Enhanced Cybersecurity Is Needed For Your Business
Why Antivirus Is Not Enough against Evolving Threats
Whether you realize it or not, the cybersecurity threat landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years—and recent security issues prove it. You have probably heard and read the stories which are occurring every day. Everywhere you turn, conversations about cyber issues today are happening. The media coverage on massive breaches continues to grow by the day. But since most of the high profile cases people read about are large companies (Equifax, Apple, Target, etc.), many organizations have it in their mind that only large companies are the targets and they’re immune or safe from new threats or that they are covered by their IT support in an issue of security or data protection.
Couldn’t be further from the truth.
Attacks on ALL organizations are on the rise, and you must be vigilant. According to the Ponemon Institute: 2017 State of Cybersecurity in Small & Medium-Sized Businesses (SMB) study, the average cost due to damage or theft of IT assets and infrastructure increased from $879,582 to $1,027,053. The average cost due to disruption of normal operations increased from $955,429 to $1,207,965. 
So, what’s changed?
For years, we have provided a successful security strategy that has provided our customers excellent uptime and productivity. Security was a modest part of the services provided and it got the job done. Endpoint protection, firewall protection, and email protection were the norm, but they are simply not enough anymore. We need to protect against the top cybersecurity threats. Failure to address these increases the chance of a serious security event, and reduces the chance to avoid downtime, a work stoppage, or worse.
Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated and targeting small to medium businesses. Ransomware, data breaches, and phishing attacks are examples of tactics that eclipse the solutions that we’ve relied on thus far. We want to make sure you are safeguarded against these more sophisticated attacks, and mitigate as much risk as possible. Cyber issues today don’t just impact your customers, but their customers, suppliers, etc. If someone were to breach your network, it could give them access to all of your critical systems and data. If an incident happens in a regulated industry, the cause goes beyond their loss of business. It would compromise your protected data and be in breach of HIPAA requirements. Aside from financial implications due to a work stoppage, breaches in industries that are regulated (financial, healthcare, industrial, government, etc.) are also subject to investigations, digital forensics teams, and litigation.
What is ASON doing about It?
First, we realize that this is not a problem you can only throw a bunch of tools to address it. People and process is a key component of a strong security posture, where each organization takes steps to limit exposure. 54% of data breaches were a result of negligent employees. That correlates to nearly half of all attacks being executed through phishing or social engineering. Implementing security awareness training is a good way reduce your risk.
Second, add enhanced security measures to lower the risk of threats. There are a number of ways to achieve additional protection to significantly limit your exposure to new and pervasive threats. We are making recommendations to our customers to enhance security due to the many cyberthreats that businesses face from the inside and outside of their networks.
As always we would love to discuss and review these security measures and why they are critical in this day and age.
Give us a call today 877-305-2766 opt 2 to start your discussion in how you can safeguard your business.
Tags: Cybersecurity, Security, Endpoint Protection, Malicious Traffic Detection, Exploit Prevention, Phishing Threats