What is Cybersecurity – Who Needs it?

Businesses, both large and small, often ask the question, “when do I need to be concerned about cybersecurity and what does cybersecurity really entail?”  More often than not, businesses feel that firewall protection and encryption services provide enough security to manage their day-to-day business. While firewall protection and encryption of sensitive data like payment history and customer data are important, cybersecurity is a much more in-depth process.

So, what exactly is cybersecurity?

The easiest answer to this question is that it is a process that seeks to protect a company’s entire technology system including hardware, software, and data from cyber attacks. In computing, security includes internal and external threats and unauthorized access to data centers and other inter-connected computerized systems. One of the larger subsets of cybersecurity, and one receiving the most governmental attention is maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data.

In order to maintain a complete cybersecurity system, companies require a coordinated effort throughout their information systems including application security, information security, network security, email security, incident response planning, disaster recovery/business continuity planning, operational security, and continuous training.

One of the biggest challenges is the constantly changing nature of security risks and methods of attack used by hackers. Previous approaches to cybersecurity have focused on the most dangerous threats to critical systems and data sets, leaving portions of a company’s information system exposed or only partially defended.

“One key area of focus of hackers are company email servers which is often an overlooked risk within a company’s security plan,” says Shawn Waldman, CEO of Secure Cyber Defense.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) implements and recommends practical cybersecurity and privacy standards and best practices necessary for the U.S. to adopt effective cybersecurity measures. Recently, the NIST recommended a shift to continuous monitoring and real-time assessments to manage potential threats.

So, what types of businesses need cybersecurity?

The short answer is every business needs to be concerned with and take measures against cyber threats. The longer answer is any company that takes in sensitive customer data such as social security numbers, routing numbers, medical information and policy numbers, passcodes and payment information. Also included in this group are complex companies who utilize multiple databases, work with the government, or have multiple locations and a large base of third-party vendors linking to a central database.

According to Symantec, over 58 percent of cyber attacks in 2017 were targeted toward small businesses — and this number will only rise. Thus, cybersecurity is both a large and small and medium-sized business problem. In fact, the average cost for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information increased in 2018 by 4.8 percent to $148, according to the annual Ponemon Institute’s cost of a data breach study.

In order to assure the public that companies are protecting sensitive data. Governments are stepping in and passing new data protection regulations requiring certain standards of cybersecurity are met even imposing significant fines for data breach incidents. Understanding these new regulations and achieving compliance touches every size company.

Secure Cyber Defense is first and foremost a company dedicated to cybersecurity with solutions scaled to any size organization or budget. Unlike other “so-called” cybersecurity product companies, Secure Cyber Defense utilizes not only threat detection hardware and software but employs a dedicated team of analysts to review real-time threats and add that information to our growing threat assessment database. This blend of experience, expert analysis, and cutting-edge tools allows us to identify, stop and prevent cyber threats. We also specialize in helping companies achieve cybersecurity compliance and remain compliant.

We know these regulations and data security requirements can seem daunting. Oftentimes the hardest part is just getting started. Secure Cyber Defense brings companies a solid, proactive approach to securing your IT environment and helping navigate these new requirements. As a team, we ensure that when the inevitable happens, your company is positioned for success!