Cybersecurity is one aspect that businesses cannot afford to ignore and need to get right. With the severity and number of cyberattacks increasing constantly, it’s crucial that every company realizes the dangers they’re exposed to and is taking the necessary measures to stay secure.
According to the 2019 Data Breach Investigation Report by Verizon, up to 60% of cyberattacks target small and medium-sized businesses. Similarly, many big companies have been making the headlines time and time again for not focusing enough on security, such as Orbitz, T-Mobile, Quora, and Facebook, to name a few.
There are various aspects of cyber defense that might need to be taken into account, but which ones provide the best possible protection against hackers and cybercriminals in the long-run? Let’s take a look at six tools that businesses need to take their cybersecurity to the next level:
- Virtual Private Network
A virtual private network, also referred to as a VPN, is used by hundreds and thousands of businesses around the globe and for good reason. But first, what is a VPN? Basically, it’s a technology that establishes a secure, encrypted connection to another network over the open Internet.
With the concept of telecommuting becoming mainstream, employees are working from anywhere in the world, often using unreliable public Wi-Fi networks. Not only are most of these connections unencrypted, but also they enable the bad guys to sniff and intercept confidential data.
VPNs make it easier for employees to securely access a corporate network remotely, no matter where they’re located. Simply connect to a public or private network, initiate a VPN connection with the company’s intranet using the software, and safely connect to the internal network via an encrypted tunnel.
- Antivirus Software
Although an antivirus might not be enough in today’s cyber world, it’s still necessary to keep your business protected from unwanted intrusions, like computer viruses, spyware, worms as well as Trojan horses, among others.
It will alert you whenever an infection takes place, and many also offer additional functionality such as email scanning to avoid malicious links or attachments. You can also use them to schedule scans to identify existing threats
The best antivirus programs also come with protective measures such as quarantine and deletion. There are many antivirus options available on the market, but we’d recommend opting for the ones geared towards businesses.
- Firewall
A firewall is one of the most important cybersecurity tools that you should have in your arsenal. Basically, it prevents unauthorized users from entering a network. How? By filtering all incoming and outgoing traffic based on pre-defined rules.
It can be implemented in either software or hardware or even a combination of both. While firewalls are helpful, they have limitations. After all, skilled cybercriminals have discovered new ways to sneak data past firewalls.
Despite that, firewalls are still quite useful when it comes to detecting less-sophisticated attacks on your business. You will come across different types of firewalls, and choosing the right one will depend on your company’s needs!
- Secure Cloud Storage
These days, businesses of all sizes and shapes are switching to cloud technology for their critical storage needs. It allows files to be accessed in an instant from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection and doesn’t cost you as much purchasing hardware.
You only have to pay for the amount of data storage your business requires, and automated backup processes provide disaster recovery. But even though the convenience of cloud technology cannot be denied, privacy and security is still a concern.
It isn’t too difficult for hackers to take advantage of loopholes to get their hands on your sensitive business data. Then, there’s also the issue of whether or not you can trust the cloud service provider with your information.
That’s why you should always use VPN to encrypt your files while transferring them to the cloud. In addition, it’s important to do your due diligence when selecting a cloud service provider – going through customer reviews can help here!
- DDoS Mitigation
If your business provides a service to others, you could very well fall victim to a DDoS (Distributed-Denial-of-Service) attack. The attack consists of overwhelming a web server – using multiple compromised systems – with illegitimate requests to make it unavailable to users.
To ensure your website remains unaffected in the event of a DDoS attack, you should invest in a DDoS mitigation service. When choosing one, make sure to consider aspects such as network capacity, processing capabilities, network and application layer mitigation techniques, etc.
- Intrusion Detection & Prevention
As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, and the techniques used by hackers and cybercriminals more advanced, businesses are left with no other option but to implement more powerful forms of cyber defense.
In the year 2019, it’s not enough to have measures that simply react to cyber threats. Instead, a more proactive approach is required so that businesses can identify attacks beforehand and deal with them accordingly.
Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many businesses are investing in systems which detect potential security issues and respond to them as soon as possible. It’s far better (and less damaging) to discover and eliminate a cyberattack before it spreads.
Wrapping Things Up
If your business doesn’t have the appropriate cybersecurity measures in place, it’s easy pickings for cybercriminals and hackers. To make things easier for you, we’ve highlighted the six services and tools every business needs to have in 2019.
While implementing one or all of them is definitely going to cost you money in the short term, let’s not forget that your business will have much-needed protection against all kinds of cyberattacks in the long term.
Did we miss any cybersecurity tools in this list? Have you got anything else to add? Please let us know in the comments section below!
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