According to an article published by Forbes, there is on average 15 percent increase in data breaches and cyber attacks in the year 2021. With technological advancements, hackers have become more sophisticated and skilled at finding weak points in corporate security systems. Cyber attacks are even expected to grow more in upcoming years. Cyber Security Researchers are trying to build prevention solutions but certain things are beyond control. The most common cause of increasing cyber-attacks is the growing use of partners and suppliers, insufficient budgets for cyber security, and an increase in the use of IoT devices.
Now that we have established there is no easy escape from cyber attacks, understanding how to deal with cyber-attacks has become a crucial undertaking in securing a financial and reputational future. According to a study, the average cost of a data breach is $60,000. A data breach can cause companies to lose their customers and make it difficult to regain trust for future business.
How to Deal with Cyber Attacks?
NIST cyber security framework contains a list of guidelines to efficiently reduce and manage risk. It includes a series of simple steps that have been tailored to meet the needs of all types of companies.
Identify:
The first step in defining any cyber security strategy is to understand what resources you own and what are the risks associated with each resource. Don’t provide access to anyone to your sensitive data who are not a relevant stakeholder of the data. Restrict access of data to relevant stakeholders only. Always conduct background checks on people.
Protect:
An organization should have all the best preventive measures in place to deal with cyber attacks.
Enhance Security Features
Hackers always wanted to get maximum outcomes with as little effort as possible. They always try to go for easy targets first. Companies should limit employee access to data and information. Read and Write permissions should only be granted to relevant employees. All the software and operating system should be patched regularly. The use of strong passwords for all user accounts is highly recommended. Install proper firewalls and Antivirus across the organization to detect any malicious movements. Set up email and web filters. Important data should be in encrypted form.
Create a Culture of Cyber Security Awareness
Social Engineering is one of the significant threats that we encounter nowadays. Social Engineering is the term used for a broad range of malicious activities that involve human interaction. It uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. So, there should be a culture to train employees on best security practices and how to deal with social engineering. It is said that
“Humans are the weakest link in cyber security”
Detect:
There should be a mechanism in place that will notify you when a cyber attack occurs as quickly as possible. Proper log monitoring and Threat Hunting solutions should be in place to detect any Threat in the environment.
Respond:
In case a cyber attack happens, you have to contain the incident and minimize any damage.
Change Credentials
One of the first and foremost actions that you should take is to change all the passwords and authentication strings immediately. If possible, cut down communication over the network for some time to minimize the risk.
Act Quickly
Once you are sure that sensitive information has been breached or a cyber attack has taken place, it’s important to take action quickly and efficiently. A good approach is having a proactive data breach response plan.
Consult a Breach Coach
Consulting a breach coach is a good approach as he will guide the organization through the recovery process following a data breach. They are experienced people having expertise in mitigating the risk and walking the organization through the process of recovery.
Recover:
Consult the forensics team to check if any stolen data can be recovered. Make a proper backup of your data to minimize consequences for the future. Consider doing cyber insurance. Put the focus on improving cyber security practices. Frequently Scan for any vulnerabilities in systems and patch all vulnerabilities timely.
Conclusion
It is not in human control to estimate how and when an attack is going to happen. A good and timely cyber awareness program will help organizations deal with any type of cyber attack in a timely and efficient manner. Efforts should be made on an individual level to ensure, there is no loophole left for attackers. Everyone in an organization is responsible to keep software and OS up to date. People should make sure to access company assets through a secure network. The best chance that you have to be safe from cyber-attacks is by following the best cyber security practices.