5 Biggest Cybersecurity Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

5 Biggest Cybersecurity Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

“If you haven’t already established a good cybersecurity architecture to oversee (security implementation), there’s a high likelihood you’re going to be breached. The best defense is to start thinking about cybersecurity as early as possible.”
Alex Manea, chief security and privacy officer at Georgian Partners.
Though cybersecurity is the ultimate goal, it is critical to understand that perfection is hard to achieve. Driven by the global connectivity and usage of cloud services to store sensitive data, especially in times of COVID-19, cybersecurity risk is growing exponentially in the tech market.
These threats can come from any level in an organization and companies simply can’t rely on firewalls and antivirus software as the sole security measure. Hence they need to have a holistic end-to-end security model of their business.
Today organizations are evolving their defenses against cyber threats. As per Gartner, the worldwide information security market is forecast to reach $170.4 billion in 2022.1 But it is equally important to understand the constraints that serve as the potential mistakes in cybersecurity practices.
Here are some of the common mistakes that your organization might be making to defend its assets and tips to avoid them.

Mistake 1 # Assuming you are exempted from online attacks

Every company operating virtually is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Just because your company doesn’t handle data as such credit card data or personally identifiable information, doesn’t mean your company can never be a target for cybercriminals. Adversaries are continuously looking to penetrate the network and exfiltrate every valuable information and assets they could get.
Solution: Prevention and vigilance can go a long way in securing/protecting your connected presence. Leaders need to address cybersecurity as a business priority by hiring qualified experts to conduct regular assessments and tests. This helps to identify vulnerabilities within the technology and the processes.

Mistake 2 # Underestimating the cost of cyber attacks

Cybercrime is predicted to inflict damages totaling USD 6 trillion globally in 2021 which would be equal to the world’s third-largest economy. Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching USD 10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from USD 3 trillion in 2015.
Solution: Underestimating the cost of cyberattack results in customer loss, reputation loss, and operational loss. Well, the best way is to understand the sensitive data, follow stringent cyber hygiene rules and elaborate on certain habits of email security.

Mistake 3 # Not updating security software

Neglecting to update the security software puts the company at unnecessary risk. Even though there aren’t too many opportunities for adversaries to get in, it offers low resistance helping them to open the door for breaching the system.
Solution: The IT team must implement strong protocols to ensure that no software updates are missed. Keeping that database updated promptly helps you to protect yourself against threats. The team should stay aware of how large the network is and where the critical data is stored. This way, they’ll know the vulnerable points and how to secure them and establish ‘network hygiene.

Mistake 4 # No effective testing process

Testing the software is an important part of wider cybersecurity. Without a testing process, the software can be exposed to enormous risks down the line. It helps you know whether the software has a vulnerability issue or not and every software can be vulnerable unless your developers are genius savants. In a nutshell, a software’s life depends upon its security reputation and no company wants it to fail.
Solution: Two of the best testing processes are: penetration tests and third-party code tests.
Performing penetration test assist the development team in detecting security risks, and gaps in compliance and simulating the potential risk of a large-scale data breach. It can also be performed to train information security teams to deal with cyberattacks, and practice to test their response time.
The third-party code is typically used to perform vital functions to the software you are developing. It helps to identify the vulnerabilities that the original developer or subsequent users have failed to notice or simply neglected.

Mistake 5 # Not educating employees about security

Most of the employees are unaware of security threats, how they may present, and what procedures to follow if the threat is identified. According to Cabinet, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error. BYOD practice is another reason why your workplace can be under substantial threat. When employees use their devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, or USB drives, they may use unauthorized applications opening doors for shadow IT.
Solution: The most effective way to secure your enterprise is to strengthen the most vulnerable links in the chain: your employees. Training your employees helps them to take security seriously as a company and make them aware that everyone is responsible for it. Include it as an agenda item at every major meeting. Recognize and reward good practices, and assess security thinking in business strategy, culture, hiring, and promotion. Ingrained security in the culture makes it ever-present.
How iLink can help you avoid mistakes in the future?
*“If you think technology can solve your security problems, then you don’t understand the problems and you don’t understand the technology.” *
Bruce Schneier.