In a digital age, the biggest threat that most people encounter is that of cyber criminals trying to harvest, steal, or otherwise obtain their personal data.
From payment details to log in credentials, individuals and organizations are all at risk from those that want to hack into private accounts, but there are also plenty of solutions that make it difficult for them to succeed.
There are a number of different types of cyber security threats, including:
- Malware attacks
- Software supply chain attacks
- Distributed denial of service (DDoS)
- Password attacks
- Artificial intelligence attacks
- Cloud security threats
- Threats to mobile devices
- Hacking other devices using IoT connectivity
- State-sponsored attacks
While it may not be possible to completely eliminate the threat of such attacks, taking cyber security seriously can dramatically reduce the likelihood of an attempt being made. It can also mitigate the impact of an attack by identifying and eliminating any vulnerabilities and understanding how to respond efficiently in the future.
What is targeted in a cyber-attack?
The increasing digitization of the world means that more data than ever is held in company databases, on servers, and online. Almost any data has value to the right person, so even the smallest or most obscure organization could find themselves falling victim to a cyber-attack.
Depending on the nature of the organization’s business, an attacker could try to access data such as:
- Customer contact details
- Payment information
- Sales data
- Product information
- Research and development
- Client data
- Supplier information
- Financial reports
- Employee files
Any data that is stored and processed is potentially at risk which is why there are laws governing how companies should store and access information about their customers and clients. Businesses are required to protect their customers’ data to ensure that they are not subjecting them to further attacks using their data.
Cyber-attacks do not just jeopardize the security of the individuals involved, but they can also be hugely damaging to the businesses that experience them. As well as losing business, they may be penalized by industry regulators for any overt failings that could have contributed to them being targeted.
Any organization can experience a data breach, but those in the public eye are also likely to suffer from the negative publicity that surrounds any failure to safeguard such data, not to mention the financial costs of the downtime that results from such an attack.
How to protect data effectively and efficiently
Keeping data secure requires constant diligence, but one of the main ways to reduce risk is to use secure storage solutions that allow the data to be used effectively while reducing the risk of unauthorized access. Perimeter 81 have developed the Secure Access Server Edge (SASE) to provide organizations with such a storage solution.
Their cloud-based service has been designed with security in mind, using the very latest technology to give their clients the peace of mind that only comes with expertly designed solutions. Using the very latest technology, the service is designed to reduce the risks of the most commonly used attacks while being adaptable enough to suit a wide variety of businesses.
Access is secured or denied based on multiple pieces of information at the point of inquiry, allowing the system to identify the user trying to access it, their level of clearance, and the sensitivity of the data, among other things. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access and creates a record of any requests to allow patterns of unusual or irregular requests being made.
The service is also cloud-based, meaning that users can have the same level of security whether they are logging on from inside the office or from a public network. This service is adaptable and can be used in a variety of different sectors, from small, independent retailers to massive global corporations.
How to implement effective security systems
The way it works is relatively simple: a single network is used for everything an organization needs, from data storage to remote access for users. This means that it can be scaled as the business grows to accommodate more data and the increased chance of attacks.
One of the most appealing things about a SASE platform is the fact that no hardware is needed to implement the secure technology that can be configured to meet any company’s needs. Access to different areas can be granted to different people and an individual’s profile, role, and group membership determine their level of access.
A solution such as this isn’t just an effective way to provide appropriate levels of access to resources, it is also a means to ensure that a global workforce has a secure connection via public and private connections. The nature of the service means that it can grow and adapt to meet the needs of each individual business, providing a scalable solution to a number of security and access problems.
All businesses need to be proactive about the security of their systems and the latest technology can be used to provide swift, secure, and stable access to data across a number of different devices. The increasing use of cloud technology can be used to provide this to users wherever they are, creating a virtual agile workspace that users can access based on the most effective encryption.
