The digital threat landscape is continuously growing and businesses have to address this ever-evolving threat landscape. Organizations not only have to develop an in-depth understanding of how threat actors work and what tactics they use but also look for ways to protect themselves from these threats.
Businesses have to conduct a thorough risk assessment and keep an eye on financial constraints. With dozens of cybersecurity attacks targeting your business at any given time, it is imperative for your business to prioritize those attacks based on the severity and criticality. To do all that successfully, you need to answer the following cybersecurity questions.
In this article, Anti-Dos will learn about five cybersecurity questions that you should answer right now.
5 Cybersecurity Questions You Need To Answer Right Now
Here are five cybersecurity questions you must answer to create a successful cybersecurity strategy.
1. Should You Still Use Passwords?
One of the hottest questions that are on every business’s mind is should they still use passwords? The short answer to this question is no. Passwords are one of the least secure methods you can use for user authentication. Why? Because passwords can easily be stolen by hackers. We have already seen a lot of incidents where passwords were stolen.
To make matters worse, most employees don’t use password best practices, which make them more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks and data breaches. That is why it is highly recommended that you switch to a more secure authentication method such as biometric authentication. Even if you are using passwords, make sure you enable two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security on top. This means that even if the hacker manages to guess or steal your password, they won’t be able to access your sensitive data. They will have to answer a security question or bypass another layer of security to get their hands on your data.
Use password best practices such as using a combination of alphanumeric characters when setting your password or use both upper and lower case in your passwords. Avoid using generic words or serial numbers as your passwords as this will make it easy for hackers to guess it. Change your password every three to six months. All this will go a long way in securing your passwords.
You can also look at passwordless authentication methods for user authentication. Even though it does not eliminate the possibility of getting infected by a phishing attack or ransomware attack or even a DDoS attack, it can certainly minimize the risk of your password getting stolen. To protect your servers from DDoS attacks, you need to buy a DDoS protected dedicated server. You also need cybersecurity protection in place. Increase cybersecurity awareness of your employees so they don’t fall victim to these cybersecurity attacks.
2. Does Firewall Help With Zero Trust?
Zero trust has become one of the most discussed topics in the cybersecurity space these days. Despite this, most businesses don’t understand the real essence of zero trust let alone implement it. In fact, they don’t even have the strategy for zero trust implementation. They think that traditional firewalls can help them achieve zero trust, which is not true.
A normal firewall can not protect your business from attacks that penetrate your network. This means that it can not help you implement zero trust. A traditional firewall can only serve as a gatekeeper that blocks malicious traffic from entering your network.
Similarly, if you have a modern firewall that can serve as a segmentation gateway then, it can complement your zero trust efforts. This modern-day firewall is equipped with a host of other tools which includes network access tools, web application security tools and micro-segmentation tools that can make it a potent weapon against cybersecurity threats.
3. Does Cyber Ranges Really Help Organization?
Remote work has been around for quite some time now but this pandemic has accelerated its adoption. One of the consequences of the rapid adoption of remote work was security concerns stemming from lack of visibility and bringing your own device. This has forced businesses to look towards cyber ranges. Even though it can be effective in some cases, it is not for everyone.
That is why it is highly recommended that you create a feasibility report before jumping on the cyber range bandwagon. For most businesses, the cost outweighs the benefits so that is the case, you should not adopt it. Yes, it can improve the coordination of security teams and provide them with a better overall experience but it is a small benefit when you compare it with the total cost of building a cyber range. Yes, it can help you fulfill the compliance requirements but is that enough to justify its steep cost? That is the question your business must answer.
4. How can Developers Ensure Security?
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is they don’t make security a shared responsibility. As a result, other functional units think that security is the sole responsibility of the security department. Due to this, they don’t make their contribution which creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers.
Tell your development team to develop software with security in mind so you don’t face any issues later down the line. Since app and software developers have to meet tight deadlines, they tend to skip security and testing to deliver the software before the deadline. As a result, the piece of software contains dozens of bugs and loopholes, which hackers can easily exploit. Make your security team and development team coordinate so they can ensure the creation of secure code and software.
5. Do Security Professionals Need a Traditional Career Path?
Another misconception that is prevalent in the cybersecurity industry is that cybersecurity professionals need to come through and follow a traditional career path. That is not true because you will find a lot of cybersecurity professionals from diverse backgrounds such as music, arts, and even the military. Not only do these experiences help them become a better cybersecurity professional but also enable them to think from a different perspective. This gives them a clear edge over professionals that comes from traditional cybersecurity backgrounds.
Which is the most important cybersecurity question you should answer today? Share it with us in the comments section below.