How to Utilize Technology to Improve Your Company’s Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a serious aspect of running a business, although it does affect everyone. Whether you are a business owner or use the internet to monitor an online account, you are at risk of a cyberattack. Cybercriminals and hackers can conduct attacks and spread malware through online activity, putting you and your business at risk.

The need for extensive cybersecurity has increased in recent years, as more threats have emerged. In fact, more than 60% of small businesses faced cybersecurity incidents last year, which caused significant financial and operational setbacks. With this in mind, you should utilize the right technology to improve your company’s cybersecurity defenses, as outlined in this post.

Deploy Preventive Tools

Dealing with the financial, legal, and reputational fallout of a breach can put a lot of strain on a business, and technology can be used to prevent this. Preventive tools are often used to build stakeholder trust and ensure business continuity, primarily protecting sensitive data. This proactive approach is vital and must be prioritized when using technology to enhance your company’s cybersecurity.

Preventing cyberattacks from ever occurring should be the company’s go-to strategy. Not only will this protect customer data, but it will also avoid costly breaches. Recovering from a cyberattack would be much more expensive than the expense of utilizing preventative measures, particularly when considering legal fees, regulatory fines, and reputational damage.

One of the most effective preventive measures to use is access controls. Implementing access controls, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), can restrict access to data and resources to only those who require it. This is a principle known as “least privilege.” It is worthwhile to use a tool to enforce strong, unique passwords across the organization.

Use Data Protection Measures

While you might focus on the network and systems, data protection is also required. his adds layers of security that focus specifically on the data itself, thereby strengthening the company’s overall security posture. Your business can do this by using several types of technology, such as encryption, firewalls, and privacy-enhancing technologies like differential privacy.

Data protection measures reinforce confidentiality, integrity, and availability, also known as the CIA Triad. This means it keeps sensitive information from unauthorized access, ensures data is accurate and reliable, and guarantees data is accessible and usable when needed. With this protection, businesses are protected even if an attacker succeeds in getting past other network defenses.

When you want to implement technical safeguards, you must first understand how to classify your data. This means conducting a data inventory, which enables you to understand the data your company holds, where it is stored, and who has access to it, and then classify the data by sensitivity. After all, not all of your data will require the same level of protection.

After doing this and collecting only the data that is necessary, you can apply the proper data protection measures. MFA should be enforced here as well, but installing and regularly updating security software, such as anti-malware and antivirus protection, will be essential in detecting and blocking threats.

SoftScheck APAC’s IT System Security Audits ensure comprehensive assessments, strengthening cybersecurity measures across the Asia-Pacific region effectively.

Implement Continuous Monitoring

Constant vigilance is necessary to enhance a business’ cybersecurity measures. It enables a proactive and real-time defense against evolving threats, which is not offered through periodic, reactive assessments. Continuous monitoring will provide 24/7 surveillance to detect and respond to threats as they arise, while scheduled scans will only provide a snapshot in time.

The right tools used here will depend on your company’s specific risks and infrastructure, but a robust program will use a combination of different technologies. You might select cloud security posture management (CSPM), which scans cloud infrastructure for compliance issues, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) to monitor individual devices, like laptops, for suspicious activity.

Increasingly, tools for continuous monitoring in cybersecurity have been powered by artificial intelligence (AI). AI helps to detect anomalies faster and adapt to new threat patterns much more efficiently than other technologies. Exploring AI for security in business is crucial, and this focus should be on protecting the company’s customers, finances, and reputation.

To conclude, technology is utilized in many aspects of business, including cybersecurity. A company’s cyber defenses should be improved upon regularly to prevent attacks from occurring, and the points made in this post should simplify this process.