The Importance of Refreshing Your Cyber IT Strategy: Uncover New Threats and Approaches

One of the biggest cybersecurity issues we encounter when working with new business clients isn’t that they aren’t aware of the business-critical risks of a cyber-attack or don’t know that cyber-attackers continually update their techniques and use ever-more-sophisticated phishing scams targeted at remote workers.

The challenge is that even the most cyber-aware organisations assume that a comprehensive cyber IT strategy and all the antivirus software and application security safeguards they implement will remain sufficient.

Part of the puzzle is that to keep pace with evolving threats, we as security specialists also need to be agile and responsive – encouraging businesses to never rest easy on the presumption that a strategy that was relevant a year or two ago will remain so today.

Keeping Pace With a Fast-Changing Cybersecurity Landscape

As we’ve noted, the vast majority of modern business owners recognise the complexity of cybersecurity, with a fundamental need to protect each aspect of their information technology infrastructure from malicious cyber-attacks.

The starting point is a cybersecurity strategy, which analyses weak points, gaps or vulnerabilities in the business’s current operating systems, mobile devices, computer systems and networks, and identifies the best possible protection to keep data and digital assets safe.

Much like a physical premises risk assessment, a cybersecurity strategy remains valid and appropriate at that point in time, determining all potential attack vectors the company needs to address. However, it must also be adapted and updated to ensure it doesn’t become redundant, allowing cyber-criminals open access to critical data or to launch malicious attacks.

For example, older antivirus software that was installed some time ago may be entirely ineffective, potentially leaving your computer network fully exposed to data breaches, much like leaving the door to your premises unlocked.

Today’s business landscape is significantly different from that only a few years ago, with a large proportion of workforces operating remotely, through cloud environments, with BYOD connections or entirely from home, which also adds to the vital importance of protecting systems across your business from threats.

Choosing the Right Time to Refresh Your Business Cyber IT Strategy

Of course, some elements of a cybersecurity strategy may remain relevant and won’t necessarily need to be revised periodically. Staff training is a great example, where businesses that provide security awareness training as standard to all new inductees and enforce policies around using strong passwords and changing them regularly can continue as-is.

That said, the content and detail within a strong cybersecurity strategy training session may need to change, depending on the risk profile of the business, the types of sensitive information it stores, and any threats that have emerged since the training programme was developed.

Our general guidance is to schedule a chat with one of our security analysts if your cybersecurity strategy hasn’t been revisited for 24 months. Although some IT-dependent and higher-risk organisations may need a more frequent strategy refresh, this tends to be the norm for businesses without any specific risk factors to consider.

It is also wise to return to your strategy and evaluate the suitability of the IT security solutions in place if something has changed in the interim, such as:

• A new wave of supply chain attacks that are causing concern.
• Higher instances of cybersecurity incidents affecting partners, vendors or competitors.
• Warnings of new phishing attacks or malicious software attacks.
• The introduction of more mobile devices or remote working structures.
• Known attempted data breaches – whether successful or not.
• A need for wider-scope cloud security to cover new applications.

Businesses also decide to readdress their IT security if they feel that the improvements or upgrades last implemented were some time ago, or there are reasons to think those safeguards and defences may have become outdated.

Working With an Outsourced Cybersecurity Specialist to Update Your Approach

Jera’s multi-skilled engineers and technicians focus on business continuity instead of one-off security strategies that remain relevant for a limited period. Rather than introducing cybersecurity solutions on an ad hoc basis or based purely on the prevalent threats at that point in time, we provide ongoing supervision, monitoring and tracking.

Always-on scanning and tracking ensures we can update security patches immediately when released, plug gaps in software code, spot potential attempts to steal sensitive data before they transpire and protect systems from new computer viruses and malware attacks in real-time.

It’s also incredibly important to ensure you have suitable access controls throughout your computer systems, not solely because most cyber-attackers are outside of your business but because insider threats are a very real risk.

Advanced application security access controls leverage endpoint security to protect all devices with access to any networks, operating system or databases you use – be that a mobile device, laptop, desktop computer or tablet.

Implementing robust authentication procedures and zero-trust architecture means that any potential cybersecurity incident, wherever it originates, flags an alert and often initiates an automatic shut-down of access points to critical infrastructure until the issue has been investigated and resolved.

For your staff, that simply means using strong passwords, biometrics, time-sensitive codes or other entry processes when logging on. But, for your business, this level of endpoint security means that only authorised users can gain access to any part of your system, whereas any unauthorised access attempt is shut down there and then.

How to Select the Right Cybersecurity Solutions for Your Business

If you have any reservations about the reliability of your business cybersecurity defences, we’d suggest contacting Jera at your earliest opportunity. We can review your current cybersecurity strategy if you have one, audit your computer systems and infrastructure, and appraise the safeguards you have in place to see if any glaring issues require immediate action.

Once any urgent threats have been remedied, we can suggest the appropriate level of security monitoring or advise on longer-term solutions, with the agility and scope to identify and block even advanced persistent threats before they have a negative impact on your organisation.

Please contact Jera at any time if you’d like to review your cyber IT strategy, book a consultation to determine the cause of recent cybersecurity threats, or get your systems, networks and devices under robust control going forward.