The mounting threats to network security may stem from external sources, but common misunderstandings about how to protect a business’ networks against them can create one big threat from within. High profile cases regularly make the headlines, proving that even the biggest businesses are failing to understand how to responsibly safeguard against potential attacks. The reality is that guaranteeing full protection against the constantly evolving forms of threat is a monumental – and often headache inducing – task for any business leader.
Fortunately, there are plenty of security vendors out there that have full expertise in this field and can recommend the correct solution for any business. However, business leaders tasked with choosing the right vendor must establish a basic understanding of the cyber security landscape in order to make an informed decision. We’ve busted the most common myths about network security to help paint a clear picture of how businesses can establish the best protection:
- Size means nothing to cyber criminals.
High profile hacks may make the headlines, but that doesn’t mean smaller businesses aren’t being targeted too. The truth is, organisations of all sizes are victims of attacks. The number of attacks that organisations face simply scale up as the business grows. While a global organisation with more than 10,000 employees may receive anywhere from 100-500 attacks per month, an organisation with only 1-10 employees is still vulnerable and can expect up to 50 attacks per month.
- ‘Special’ solutions are worth every penny.
Business leaders may be unwilling to dig dip to fund “special” solutions, commonly seeing them as nothing but an unnecessary expense, but operating with only network perimeter devices puts any business at risk. Sixty-four percent of security administrators say they need a special security intelligence platform to collaborate security data and combat security attacks. Specialized solutions like SIEM are now mandatory for protecting business networks against attacks.
- Protection means more than just being prepared.
Proactively protecting against possible attacks isn’t always feasible. Only 24 percent of businesses are able to mitigate attacks before they occur. Most attacks can be dealt with only after they actually occur. Enterprises have to speed up the attack discovery process and react accordingly to ensure complete network security.
- The patterns are never predictable.
Security attacks are dynamic, and can change patterns randomly and without warning. Businesses operating under the belief that all security attacks follow the same pattern are putting themselves at risk. Just because businesses in a particular sector seem more susceptible to certain types of attacks doesn’t mean they’re immune to other, less common ones. Organisations need blanket protection from all attacks rather than picking and choosing which types of attack they’re most likely to encounter.
- It takes more than audit reports.
Thirty-five percent of business leaders believe annual audit reports provide a total overview of their organisation’s IT security. In reality,continuous monitoring is the key to securing networks. Simply submitting security reports to establish a security policy, and laying idle for the remainder of year, is not enough. Sixty-four percent of security administrators believe network security goes beyond audit reports. Year-round monitoring keeps network security up-to-date.
- Compliance is only part of the challenge.
Stringent compliance requirements are often seen as the biggest hurdle when it comes to network security, but with the security landscape rapidly changing, compliance is no longer the only challenge. Cloud adoption, increased BYOD usage, and evolving threats are beginning to overshadow compliance issues.
- Financial burden is not the only consequence.
If an organisation believes that security breaches only result in financial penalties, they’re mistaken. Seventy-five percent of security administrators say the cost of a data breach goes far beyond the costs of fixing the issue and paying penalties. There’s the obvious risk of lost revenue if an organisation can’t operate during an attack, but there’s also the danger of customers losing trust and withdrawing their business.
To combat the myriad of evolving cyber threats, businesses must look to intelligent software-based solutions rather than rely on IT security teams to reactively solve these issues themselves. Budgeting for over-priced licenses and costly consulting fees are no longer valid issues either because there are inexpensive network security solutions available. If a business is proactive with its network security, it won’t have to include costly fixes into its budget. If done correctly, the costs associated with security breaches will be as mythical as the misconceptions we’ve just debunked.
Click here to learn more about the statistics used in this article and view an infographic about these network security myths.
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