Regardless of what stage you’re at in your digital transformation, ditno can help you secure your network and drive better business outcomes.
Cyberattacks have been steadily increasing in recent years, as cybercriminals have been getting more sophisticated. As our business technology advances so, too, do the ways in which cyberattackers can exploit gaps and vulnerabilities in our systems. Protecting these systems is essential. Successful cyberattacks can create havoc for a business by interrupting operations, compromising the organisation’s reputation, incurring costs for remediation, and even affecting customers and partners of the targeted business.
Some organisations are better prepared than others, and understand that protecting the business network is more than just protecting the technology they operate on; it’s also about protecting business assets, employees, and customers as well. This is because a cyberattack can affect those stakeholders directly, such as by releasing confidential information to the public, stealing identities and payment details, and even, in the case of interconnected organisations, using an attack on one firm to launch a broader attack on its partners.
When businesses fail to get the security fundamentals right, they open up opportunities for malicious actors to attack. Before taking another step in your business, it’s essential to take a moment to review your cybersecurity posture and make sure you’ve got the basics covered. But note that the basics may not be what you think they are.
Getting the basics right
To best protect your network, your business needs to establish a solid cybersecurity foundation to build from. To determine the best approach, you need to assess your current cybersecurity posture and identify any gaps and vulnerabilities that need to be strengthened.
There are three basic areas to be aware of:
1. Flat networks create risk
Flat networks provide more opportunities and vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to exploit. Once a cyberattacker has gained access to a flat network, they can then proliferate throughout that network, accessing even the most sensitive systems and data. Strengthening the technological network itself helps to strengthen the overall security posture of a business. This can be done through micro-segmentation, which creates barriers within the network to stop attackers in their tracks, confining them to a single area and keeping them away from the most sensitive parts of the network.
2. Hygiene is essential
Technology controls are essential but they’re not the entire picture when it comes to protecting your network. Encouraging good cybersecurity hygiene and fostering a cybersecurity-conscious business culture also ensures your people are helping to strengthen your security posture as well.
This includes requiring strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, as well as educating employees regarding social engineering approaches, such as social engineering. Employees should be aware of the risks of clicking on links or attachments in emails, inserting unknown USB devices, and using easy-to-guess passwords.
3. The business network includes customers and partners
Business networks aren’t just technological; we engage with partners and customers every day in our broader business network. A breach in our organisation can have flow-on effects with our partners and customers, and vice versa. Therefore, it’s essential to work with the organisations in your supply chain to ensure their security posture is strong, and to plug gaps in your own posture to keep partners and customers safe.
Next steps
As every new cyberattack is reported in the media, it highlights that we need to review and assess our own cybersecurity and look at ways to strengthen this. Strengthening our cybersecurity across every level of the business is a fundamental step towards driving digital transformation safely.
At ditno, we’re committed to helping our customers improve their IT security and protect their business at every stage of their transformation. For more information on how ditno can help your business, contact the team today.
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