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How to strengthen your cyber threat armour

It’s more important than ever for businesses of any size to have a cyber incident response plan in place to safeguard operations and limit damage.

How to strengthen your cyber threat armour

It’s more important than ever for businesses of any size to have a cyber incident response plan in place to safeguard operations and limit damage.

Two male colleagues having in depth conversation

Following the mass shift to hybrid working, organisations have remained agile and been forced to begin using technology in new ways to stay connected to suppliers and customers. Alongside this, we have seen a growing pressure to enhance cyber security measures as the risk of potentially ruinous data breaches and attacks, has risen.

However, people and businesses are at risk of falling into a ‘cyber fatigue’, with cyber criminals still looming and ready to prey on complacency within organisations both large and small.

It is imperative that businesses stay ahead of the game to spot patterns of cyber crime and fraudulent activity. The key to this is through acquiring and sharing knowledge on a larger scale and prioritising awareness of security culture and its evolution alongside business culture.

To roll out an impenetrable strategy and active response to cyber threats, organisations need to dig deeper to fully understand how cyber criminals and groups operate alongside them. Only then will teams be armed with the capabilities to decipher potential risks and outsmart increasingly tech-savvy threat actors.

What is the current cyber threat landscape?

The pandemic catalysed our digital flexibility and showcased the UK’s agility to adapt our daily activities using computers to balance our personal, work and educational lives. With this, we immediately started working within environments where threat actors were already operating. The market for cyber crime became increasingly plentiful, with an array of victims unknowingly falling at the hands of cyber criminal groups.

At the start, everyone had to adapt quickly, but malware threats modified themselves faster than we did. Cyber criminal groups evolved alongside digital transformation efforts, becoming increasingly active, taking residency on all platforms and channels.

What’s more, as a result of criminal groups dissolving, merging and collaborating, threat actors are constantly sharing skills and expertise to diversify their operations, making criminal tactics a lot more complex and harder to spot.

Upcoming cyber attack trends

There is a huge spectrum for cyber threats as it is, but for those less well-versed in the world of cyber crime, the space can be daunting to say then least when it comes to identifying suspicious activity. Common types of crime such as DoS (denial of service), ransomware, malware and even basic phishing are becoming increasingly complex - we have outlined the context of these threats in our blog here.

Over the coming year, we predict supply chain hacking will be the Achilles’ heel for organisations no matter their size. This is a calculated attack, because by infiltrating a supply chain, cyber attacks can have a ricocheting impact beyond your organisation, hitting third party players in the process. Customer and partner data can easily be stolen, discrediting your business and leaving your organisation’s reputation in ruins.

That said, businesses need to review their positioning within their supply chain and wider ecosystem to best understand how you may potentially collide with threats.

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How to enhance your cyber security culture and strategy

Cyber criminals will pounce without warning, so unless you’re further down in the supply chain, a potential breach will come unannounced. Though there is no guaranteed defence, if an attack succeeds, businesses need a strategy in place to prepare for the aftermath.

Shockingly, only 19% or organisations have a cyber incident response plan, which calls for a change in attitudes towards the value of data, data privacy, and crime.

Stealing data is the same as robbing a physical object from someone. Not having a cyber incident strategy in place is the digital equivalent of leaving your front door unlocked. Data is incredibly valuable, and once it’s in the wrong hands an inordinate amount of damage can be done. Unlike traditional crime, cyber crime can leave few traces, and with limited resources organisations can face irreparable financial and reputational damage.

With a cyber incident response plan in place, enterprises can drastically improve their position to limit damage caused to your business and safeguard third parties. These threat responses must include the ability to lock down affected systems and identify the type of data that has been stolen – such as client banking details versus names of partners - so the organisations can choose the best course of action.

For SMEs and large enterprises alike, cyber security is not something that needs to be tackled alone. Organisations must unite and share knowledge to gain deeper insight into cyber criminal tactics and successfully defend themselves against very real and significant threats. All businesses have a responsibility to educate and embed the human-impact of cyber crime in workplace cultures.

With more awareness and a plan in place, enterprises can tie up weak links that would usually be manipulated by threat actors, while progressing cyber threat responses to shield the business and its wider networks from unnecessary damage.

Employee in control centre

Protect your places

Stay safe on your digital journey and create secure environments with cyber security solutions designed to easily flex and adapt to your changing needs, providing maximum peace of mind.

Protect your places

Stay safe on your digital journey and create secure environments with cyber security solutions designed to easily flex and adapt to your changing needs, providing maximum peace of mind.

Employee in control centre

Protect your places

Stay safe on your digital journey and create secure environments with cyber security solutions designed to easily flex and adapt to your changing needs, providing maximum peace of mind.

Employee in control centre

Protect your places

Stay safe on your digital journey and create secure environments with cyber security solutions designed to easily flex and adapt to your changing needs, providing maximum peace of mind.

Employee in control centre

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