During the first three months of 2019 there were 1,903 total breaches, 85% were the result of unauthorized access into services or systems (i.e. hacking). It’s not that companies aren’t safe guarding their data, the opposite is actually true. We’ve seen a trend in increasing cybersecurity across all industries (mo money, mo [cyber] problems), but hackers are still finding ways to gain access to “secure” systems. Reviewing more recent articles on data breaches the cause gets sited as vulnerabilities or misconfigurations of specific cybersecurity tools. It’s not that something was missing, it just wasn’t working. Even if your tools are installed perfectly constant changes to your systems and tool updates or patches can expose you to threats you’re not even aware of. A recent Ponemon Study found that 53 percent of IT leaders have no idea how well the tools and software implemented in corporate networks are performing. A cybersecurity tool is only as effective as your process for keeping it in good working order, also known as Cyber Hygiene.
The key to reducing cybersecurity risk is awareness and visibility. However, gaining this insight through the complexity of your security is no small task. Organizations need to unite the silos of their security teams, processes and technologies all in one place. After referencing security complexity as a major pain point it may seem counterintuitive to add another tool on your already complex security system but automating your monitoring is the most effective route to continuous awareness and visibility. While hiring additional security staff continues to be an industry crisis leaning into solutions that can automate the process will deliver rapid and actionable information so proactive steps can be taken remediate issues. To learn more about Cyber Hygiene monitoring check out Cyber Observer and it’s four layers of cybersecurity.