Why are businesses not getting what they expected despite spending millions of dollars on cybersecurity?
What makes cybersecurity so complex to deal with? Let us find out in this edition of the SharkStriker Journal where we will be diving deep, exploring the answers to questions like why taking cybersecurity from scratch is so challenging along with some ways to solve it.
Why is cybersecurity so challenging?
Cybersecurity is challenging because the world of cybersecurity is different from the physical world. It is beyond technical problems. For example, an organization where the technical measures in place for cybersecurity can still fall for a cyber threat where an attacker can infiltrate defenses by stealing the credentials of a user through phishing or other social engineering method.
Another reason is that the measurements and proximities in cyberspace are different from physical world. For example, a boundary is different in cyberspace than a boundary in the physical world. Cyber threats can move beyond boundaries at high speeds anytime whenever they find a weakness that they can exploit without getting detected.
Another reason why cyberspace is different is that the laws and regulations of cyberspace are relatively newer compared to the physical world and they are constantly changing since not one cybersecurity framework works perfectly fine in fending off cyber threats.
On top of this, the technology for cybersecurity is constantly evolving, getting more complex (and expensive), to keep up with threats, requiring the expertise to configure and manage solutions, affording expertise is not only expensive but also challenging to find and retain.
An organization might also need compliance expertise on board that can help them timely address the gaps in compliance and keep up with the regulations.
Therefore, cybersecurity requires the right human expertise that can help organizations not only identify and address gaps in their cybersecurity solutions but also help them timely address their human awareness and compliance gaps.
Five ways to make cybersecurity easier for your organization
Here are some easy-to-follow ways through which you can improve the cybersecurity of your organization:
1. Take a risk assessment
A cybersecurity risk assessment not only helps you identify the risk areas that you need to focus on but also offers detailed information on their severity and the areas that they impact the most.
It can give starting points for improving security by offering improved visibility of risks, helping make better decisions with a clear risk picture, evaluating the effectiveness of defense suits, and adhering to compliance requirements.
2. Take data breaches as lessons
Real-world cyber incidents are lessons on how despite having all the technological measures in place, an organization can still fail in cybersecurity. Therefore, it is essential to learn from the incidents and proactively identify and address the risks before they get exploited by cybercriminals to carry out cyber-attacks.
3. Secure your weakest link – bridge awareness gaps and complacent behaviors
Cyber-attacks have become part of the mainstream news, yet most data breaches and cyber-attacks today are carried out by exploiting the gaps in human awareness and negligence of basic cybersecurity best practices. Periodically measuring awareness gaps and training your workforce on cybersecurity best practices can help you decrease human error significantly while establishing a culture around cybersecurity.
4. Focus on the basics
Focusing on basic dos and don’ts, from setting a strong password & enabling MFA to not connecting to public Wi-Fi and not clicking on suspicious links, can work more effectively in defending against most cyber threats than any technologically complex measures.
5. Seek assistance for human experts
Do not hesitate to seek the assistance of cybersecurity and compliance experts who can help you identify risks across your cybersecurity posture, make the most of your security setup, and scope a cybersecurity program that addresses your cybersecurity and compliance goals.
