Earlier this year, Forbes reported that data breaches increased 72% from 2021 to 2023. That year, 94% of organizations reported email security incidents totaling about $2.7 billion in losses.

Cyber threats have existed for decades, but as their sophistication and frequency continue to escalate, companies need to focus on strengthening their cybersecurity systems and staying ahead of the next generation of threats.

Future-Proof Your Organization

Future-proofing your entire organization is essential. By investing in employee training, continually auditing and updating your technology, and planning for potential risks, you can keep every part of your company safe for whatever turbulence the future holds.

Applying these same principles to your cybersecurity infrastructure can help future-proof. Further, doing so will help expose your defense “blind spots” and reveal the extent of your threat intelligence gap. You can then work to close this gap by educating yourself on the latest cybersecurity trends and premier practices while learning what you need to do to prepare for the next generation of cybersecurity.

Proactive Risk Management

The ideal way to prevent an attack is to prepare for it proactively. Start by assessing your system and identify the biggest threats. Consider the likelihood and potential impact of these threats escalating and use that to prioritize the critical risks and create mitigation plans.

As you adapt your infrastructure to current system threats, pass the updates along to your employees by revising company security policies to reflect the current state of your system and any security concerns on the horizon. Work to improve the security culture at your organization and ensure all relevant policies are easy for employees to understand. Consider hiring a consultant for an outside perspective on your system or security policies.

Stay Ahead of Emerging Threats

Cyberattacks can devastate even large businesses and quickly cost a company its reputation. Staying on top of current threats isn’t enough; you must stay ahead of the new generation of cyberattacks.

Sharing networks is an excellent way for companies in the same industry to collaborate and share information about breaches, new threats, and threat intelligence. It allows other companies to prepare for an attack early, possibly saving them millions.

Because it impacts the security of your network, it’s just as important to stay up-to-date with the news and trends in cybersecurity as it is to be familiar with your industry. Emerging tech, new regulations, and updated standards are important to be aware of if you plan to stay ahead of new threats.

Implement Adaptable Security Protocols

Cybersecurity and cybercriminal technology are always evolving. Set up an adaptable basic protocol to adopt changes to your cybersecurity system without stumbling. One way to show where you need to adapt your security system is to conduct system audits and reviews regularly. Using system metrics, you can see what’s working and what isn’t and then adjust.

If you’re still relying on a cybersecurity infrastructure using perimeter-based security, it’s time for an upgrade. Many security teams are adopting a zero-trust approach that requires the system to validate every request, device, user, connection, or external network connected to or attempting to connect to your company network rather than granting access to anything or anyone that makes it into the network.

That said, don’t overlook the basics. Use stronger passwords or a password manager, implement two-factor authentication at log-in, keep all network devices updated, and provide regular training and education for your employees about cybersecurity practices and company security protocols. These fundamental security practices will likely never fade and can quickly adapt to the newest threats as they emerge.

Leverage Advanced Technology Against Future Attacks

Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and skilled, but so is security technology itself. Cloud-based and automation tech will boost your system’s security capabilities. They can also take care of the more mundane security tasks so your cybersecurity team can focus on keeping the system secure.

Don’t skimp on your security system tech. For example, a quality threat intelligence system from a premium third-party source will focus on collecting information, making it more reliable than an open-source threat intelligence option.

Whatever system you choose, you can integrate tools with it. Doing so greatly increases the value of your system as a whole.

Some tools to explore adding to your threat intelligence system are:

• SIEMS: Detects communication from internal assets to external assets to external threat entities in real-time;
• SOARs: Orchestrates the automation of a mitigation plan;
• EDR: Searches for malicious file hashes;
• FWs: Blocks communication with malicious IPs or domains;
• Incident Management System: Adds contextual information about a threat when an incident is reported.

Another critical part of future-proofing is investing in the right network security management system. These systems can help you improve your network’s overall security by alerting you to unexpected devices joining the network, monitoring open and vulnerable ports, and ensuring your infrastructure is properly configured. Not only does this reduce the risk of attacks on your network, but you’ll also be in a better position to respond to any attacks that do come through.

Finally, every company needs a risk management system to identify and plan for potential security risks. A risk management system can help you develop mitigation plans for the most critical threats to your network or supply chain and analyze how likely they will happen. It will prioritize significant risks and estimate the impact a threat would have if carried out to help you decide on the premier mitigation plan for your company.

Conclusion

Your company is only as secure as its network. As modern lives are increasingly being lived online, more customers are entrusting you with their data. Staying ahead of cyberattacks will help protect your customers and your company.

Published by: Holy Minoza