Cybersecurity has always been a concern for businesses and governments, but in recent years the frequency of cyber attacks due to geopolitics has been on the rise. As the world becomes increasingly digitalized and interconnected, threats from afar can have serious consequences. According to recent insights from Gartner VP Analyst Paul Proctor, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022, coordinated cyber attacks have emerged as part of the offensive, impacting organizations both in these countries and worldwide. In the shadow of the invasion, it has become evident that hybrid warfare is the new reality, and geopolitics and cybersecurity are inextricably linked. Taking the time to prepare for the additional threats posed by the geopolitical situations is essential in limiting damage to your organization. Utilizing managed security services to protect critical business systems in hybrid, on-prem, and fully-remote work environments can help maximize uptime and mitigate downtime — making it that much easier for your company to respond to a variety of situations.
How to Mitigate Your Risk of a Cyber Attack
In the era of cyber attacks, you can never be too prepared. It’s not just about having a plan for a breach, but also about having a plan for everything else that comes with it — from communication and crisis management to cyber insurance coverage.
Here are three steps to mitigate your risk of a cyber attack:
- Plan for various threat scenarios.
You need to have a plan in place that covers all possible scenarios — not just the ones you think will happen. You don’t want to be caught unaware when an attack does occur. Be sure your plan includes an incident response team, which should include IT professionals familiar with your business processes. For example, gaining access to data backups on the cloud is essential if you are dealing with a ransomware attack.
- Quantify the cyber risk exposure.
How much is your company’s brand worth? What is the potential loss of customers, revenue or sales? It’s important to know what could happen if there’s a breach — both financially and reputationally — so you can put together an effective response plan. Make sure you know what assets are important to protect and consider how they’re connected (e.g., through shared networks).
- Put cyber risk in the C-suite.
It’s not enough for IT or security teams to manage these risks — it needs to be addressed at a strategic level within an organization. The C-suite needs to understand how their decisions will impact the business’ overall security posture and be held accountable for making sure those risks are mitigated effectively over time
Being prepared when an attack occurs
The unfortunate reality is that you can’t prevent every attack or catastrophe. But there are steps you can take to ensure you’re prepared for the worst-case scenario. Performing a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) allows you to identify how any disruptions that will impact your company. These disruptions can significantly impact various areas, whether it’s technology, equipment, employees, or infrastructure. Cyber Sainik’s team can also help you determine the cost and impact of losing access to a specific technology. Typically, it’s recommended for most companies to conduct a BIA every two years to keep up this information up to date.
Here are four guidelines for being prepared when an attack occurs:
Incident response
Your disaster recovery plan is only as good as your testing. Make sure you regularly test your disaster recovery plan to ensure it will work when needed. Too many business owners make the mistake of waiting until something goes wrong to see whether their cloud service provider is up to the task. From backups to security breaches, you should always know exactly how your service will work in a disaster before it actually happens.
Business continuity planning (BCP)
BCP is a plan that outlines how your organization will resume operations after an interruption caused by a natural disaster or other emergency situation — including cyberattacks. This plan should include steps such as backup procedures, documentation requirements, and communication procedures with key personnel outside the office during an outage or disaster situation.
Disaster recovery (DR) plan.
DR plans ensure that your organization can recover from an outage or disaster quickly and efficiently so that critical functions can resume without missing a beat — again
Crisis management
Crisis management involves responding quickly and appropriately when a cyber security breach occurs so that you protect your reputation with customers, investors and others who rely on your services or products.
How an MSSP Offers Value to Your Small Business
Trying to manage the IT and network operations for your business isn’t an easy task. Hiring more employees can quickly become expensive, and managing an in-house team requires a lot of extra time. One way to avoid these challenges is to outsource your IT and network security needs to Cyber Sainik. We can handle all of your business’s cybersecurity needs, whether it’s educating employees about cyber threats, monitoring your network activity, meeting compliance mandates and cyber liability insurance requirements, and so much more.
Conclusion
The geopolitical landscape has a significant impact on cybersecurity. The threats from afar are becoming increasingly bold and sophisticated. So, it is important that we take a proactive approach to these threats by investing in solutions such as AI-based managed threat detection and prevention. Contact the experts at Cyber Sainik for a free consultation.
