Cyber-readiness Strategy 12: Multi-Layer Security Strategy

Security is asymmetrical. Where businesses must plan, prepare and defend against every threat or scenario, cybercriminals only need to find a single weakness or hole in your defenses to carry out their malicious plans.

Protect your data and your business by deploying multiple security strategies together as one. By using a multi-layer security approach, you can make it much more difficult for cybercriminals to penetrate your organization and cause serious damage.

When it comes to cybersecurity, businesses cannot afford to take chances. Deploying a multi-layer security strategy is the best way to protect your data and your business from the ever-growing threat of cybercrime.

A multi-layer security approach uses multiple security measures to create a defense in depth. By using multiple layers of security, you can make it much more difficult for cybercriminals to penetrate your organization and cause serious damage.

Here are 5 tips for building an effective multi-layer security strategy:

1.     Implement Strong Authentication Measures

One of the most important components of a multi-layer security strategy is strong authentication. Authentication is the process of verifying that someone is who they claim to be. There are many different authentication methods, but the most common are something you know (like a password), something you have (like a security token), or something you are (biometrics).

Using multiple authentication factors – known as two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA) – is the best way to ensure that only authorized users can access your data. Requiring MFA makes it much more difficult for cybercriminals to gain access to your systems, as they would need to have possession of all the required factors.

2.     Encrypt All Sensitive Data

Another important element of a multi-layer security strategy is encryption. Encryption is the process of transforming readable data into an unreadable format. Encrypting sensitive data helps to protect it from being accessed by unauthorized individuals, even if they can penetrate your defenses.

Encryption should be implemented for data “at rest” and “in flight”. Most web services today will use secure socket layer (SSL) encryption to encrypt communication sessions “in flight” between users and the service. Data sitting on a storage device – hard drive or SSD – is “at rest” and can most often be encrypted using features the device operating system (OS). It usually needs to be activated during setup and a policy control needs to be set so it cannot be turned off.

3.     Implement Perimeter Security

Your workforce and company resources in your offices need to be protected by sophistication perimeter security techniques. A firewall controls the flow of traffic between your private network and the public Internet. It can be used to allow or block traffic based on a set of rules. This helps to protect your network from unauthorized access and malicious activity.

Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) are another important layer of security. These systems are designed to detect and prevent unauthorized access to computer networks. IDPS can be deployed as hardware, software, or a combination of both. They work by monitoring network traffic and looking for suspicious activity that may indicate an attempted intrusion. When IDPS detect suspicious activity, they can take action to block the attempt and alert the system administrator. This helps to prevent attacks before they can do any damage.

4.     Utilize Perimeterless Defense Systems

When your workforce is working outside the office, they are also outside the firewall. When this is the case, other “zero-trust” or “perimeterless” tactics need to be added. If the user’s device OS supports a firewall, it should be activated and managed by policies that can be pushed from a central authority. DNS Security – both DNS filtering and DNS encryption should be implemented to prevent users being redirected to fraudulent sites without their knowledge.

Finally, endpoint detect & respond (EDR) software should be installed on any user device to help prevent malware, ransomware or other malicious code from infecting the device.

5.     Educate Your Employees

One of the most important components of a company security strategy is education. It is essential that all employees are aware of the risks associated with cybersecurity and the best practices for avoiding them. Employees should be trained on how to identify phishing emails, spot social engineering attacks, and understand the importance of keeping their passwords safe.

In addition, employees should know what to do if they suspect that their account has been compromised. They should know how to report suspicious activity and whom to contact for help. By educating your employees about cybersecurity risks and best practices, you can help to protect your business from attacks.

A multi-layer security strategy is the best way to protect your business from cybercrime. By implementing multiple security measures, you can make it much harder for cybercriminals to succeed in their attacks.

By following these tips, you can make it much harder for cybercriminals to succeed in their attacks. Implementing a multi-layer security strategy is an essential part of protecting your business from the ever-growing threat of cybercrime. By doing so, you can help to ensure that your business is as safe as possible from the ever-growing threat of cybercrime.

So what are you waiting for? Implement a multi-layer security strategy today to help keep your business safe from cybercrime. If you would like more information or have questions about how strong your cyber-readiness is, please contact Montra at sales@montra.io.

Cyber-readiness Strategies 9 and 10: Passwords and Insurance

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the cyber security threats out there. From ransomware and phishing to malicious insiders and business email compromises, there are many dangers lurking in the digital world that can affect your organization. To stay safe, it’s important to have a robust cyber readiness strategy in place. This starts with making sure your employees are aware of the threats and know how to protect themselves, but it also includes implementing technology solutions and procedures that can help you mitigate or prevent attacks. In our prior installment of this series, we touched on Continuous Network Intelligence and Security Awareness Training. Keep reading for strategies #9 and #10; Combating the Password Crisis and Don’t Skip Insurance.

Combat the Password Crisis 

In today’s fully connected world, passwords are the first line of defense against cyber-attacks. However, they are also often the softest target for attacks. This is because many people use weak or easily guessed passwords, and they often reuse them across multiple accounts. This makes it easy for hackers to gain access to your systems if they can just crack one password. To combat this, it’s important to have strong password policies in place. This includes using a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters, as well as changing passwords regularly. This can be managed by policy on many systems so that users are forced to use strong passwords and unique passwords across systems. For some systems, these controls cannot be set, but alerts can be triggered so that IT staff will get notified when users set their passwords poorly. 

