5 Ways to detect a cyber attack

1. Introduction
2. Identify email phishing
3. Employee training and education programs
4. Deploy cybersecurity tools
5. Threat detection strategies
6. Keep softwares up to date

Introduction

As more and more organisations migrate online, the threat of cyberattacks looms larger than ever before. Suppose companies are unable to deal with threats and vulnerabilities effectively. In that case, there may be dire consequences which is why robust cybersecurity strategies and IT tools need to be deployed by organisations to help safeguard their technologies from such malicious crimes. IBM’s 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report states that it currently takes an average organisation 197 days to detect a security breach and 69 days to contain it. In an era fueled by technologies, if you wish to build cutting-edge Cyber Security skills, you can check out our Stanford’s Advanced Cybersecurity Program.  

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Here are 5 ways in which cyber-attacks can be detected:  

Identify email phishing

The UN disarmament chief in 2020 stated that cybercrimes have risen with the onset of the pandemic with a 600% increase in malicious emails. CISCO’s 2021 Cybersecurity report also suggests that almost 86% of organisations are vulnerable to one employee clicking on a phishing link and that phishing accounts for almost 90% of data breaches that take place. 2021 Tessian research found that an employee receives an average of 14 malicious emails per year, where 96% of attacks happened via email. Some industries are more targeted in comparison to others, with retail workers receiving an average of 49.

Phishing emails are a massive threat to companies today, and effective strategies need to be in place to alleviate this issue. Employee training and educational programs will help employees identify and report phishing attacks from malicious actors. Having the right cybersecurity tools in place will also ensure that these threats do not become lethal. 

A responsive and well-coordinated IT or cybersecurity team will help ensure such reports by people are looked into at the earliest and will also help train employees with mock phishing scenarios. Organisations should deploy SPAM filters and AI tools that detect viruses, blank senders, etc.

Employee training and education programs

While such training is unquestionably necessary, the organisation must first analyze the effectiveness of various training programmes as well as the most effective strategies for educating staff. Numerous training techniques can be employed because different types of employees have different ways of learning and understanding the symptoms of a potential data breach. Employee awareness will safeguard the organisation against threats and help with reporting and identification of attacks. With the combination of practical security controls alongside proper training, the strength of internal security increases. 

Organisations need to maintain and deploy network security solutions. Cybersecurity tools cover a wide range of functions like firewalls, sandboxing, malware detection, endpoint security, and network access control, among others. Having an authorisation and authentication system in place will help protect data, identify new vulnerabilities, keep track of new users, monitor traffic, block unauthorised access and detect a cyber attack. Threat detection becomes more accurate and stronger with strong security measures in place. Using technologies and devices to mitigate threats is important to strengthen the overall security of organisations. Research from IBM found that security automation can significantly reduce the cost of breaches. The average breach cost for automation-focused companies stands at $2.88 million. In contrast, those without these tools have an estimated $4.43 million price. 

Threat detection strategies

Organisations need to set up strong internal IT policies and advanced monitoring. Making use of anti-virus softwares will help detect malware in a range of possible threats and flag them for IT administrators to take action. IT and security professionals should conduct detailed investigations by maintaining and reviewing threat detection logs. Strategies like penetration testing help detect vulnerabilities in applications, networks, and systems. Manual processes, however, are prone to human error, and the possibilities of breaches cannot be completely mitigated. However, taking the help of automation and automated threat detection systems helps enhance security. Asset management systems and threat detection tools should send regular alerts to the cybersecurity team, enabling them to keep track of and detect cyber attack in the workings of their organisation.

Keep softwares up to date

Neglecting softwares and tools increases the chances of a breach. Regular and up-to-date technologies ensure reliable threat detection. Regular patches and updates should be implemented, and all devices must be locked with the latest authorisation and security tools. This ensures that tools are in a better position to identify and mitigate threats and security attacks.

0 Source: GreatLearning Blog