Cyber protection trends for Small to Medium – What do you need to know.

Following are some cyber protection technologies industry experts say will be crucial for defending against evolving cyberattacks over the next few years.

• Cloud security: The shift to the cloud is ongoing, with many businesses looking for the first time. During the process, they are also looking for the increased security for their data. GBH Insights forecasts that cloud security services and hardware will become one of the biggest cybersecurity technologies in the next 3 to 5 years.
• Next-generation firewalls & network hardware: Firewall technologies continue to evolve in their ability to identify threats within deeper layers of data packets. Continued advancements in these technologies will be key to keeping malware from hurting networks and applications in the years ahead. GBH Insights predict next-gen firewall technology as a big driver for cybersecurity spending in the years ahead. New firewall solutions from Sophos are already meeting these challenges with high-performance, streaming deep packet inspection, including next-gen IPS, web protection and app control. Ideally, firewalls should also be tightly integrated with secure network switches and wireless access points for maximum protection against external and internal threats.
• Data backup: Simply put is critical. Advanced solutions in recent years are empowering businesses achieve new levels of business continuity. With built in capabilities like instant archiving, backup is also playing a role in legal protection.
• Managed detection and response (MDR): It’s becoming almost impossible for IT teams to stay ahead of the latest cyber threats and remediation tactics. This is why more organizations are relying on managed security services, such as Sophos MDR, for 24×7 threat detection and response. This significantly bolsters organizations’ cybersecurity, while also freeing up IT teams for other pressing projects.
• Endpoint & mobile protection: Workforces of today are increasingly remote, working on a variety of devices, from multiple locations and networks. This means that organizations need to continue strengthening the endpoint protection, including mobile protection and data encryption, to prevent threats across devices.
• Email protection: Given email remains the top entry point for malware and social engineering attacks, businesses require the best protection possible. New multilayered email protection solutions help to stop malware from reaching the inbox, while also blocking phishing and impersonation attempts.

Cyber Protection Training

With humans being the weakest link in the cyber protection chain, the role of education and training will continue to grow in the level of importance for preventing attacks. Today’s cybersecurity trends show more and more businesses are empowering their staff through education, however there is still a lot of room for improvement. In a survey by Datto, 26% of IT providers said that ransomware attacks on their clients were due to a lack of cybersecurity training.

Training should be conducted continuously as well as being part of the employee induction process. All users (including executives) should be trained on how to spot potentially malicious emails, what to do about them and safe practices for using the web, network, and devices while at work.

Conclusion

As Cybercrime continues to evolve, threats like ransomware and social engineering will continue to disrupt businesses in the years ahead. For those that are unprepared (particularly small businesses), the financial losses can be too great to overcome. This is why deploying multiple layers of security, including network protection, anti-malware, staff education and data backup, are essential to keeping threats at bay.

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