases where employees are dispersed and not reporting to a central location. One of the most critical things is to ensure that your employees aren't afraid to report a possible cyber incident. If people believe they are at risk of losing their jobs and incomes, they may try to hide or fail to report potential incidents.
This can have catastrophic effects from a cybersecurity standpoint. Employees must be informed that mistakes happen and as long as they are not negligent, they will not be risking their jobs for reporting a potential incident. The first step to mitigating a security incident is finding out you've had one, and making employees part of the solution when it comes to preventing a cyberattack.
IoT Security:
The threat of in-home smart (IoT) devices – like smart light bulbs, thermostats, power outlets, and security cameras – being hacked and controlled by botnets has been researched and documented extensively. In 2017 Dark Cubed wanted to explore the level of risk they pose during their everyday operations, as designed and delivered out of the box.
Dark Cubed purchased a variety of off-the-shelf in-home smart devices from major US brick-and-mortar and online retailers. We monitored them in normal operations, using our threat identification and protection platform. And we examined the security of the devices themselves, their associated Android applications, and their back-end infrastructure.
The results of our tests were shocking. Just while behaving normally, the devices we tested communicate with China and have national security implications. We found inexplicable interactions with personal data, unusual levels of communication between the devices and their infrastructure. Along with connections to IP addresses in questionable nation-states and security practices and policies that were at best, ineffective and at worst, non-existent.
However, this doesn’t mean your business should throw away all the IoT devices you use and need. Some of the devices, applications, and infrastructures are secure, are not more expensive than the insecure ones, and do not communicate with servers in China. We recommend businesses closely examine the IoT devices they utilize and consult with a cybersecurity professional to determine the security of such devices.
Remote Security:
Remote security entails protecting your company’s sensitive information and data from attack while working remotely. As more businesses transition to work from home who did not think this was possible a year ago, we must tackle a new world of cybersecurity. Industries that were once hesitant to send people home with more data than they need are now finding themselves in tough situations. They need to keep business rolling, but they also need to secure their data.
Employees need to know how to avoid risk while working from home. Many may erroneously assume that they are safer when off of the business network. This is not the case. A well-crafted phishing email could still compromise company email accounts and cost your business. Employees must understand the risks present while working from home, and employers must put practices in place to secure remote workspaces. As mentioned before, we recommend
securing remote workspaces with antivirus, a secure VPN connection, and comprehensive employee education on common security threats.
Bonus: Cloud Security
Many organizations lump cloud security in with their physical IT infrastructure but this couldn’t be further from the case. Securing AWS, Azure, and GC infrastructures is vastly different from securing physical IT assets. Make sure you employ and utilize a robust cloud security infrastructure, preferably with cloud consultants on staff from a reputable firm. Cloud Security can be complicated so make sure you evaluate your cloud environment for vulnerabilities and privileges to ensure you are running a secure and compliant environment.
Author: Rosemarie O'Connor