Cyberattacks are on the rise. Microsoft reported a 2.75 times increase in ransomware attacks between July 2023 – July 2024 compared to the previous year, with 600 million cyberattacks per day, globally. The 2024 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report identified a year-to-date increase of 107% in IoT malware attacks and 48% of SMBs experienced an attack last year.
With these sorts of statistics coming to light, it’s no longer a question of whether a business will encounter threat actors, it’s a question of when. Staying one step ahead of cybercriminals requires a comprehensive and proactive security strategy that protects against evolving cyber threats.
Know where your data is
In order to defend your systems and data, you need to understand what you have. All too often organisations are unable to classify their data because they don’t know where it is. Poor data taxonomy not only makes it difficult to adhere to compliance regulations but also makes it impossible to secure. You can’t control data if you don’t know where it sits so start by mapping out your systems and data.
From there a risk assessment can be completed to identify critical assets and potential vulnerabilities. This puts you in a stronger position to monitor the systems for potential breaches. By harnessing continuous monitoring and real-time threat detection tools you have the opportunity to engage in proactive threat hunting, searching for signs of compromise before at attack occurs.
Embrace automation to identify threats
To increase the efficiency of this threat hunting, automation and AI can be adopted. SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response) is a cybersecurity approach that helps organisations improve threat detection, investigation and remediation by streamlining security operations and leveraging automation.
Automated workflows and playbooks can increase the speed of response and SOAR reduces the burden on security analysts. The volume of data generated by endpoints, firewalls and network traffic is vast. Each endpoint can generate 10MB to 100 MB of log data per day, while firewalls typically generate 1GB to 5GB of logs per day for mid-sized networks. This means that analysts need all the help they can get to cut through the noise and identify legitimate threats.
Cyber security training is non-negotiable
Another way of uncovering weaknesses in your cybersecurity posture is through simulation testing. This can include pen testing or ethical hacking to find security flaws before threat actors can exploit them, as well as simulated attacks – which can be a great way to test employee awareness. Ongoing employee cyber security training is critical to security success but is often overlooked by organisations in the rush to propel growth.
Your people are your first line of defence, but they can also be your weakest link. Human error contributed to 95% of data breaches in 2024, so a programme of continuous education which assesses awareness levels and seeks to fill knowledge gaps is imperative – especially in the face of AI driven threats. Phishing attacks have increased by a whopping 4,151% since ChatGPT's debut in 2022, according to The State of Phishing 2024 report from SlashNext, so if you don’t already have a robust employee cyber security programme in place, now is the time to start.
Multi-layered defence to stop and contain threats
Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) can give organisations the upper hand when it comes to network defence. Instead of assuming that everything inside the network is safe, Zero Trust operates on the principle of “never trust, always verify.” It fundamentally changes how access and trust are managed within IT environments. Combine this with network segmentation and you have a powerful, layered defence strategy that will improve your ability to stay one step ahead of the cybercriminals.
While Zero Trust works to ensure that every access request is verified based on identity, network segmentation will ensure that when that access is granted, users are unable to move laterally across the network. This dual approach is critical when it comes to stopping and containing threats.
Don’t become a statistic. To outpace the barrage of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, a multi-layered, evolving security strategy is required that integrates the right technologies with robust processes and a cyber-aware workforce. A mindset of vigilance combined with intelligent tools and practices will help to keep your organisation one step ahead of the cybercriminals.
