*By Carlos Andreotti Alcoba (Caco)
Nowadays it is difficult to imagine approaching topics such as technology and digital transformation disregarding the importance of information and data security. According to a survey carried out by Fortinet, Brazil suffered more than 88.5 billion attempts to cyber attacks in 2021, a significant increase of more than 950% compared to 2020.
Given this scenario, the increase in attack possibilities, from remote work and the high volume of data sharing, and the propensity of companies to respond to blackmail carried out by criminals, continue to drive the trend of proliferation of these crimes. In addition, the growth in the number of vulnerable equipment connected to the internet, the sophistication of attack techniques and the cheapening of computing resources used for these actions, contribute exponentially to this diffusion.
In this sense, the importance of investing in information security, with the aim of guaranteeing data protection and keeping the value they have for organizations safe. This prevents them from being leaked and granted to cyber terrorists. But after all, what are the consequences of these attacks and how can companies establish an efficient cybersecurity policy?
How to mitigate cyber risks and increase information security in companies
Considering the pillars of the information security model, confidentiality, integrity and availability are relevant attributes when it comes to mitigating risks and protecting data. It is also necessary to consider, allies of cybersecurity, technical-administrative controls, such as policies, recommendations and procedures adopted by the organization to protect information.
Certainly, the main risk when managing data in a company is related to information leakage. This is because the consequences can be diverse, from a simple warning with an indication of the deadline for adopting corrective measures, through a simple fine of up to 2% of the company's revenue, limited to a total of R＄ 50 million per infraction, to a daily fine with blocking and deletion of personal data.
In this way, there are relatively simple measures that can contribute to increasing resilience against cyber-attacks, such as the application of patches and security updates to operating systems and softwares; the installation of updated antivirus that analyze behavior and firewalls; performing daily backups; the training and awareness of employees so that it is possible to identify common techniques used by cybercriminals; the use of a second authentication factor; as well as the elaboration of an action plan in cases of cyber-attack. Robust policies related to passwords, network segmentation and softwares are also good avenues for digital defense in the face of ever-increasing threats.
The role of information security in cloud hosting
Contrary to what you might imagine, being in the cloud may not offer 100% security guarantees. When migrating to the cloud, it is necessary to take into account the shared responsibility matrix for Security and Compliance between the cloud provider and the customer. In summary, this matrix highlights provider responsibilities such as security “from the cloud”, where he is responsible for ensuring the defense of the components that support his services (virtualization, network, physical security), and the customer is responsible for security “in the cloud”, and should promote the protection of settings, operating system, applications and data. Therefore, when talking about the cloud, it is essential to talk about shared responsibility.
Among the main threats when using a cloud environment are incorrect configurations, data loss and breaches, internal threats (insiders) and insecure APIs. So keeping this environment safe is vital due to potential cyber threats such as malware, phishing and denial of service attacks. Because of this, if security in the cloud is weak, organizational assets and data will be an easy target for cybercriminals.
To extend this protection, it is necessary to use technologies that assess the security posture of the environment in real time, such as CSPM tools (Cloud Security Posture Management); implement preventive controls and policies that prevent misconfigurations or unauthorized access; adopt detective controls to visualize anomalous behavior and centralize security logs and events on a dedicated basis such as a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and have an efficient patch and vulnerability management program.
Among the main mistakes responsible for increasing susceptibility to intrusions is the lack of cybersecurity policies, the denial of common threats, negligence regarding system and software updates and the lack of training and awareness of employees.
In this way, in addition to the use of products that follow frameworks proposed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which are models validated by the market and used worldwide as a reference by companies, it is essential that companies have partners that offer access and credential management services, vulnerability management, secure support of workloads in the cloud, user awareness and training (campaigns of phishing) and acting in a security operations center with log management and incident response.
Investment in Cybersecurity
According to IBM report, globally, cybercrime is projected to reach a market that reached US＄ 6 trillion in 2021. Added to this the fact that the digital revolution brings more and more companies and people into the online environment, cybercriminals have fertile ground for your actions.
One of the biggest issues is to believe that the company will never be the target of attacks, therefore, it is not necessary to invest in actions that avoid this fact. But what happens when the unpredictable happens? It is ideal to always be cautious. And that can be done with planning and action. Investing in a security project can avoid future headaches, such as data hijacking, ransom payments, systems down and a long data recovery. Added to that, the costs can be huge to contain the crisis and protect the system.
If your company is the victim of an attack, is it prepared? Is there a plan already prepared to avoid? Are there security gaps? All of this can be predicted and avoided with investment in cybersecurity.
*Carlos Andreotti Alcoba is Commercial and Product Manager for Sky One's Sky Security platform
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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