Cyber attacks such as today's widespread ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly aggressive. The costs due to data theft, caused by downtime, for hardening the IT infrastructure, for ransom and the restoration of a damaged reputation are constantly increasing. Large companies and SMEs alike are targets for attack. And the current crises make it impressively clear: critical state infrastructures are also becoming the focus of hackers. Most CEOs and managers have now recognized cyber risks as a primary challenge. So it's high time to point out some clarifying aspects.
In traditional, internal IT environments, ransomware is very difficult to prevent. All it takes is one employee's mistake and the ransomware is in the house. Giving in to a possible resulting blackmail and restoring the environment usually costs 10-20% of an annual turnover.
Hacker attacks on critical infrastructure are on the rise. It can hit any company, any institution.
Traditional measures such as access control, antivirus, endpoint detection & response, backup/restore, etc. only work when they have been implemented very comprehensively. On the one hand, these are costly measures; on the other hand, the necessary competence to implement and manage all these products correctly and especially "seamlessly" is often lacking (in the meantime also due to the shortage of specialists).
It has to be stated: Cybercriminals exploit every vulnerability, no matter how small, and their attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Ransom attacks cannot be (sufficiently) prevented by traditional means. Without state-of-the-art protection measures, it will hit every company and institution - sooner or later. Increasingly expensive cyber insurances - or worse, no longer insurable cyber risks - are virtually the mathematical proof of the increasing risk.
Digitalization is changing the way we work. This increases the attack surface for cyber attacks. Inaction is not an option.
So the question is, what possible protective measures are available? Inaction is not an option.
Cyber defense approaches exist which in combination address several current challenges of cyber risks!
Here are our "5 Cents":
- Digitizing
Digitization absolutely requires trust in the correctness of one's own and increasingly of external data and in the flawless functioning of systems and processes. Encryption of applicative data makes unauthorized or accidental modification or even theft of data - in contrast to the encryption of data files - several times more difficult. This increases the integrity of data and processes.
- Cloudify
Service users cannot access the data storage of SaaS solutions. In other words, even if your on-premises environment is compromised, hostile over- or access to your cloud SaaS solutions is (almost) impossible. This increases the availability of your data and processes.
- Automate
Automate data protection in the cloud, for example based on a SASE security architecture or with a CASB solution, to actively ensure secure and compliant cloud usage across multiple providers. This increases the confidentiality of your data and processes.
If cyber risks have also become an increasingly important issue in your company, secure digitization based on SaaS solutions - ideally supplemented with automated functions of a CASB solution - is a very effective measure. A measure which is due sooner or later.
We support you in the cyber protection of your critical infrastructure.