When users are forced to use difficult and unique passwords, it’s also critical to use a password manager to help users keep track of all their different login credentials. This will make it easier for your users to comply with the password policies. Some desktop browsers have a basic password manager built-in and third-party software can also be used that provides additional features like secure password sharing within groups. 

Don’t Skip the Insurance 

No matter how well you prepare, there’s always a chance that your organization could be the victim of a cyber-attack. This is why it’s so important to have insurance in place. Cyber insurance can help cover the costs of an attack, including business interruption, data recovery, and legal fees. It can also help with reputational damage control if your organization’s name is dragged through the mud. 

Cyber-insurance is a relatively new area of business insurance, so there are a wide variety of cyber insurance carriers with different underwriting policies. It is important to do your research and find one that fits your organization’s needs and that is cost-effective. It is also helpful to work with cyber experts, who can help you make some small changes to your IT operation that can have a big impact on your cyber insurance costs. Implementing multi-factor authentication across all your applications and using DNS Security can have a positive impact on your risk scoring with an insurance carrier. 

These are just two more of the many things you can do to improve your cyber readiness strategy. Stay tuned for our next, and final installment, where we’ll be covering strategies #11 and #12; Reduce Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and Deploying a Multi-Layer Security Strategy. If you would like more information or have questions about how strong your cyber-readiness is, please contact Montra at sales@montra.io.

12 Cyber-Readiness Strategies #5 and #6

If you’re like most IT professionals, you’re always looking for ways to improve your organization’s cyber-readiness. And rightly so: the stakes are high, and the threats are constantly evolving. In the 2020 Thales Data Threat Report, 49% of US companies have already experienced a data breach. Is your business ready to handle a targeted cyber-attack? But where do you start? 

Our 12 Cyber-Readiness Strategies is a great place to get started. In our continuing series on making certain your organization is cyber-ready, we have already covered developing a cyber-readiness plan, establishing policies, keeping software up to date, and requiring multi-factor authentication. 

This time we are covering Backup and Cybersecurity Compliance. 

Backup and compliance are two key areas that can make a big difference in your organization’s overall cyber-readiness. Having a robust backup process in place is crucial to maintain continuity of operations in the event of an incident. And ensuring that your organization is compliant with relevant cybersecurity regulations can help prevent costly fines and penalties. 

We will take a closer look at why these two areas are so important and offer some practical tips on how to get going. So let’s get started! 

5. Back Up Everything Valuable 

Backup may not immediately come to mind when thinking about cybersecurity. But when your company eventually experiences a cyber breach – and it is when not if – you will be happy you have backups of all your critical data. Data is the lifeblood of every business. Unfortunately, the risks and threats to the protection, privacy, and usability of that data are endless. 

Why Is Backup Important for Cyber-readiness? 

When it comes to cybersecurity, backup is one of the most important measures you can take. After all, if your data is lost or stolen, it can be difficult – if not impossible – to get it back. 

By implementing a reliable backup process, you can make certain that your data is always safe and secure. And if disaster does strike, you will be able to quickly restore your systems and get back up and running. 

 What Other Benefits Do Backups Provide? 

In addition to the security benefit, there are other benefits to implementing a backup strategy, including: 

  • Compliance with regulations: Many regulatory frameworks require organizations to maintain a certain level of data security. A reliable backup solution can help you meet these requirements. 
  • Minimized downtime: If your systems are lost or damaged, a backup solution can help you get up and running quickly. 
  • Reduced costs: By backing up your data, you can minimize the cost of data loss or corruption. 

How to Get Started with Backup 

There are a variety of backup solutions available, so it’s important to choose one that fits your needs. Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a backup solution: 

  • Choose a solution that is scalable, so it can grow with your organization. 
  • Protect your backups with separate login credentials 
  • Work with your IT partner to configure the solution and test it thoroughly. 
6. Don’t Neglect Compliance

In addition to backup, compliance is another key factor in cyber-readiness strategy. Compliance can help protect your organization from potential fines and penalties, and it can also help you reduce your risk of a cyber-attack. 

Maintaining cybersecurity compliance is mandatory for many organizations. While navigating and satisfying the obligations can be complicated and stressful, achieving compliance is a critical component of having a cyber-ready business. 

How Is Compliance Important to Cyber-readiness? 

There are cyber compliance regulations that apply to businesses in multiple industries, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). Security and privacy are integral elements of compliance and privacy frameworks such as the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) should be considered as part of your compliance journey. 

Cybersecurity Compliance can be a complex and daunting task, but it’s important to remember that there are many resources available to help you. Here are a few steps to get started: 

  • Familiarize yourself with the regulations that apply to your industry 
  • Develop a compliance plan that outlines how you will meet the requirements 
  • Implement security controls to help you comply with the regulations 
  • Train your employees on cyber compliance requirements 

Conclusion 

Cybersecurity is one of the most important issues businesses face today. Cyber threats are on the rise, and businesses need to take steps to protect themselves. A backup and compliance strategy are two of the twelve components we believe to be essential to making your business cyber-ready. By implementing these solutions, your business can protect its data, ensure compliance with regulations, and mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks. 

Learn More 

Want to learn more about cyber-readiness for your business? Montra can help! Please contact us. We are happy to help you become more effective and keep your IT operation safe and secure.