Let’s be honest, it’s not easy to stay ahead of all the emerging threats that are constantly evolving! On a daily basis cyber criminals are advancing new ways to take advantage of vulnerabilities within your business, exploiting tactics such as digital or physical coercion of staff to expose private details, in turn giving them the ability to steal data.
There are always ways to protect yourself from what can seem like an overwhelming and ever-increasing number of vulnerabilities, all businesses have gaps, and can improve their security posture, however any advancement in your security posture should be proportionate and cost effective.
Below are some examples of evolving threats you should keep in mind when considering where to invest time and money to ensure you have the right level of protection, and as always, more details of these threats can be found on our website, or you can talk to our team at Secure Chain, advice is always free!
1. AI-Driven Attacks: Cybercriminals are leveraging artificial intelligence to automate and scale their operations, making it easier to bypass traditional security measures.
- Strong authentication methods, including Muti-Factor Authentication and conditional access controls
- Strong password policies, avoiding password reuse, weak passwords could be an easy way in for attackers
- Keep on top of your updates and patches, which although may feel like a never-ending cycle, this is an essential and very effective way to strengthen your defences
- Encrypt your data, the use encryption protects your data making it impossible to read if captured in transit and even if it is stolen.
- Mobile device security, corporate mobile phones and tablets are also a risk, it’s important to ensure they are managed correctly using a Mobile Device Management solution, as well as device hardening policies.
2. Ransomware Evolution: Ransomware attacks are becoming more targeted and complex, using techniques such as threatening to release sensitive data unless a ransom is paid.
- Prevention is always cheaper than recovery, there are many solutions available which can be tailored specifically to the size and complexity of any business, this can sometimes be a little overwhelming, we would be more than happy to give advice on what could perfectly suit your needs
- Ensure you have backups, and backup your backups, these are your safety net should anything go wrong, do not overlook their importance, you can be assured an attacker wont!
- Have an incident response plan in place, form an understanding of what actions to take in a ransomware attack scenario, acting fast can reduce recovery time and effort greatly
3.IoT Vulnerabilities: The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has expanded the attack surface, providing new opportunities for exploitation.
- IoT devices such as smart speakers, or even Wi-Fi connected appliances often get overlooked, as everything becomes more connected it is important to bear in mind like any other technology, these need to be updated regularly
4. Supply Chain Attacks: The interconnected nature of the global economy makes supply chain attacks a lucrative target for cybercriminals, with attacks expected to become more frequent and damaging.
- Regularly test supplier systems and those created for your business by the supplier
- Consider risk tools to help identify where you should focus your attention when it comes to auditing suppliers.
5. Remote Workers : When working remotely users may not have the same level of protection as then enjoy when working in the office, and the focus over recent years has been to target remote users.
- Phishing attacks , train your staff on how to spot potential phishing emails and create a mechanism for them to report it, ensure they know what to do should one get past your email controls. Implementing the facility to run simulated attacks to educate your users and improve their knowledge of what to look for can be invaluable.
- Unsecured home networks often lack the robust security of enterprises level devices making them easier to target for cyber-attacks. Where possible ensure devices have firewalls enabled, anti-virus installed, and the drives encrypted, the users devices should also be hardened with secure configurations including web filtering controls.
At Secure Chain, we are committed to empowering our community with the knowledge and tools needed to combat these threats. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and let’s work together to secure our digital future.
We stop at nothing to ensure you are in the best shape possible to protect against cyber threats, weather you are looking validation of the controls or are just feeling overwhelmed by IT security, we are here to support you and your business.
