In this digital age, one of the most destructive things that can happen to a company is to become a victim of a cyber-attack. Massive data breaches brought about by internal and external threats pose a long-term effect on an organization’s security risk posture and customer’s perception.
While most companies have started investing in network security platforms and establishing their incident response plans, cyber-attacks, if successfully undertaken, typically persist and grow exponentially. In this post, we list down the common challenges in cyber security and possible ways to address them.
Advanced Cyber Threats
The same technological advances that made life easier in today’s society also provided hackers the tools that helped them create modern cyber threats. Hackers managed to improve on their techniques and volume of production, releasing almost a million new malware threats every day in 2015. Cyber-attacks have also become more sophisticated and creative, with malwares infiltrating legitimate applications, software, and even social media platforms.
With advanced threats on the rise, companies must look into the possibility of having their incident detection and response automated. Having a cyber-attack detection solution in place reduces low-risk security workload, and allow security professionals to focus on high-priority tasks.
Inadequate Cyber Security Expertise
The substantial increase in cyber-attacks in the last 5 years has created a premium on security skills. Because of the rise in demand, companies are having a hard time forming a dedicated group of security professionals. Aside from talent shortage, some organizations also acknowledge that their cyber security staff lack the proper expertise when it comes to dealing with sophisticated malware. As cyber threats continue to evolve, security professionals are still using traditional and outdated cyber defenses.
In order to combat this dilemma, companies must provide their security team with continuous cyber-education. Security professionals must arm themselves by learning about innovations in cyber-defense, which will enable them to fully understand what strategies and line of defense they can apply in various situations.
Poor User Knowledge about Cyber Security Risks
A company’s vulnerability to cyber-threats increases with the introduction of new work trends such as bring-your-own-device (BYOD), increased mobility, and remote worker policies. Increased use of social media applications and non-PC devices such as smart phones and tablets also make it harder for the cyber security team to control and secure endpoint systems.
Ultimately, it is the organization’s staff that poses the greatest security threat. Lack of user knowledge and cyber risks result in employees often introducing the malware into the company’s network. In some companies, the staff don’t consider the harm of never updating their anti-virus software, clicking suspicious links on Facebook, downloading files from an unknown email sender, and more.
Knowledge of the principles of cyber security should not be limited to the administrators and IT personnel only. Everyone in the organization should be properly informed about the various cyber threats and the consequences they bring. Strict policies and protocols should be enforced regarding cyber security programs. People within the organization should also be in the loop with the company’s incident response plan in the event of a breach. The cyber security team can collaborate with the HR department in holding annual trainings to constantly update the staff regarding cyber-attack trends.
Insufficient Funds
Budgetary concerns have also been listed as a threat against cyber security. A number of organizations, especially those in the public sector, fail to see the importance of allocating a big part of their budget to addressing cyber security concerns. Because of this, government agencies become a favorite target among cyber criminals. While bigger companies recognize the importance of including cyber security in their budget, a lot of enterprises are still on the fence as to how much their company should actually spend. Incident response plans often fail because organizations refuse to spend more money doing follow-up, when this is crucial in preventing similar cyber-attacks from happening.
Companies should avoid scrimping on cyber security measures and taking short-cuts or using outdated cyber tools just to save money. Proper allocation of funds can help organizations in securing the additional budget they need to get the best kind of defense against cyber-attacks. Acquiring a network security platform may be seen as an expensive purchase, but buying it will be less costly compared to the profit loss the company may suffer from having its network breached.
Nowadays, it is no longer a question of whether your system will be hacked, but when. Network executives should integrate cyber security in their long term plan in order to ensure the highest form of protection for their networks. Being aware of the challenges that face most cyber security plans today and knowing how to solve them efficiently will help your company deal better with future cyber-attacks.
