With the cybercrime rate expected to reach $6 trillion by end of 2021, the global cybersecurity market is expected to grow exponentially to $170.4 billion in 2022 to cope with all the extra hard work and time the cyber criminals are dedicating to make us and our organization miserable. In the previous blog, we discussed some of the most potent cybercrimes, so it’s time for some remedial options towards cybersecurity. In this blog, let’s discuss our different options to make our remote working and in general workspace as cybercrime proof as possible.

Owing to the fact that remote working has increased the rate of cybercrime 3 folds, it is only natural to increase the rate of cybersecurity by a minimum of 5 folds to combat the efforts of criminal masterminds. SonicWall, a cybersecurity firm reported an all-time high of 78.4 million ransomware attacks in June 2021 alone. The top five countries most affected were US, UK, Germany, South Africa and Brazil and the key verticals were Government, education, healthcare and retail.

In May 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company, the American oil pipeline system, reported a massive cyberattack on the IT systems and had to pay 4.4 million in bitcoin to Darkside (a hacker group). Unfortunately, even with such massive number 61% of the cybersecurity team members believe their teams to be severely understaffed. Now that you know the number, are you sure your company is cybercrime proof?

A good cybersecurity solution should provide adequate protection to your system, network, access points, applications, confidentiality and data. It should also include a plethora of network security systems like cybersecurity, application security, information security, operational security and data recovery to name a few. Moreover, these security protocols apart from imparting protection to data and systems against cyberattacks, also helps to:

· Identify new users/unknown users

· Block unauthorized access

· Monitor traffic

· Reduce website downtime

· Ensure safe sharing of information across touch points

· Enhance network performance

· Protect client confidentiality

· Harness network traffic

If I have sufficiently done my job and given you the right motivation towards investing in a solid cybersecurity system, let’s look into some top security solutions that can boost cyber protection and eliminate vulnerabilities for your organization.

1. Firewalls

According to research, a system is attacked every 39 seconds and on an average, it takes about 279 days to overcome a cybersecurity breach. With so much at stake, Firewall is usually considered the first line of defense for most organizations or individual computer as it filters messages passing in and out of a computer or computer network. Firewalls are classified into three types based on their method of traffic control. Lately, firewall vendors are coupling other security or privacy features with their firewall offerings such as a VPN. The market value for next-gen firewalls was estimated to be $3.27 billion in 2020. It is also estimated that 40% of the firewalls currently in use are entirely on premise, while the rest 60% are partially hosted on the cloud.

2. Sandboxing

Sandbox creates a secluded environment to test unproven/untested codes from a third party. This space prevents any damage to the host machine and is not allowed unless the data is thoroughly evaluated and found to be completely safe for your system. There are 3 different types of sandbox security and can be integrated based on the organizational needs and requirements. Its features include not just threat analysis but also, pre-filtering, detection, reporting and automation. According to research reports, the global sandbox net worth is expected to grow exponentially to $5.1B by 2025.

3. Network Traffic analysis

As the name suggests, the solution observes network traffic using analytics to discover specific patterns to identify potential threats. It is one of the most powerful tools in cybersecurity today, for early detection of vulnerabilities to prevent infections and avoid high costs. Efficient traffic analysis software provides traffic observation, anomaly detection and threat investigation. The Network Traffic Analysis market was valued at $0.9 B in 2020 and is likely to grow exponentially to $2.03 B by 2026.

4. Malware detection

Out of all the malwares, the ransomware is the most dangerous and the ransomware industry alone is worth $14 billion in 2021. In 2020, there has been a steep 311% increase in the total amount of ransom paid and the unfortunate truth remains that not all who pay the ransom get their data back. With the alarming statistics, it has become an imperative to have sound malware detection software in place for businesses or risk losing more than just money. Malware detection is usually carried out using one of the 4 methods, signature detection, heuristic analysis, sandbox or using removal tools. A system without anti-malware software is 100 times vulnerable to one with it. Since, malwares are transferred through the internet it makes sense to have a strong malware detection software in place, to ensure the security of your data.

5. Endpoint security

Securing the endpoint or the entry point of the end-user devices are termed as endpoint security. They are usually the first line of defense and can immediately detect, analyze, block and hamper the progress of a virus once identified. The endpoint protection platform (EPP) works by examining files as they enter the network and run them across threat information. These solutions are available on both on premise and cloud-based models and are linked with endpoint detection and response (EDR) components for better visibility and enhanced threat detection.

6. Network Access Control

It is a cybersecurity solution that provides access management by enforcing policies on end-user devices using corporate networks. It monitors based on compliance capabilities and denies access to non-compliant networks thereby, providing security against insecure nodes.

7. Network mapping and visibility

It enhances visibility into the network of the end-user and provides control of the metrics you would like to monitor. Coupling visibility solutions with mapping and monitoring software provides better analytical results since, it uses data analytics.

Perspectives

Building a fool-proof cybersecurity solution takes a lot of strategy and brain power but, it is also imperative to create one that covers all the vulnerabilities surrounding your system and network. Moreover, creating an equally strong cybersecurity team is an essential need for around the clock monitoring. Unfortunately, cybersecurity teams are usually understaffed, which has created 3.5million unfulfilled jobs in 2021. System vulnerability can cost you more than just money; it can impact your trust with your customers and lead to sensitive data leakage, costing your organizations reputation. Hence, creating the right cyber security solution manifested by a strong security team is a quintessential need for the current remote work environment.

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