As remote or hybrid working is the new norm, business operations have evolved tremendously, exposing businesses to cybersecurity threats and risks. To save companies from these sophisticated cyber threats and risks, they must implement the best practices to secure their IT infrastructure
Cybercriminals have become more advanced and sophisticated, replicating legitimate business models through Cybercrime-as-a-Service Industry. This empowered even amateur cybercriminals to accomplish full-blown attacks.
Here are the top 16 cybersecurity practices that SecOps teams can consider securing their business network:
1. Create Cyber Awareness for Employees
Businesses of all sizes, types, and industries must be responsible for all their employees. The weakest link in the business network can affect the success of security measures. Humans are the weakest links in any given organization. While accomplishing social engineering attacks, humans are the weakest links that cybercriminals look to achieve their malicious goals. Creating and enforcing an effective and regular cyber awareness program is the initial step to strengthening cybersecurity measures.
2. Enhance Patch Management Process
Most companies do not have an efficient patch management workflow, and cybercriminals use this void to infiltrate the network. Businesses must update all their network systems, devices, and tools to prevent a potential attack. SecOps teams need to constantly look out for unpatched areas and update and patch them to minimize the attack surface area.
3. Create Data Backup
Data redundancy is one of the most significant ways to defend the organization against ransomware. Ransomware attackers infiltrate the business network, taking sensitive data hostage to extort money. Organizations with multiple backups on different servers reduce the impact on business operations.
4. Implement Firewalls or Other Traffic Monitoring Tools
Based on the organization’s network design and architecture, businesses need effective traffic monitoring and filtering tools to analyze the inbound and outbound traffic. These tools enable organizations to analyze whether traffic comes from trusted internal networks or external sources.
Also Read: Protecting Businesses with a Strong Enterprise Security Architecture
5. Enhance Remote Access Security
Besides leveraging firewalls and analyzing the server logs for suspicious activity, SecOps teams must ensure that no unauthorized users can access the machines remotely. CISOs should consider restricting functionality depending on the access control lists.
Implementing a virtual private network (VPN) for encrypted interactions and multi-factor authentication (MFA) will enable organizations to stay secure from unauthorized access to the business network.
6. Leverage Various Authentication Approaches
Businesses require the best Identity Access Management (IAM) policies and tools to authenticate the user’s identity and offer access based on that. Simply depending on a single sign-on based on passwords will not provide the security required in the modern threat landscape. SecOps teams can implement two-factor authentication (2FA) or Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to validate the user before granting access. Organizations that handle sensitive data can implement even biometric authentication processes to strengthen security.
7. Implement HTTPs on the Website
Implementing Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) on websites will enable organizations to install secure sockets and transport layer security (SSL/TLS) certificates. This certificate helps the enterprise to encrypt all data migrated from browser to server. Websites with SSL/TLS certificates allow users to enter their personal or financial information without worrying about some unauthorized person spying on it. Installing SSL certificates helps users to define if the website is run by the brand or by an imposter.
8. Design and Enforce Incident Response Strategy
An effective cyber incident response strategy is the best way for organizations to stay one step ahead of cyber attackers. Irrespective of how robust the implemented cybersecurity defense strategy is, there will always be possibilities of a cyber-attack. Hence an effective response strategy is necessary for businesses to minimize the impact.
9. Enforce a Stringent Password Management Policy
Another best cybersecurity practice that every organization needs is a stringent password management policy. SecOps teams must train the employees about what actions will enable the theft of credentials and how to secure them from threats. Moreover, a stringent password management policy that forces users to set and change complex passwords regularly is essential.
10. Grant Access Based on the Job Profile
Implementing the best identity and access management (IAM) tools enables organizations to streamline their access management. Offering privileged access to all users will expose the organization to various risks. Admin-privileged server access should be provided only to trusted partners to minimize the risks.
11. Execute Antivirus and Antimalware Scans Regularly
Businesses must have the best antivirus product installed on all their devices that constantly runs antivirus and antimalware scans to identify suspicious activity or malware.
12. Embrace Anti-Ransomware Software
Leveraging anti-ransomware tools that create and save backups at various locations helps businesses to avoid falling prey to social engineering attacks. Implementing anti-ransomware software is one of the most effective countermeasures of cybersecurity strategy.
13. Implement VPN
Business leaders must implement VPNs in their IT infrastructure to secure the connection while third-party vendors or employees connect with the business network. Connecting to the internet through untrusted connections like public Wi-Fi is highly risky. Businesses without virtual port networks can be victims of man-in-the-middle attacks or “evil twin” phishing attacks.
Also Read: Zenoss Releases Identity Management Capabilities
14. Block Malicious Files with Email Filtering
Implementing filtering tools that will block unused file types is crucial. Adopting email filtering tools that block all attachments with executable content to prevent the execution of malicious scripts on the devices is very important.
15. Invest in an Effective Cyber Insurance
Businesses need to consider investing in a cybersecurity insurance plan with the best cyber liability coverage to protect their enterprises from any losses from a cyber-attack.
16. Monitor all the Compliance Updates
Most organizations confirm the compliance rules at the time of incorporation and later on tend to overlook tracking the updates. One of the best cybersecurity measures businesses need to embrace is to consider all the compliance policies and follow the updates to improve adherence.
These are the top 16 cybersecurity practices, and tips businesses can consider improving their resilience against the growing cyber threat landscape.
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