The Frontline is On Your Front Porch

The battlefront of the digital world may be hidden, but it’s lurking right at our doorsteps.

Cybersecurity affects each and every internet user – with more than 422 million individuals impacted by data compromises in the United States in 2022 alone. For the 16 sectors whose physical and virtual assets, systems and networks are vital to our nation’s function, health and safety, these attacks compromise more than data and could be devastating to our way of life.

As critical infrastructure continues to migrate onto the cloud, cybercriminals are becoming more dedicated and skilled in their attempts to steal and trade this critical information and the processes it enables. With the threat of ransomware and data breaches looming, how can you protect your business from the digital warzone we now live in?

Much like you’d protect your home, protecting your business and our nation starts with the basics – complying with regulatory guidelines, consistently enforcing cyber best-practices and constantly monitoring for breaches.

Locking your doors is the bare minimum security measure you should take to protect yourself and your family, both during the day and at night. Similarly, your business’s bare minimum measure is complying with your industry’s specific regulatory framework requirements. However, much like only locking your doors, compliance standards only truly keep out your friends as they provide bad actors with ample opportunity to breach your perimeter. These regulatory guidelines serve as a playbook for cyber-attack and cannot keep up with the rapidly evolving threats and risks.

While ensuring your doors are locked each day is not the only security measure you should be taking, the consistent practice and application of home security and cyber security practices are essential.

For businesses, this means not only establishing guidelines, but consistently monitoring that employees are upholding your company’s security procedures. This starts with the basics such as using strong, unique passwords and authentication features, but it also carries over to practices like privileged access management and more.

Securing your windows, as well, recognizes that perpetrators may exploit alternative entry points. The same is true in cybersecurity as attackers are likely to exploit other vulnerabilities in systems rather than the primary entry points.

In both your home and business, the best safeguard against breaches is monitoring. Much like you might use a home alarm system to monitor for intrusion, businesses should utilize constant monitoring to detect and prioritize alerts and incidents. This prioritization will help your team to understand which threats are the most urgent, much like a well-equipped security system would differentiate a tree branch hitting your window versus a thief attempted to break in.

It is not enough to simply implement these practices. You must continue to enhance your defenses just as bad actors are honing their craft. These habits should become a natural part of your routine and your business should be vigilant in securing your systems.

In today’s interconnected world, the constant presence of cyber threats can be overwhelming. However, by adopting a proactive mindset and taking steps to protect not only ourselves but also our nation’s critical infrastructure, we contribute to the overall preservation of our way of life. Each proactive step we take, from the basics like using strong and unique passwords to monitoring and fortifying our business’s protective measures strengthens our individual defenses against cyber threats.

No one will be waving their white flag in this cyber war any time soon, and this is all the more reason why we must be proactively moving beyond compliance to ensure we are protected. No matter the size of your security team, it can be a challenge to deploy enough resources to protect your business’s resources. Working with a partner can exponentially grow your defense measures against any number of attacks – from phishing to malware and even ransomware.

While it is easy to put off implementing these defenses, the risks include compromised data, system downtime and financial loss. It’s better to be on the offensive. If you are looking for a partner to join your organization on the front lines as we protect our nation’s critical infrastructure, Conquest Cyber is ready to join forces. Contact us to learn how Conquest can help to monitor and manage the entirety of your organization’s cyber risk management program.