6 min read  | Cybersecurity consulting

Quick Guide: How to Prepare for Cyber Attacks

The unfortunate reality is that one day, your business might be the victim of a malicious cyber attack. During the 2020-21 financial year, reports of ransomware attacks increased 15 per cent from the year before, with cyber attacks costing Australians over $33 billion. 

Threat Actors see this as a lucrative business, so they’re not going to stop. That’s why it’s crucial to prepare your business’s defences to withstand or at least mitigate a determined attack. Part of being prepared is having an Incident Response plan tailored to suit your needs. 

But it’s also important to learn from attacks, so you can put measures in place to prevent the same Threat Actor from using the same method to get back in, or someone else using a similar method.  

Preventing similar attacks from happening again 

If you haven’t already put in place the six key measures to take you off the ‘low-hanging fruit’ list, then you’re opening yourself up for more intrusions by Threat Actors.  

More importantly, some of those measures – like logging and monitoring – will let you look back and see exactly how your attacker gained access to your systems. This level of information and detail is vital, as it will show you exactly where the hole is.  

If the entry point is due to a system vulnerability, you need to install the relevant security patch (that will be freely available) pronto. Until you do, any other Threat Actor could use that same method to get into your network. 

But if you want to properly shore up your defences and get the best protection possible, you should really consider bringing in a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP). 

Advantages of a Managed Security Services Provider 

When it comes to cyber security, you won’t find better than a Managed Security Services Provider. While they may operate in different sectors with different options, their overall goal is to provide their clients with the highest levels of protection and security possible.  

Many MSSPs, like Triskele Labs, offer a selection of services, allowing you to pick the types you need to ensure your business has the necessary security. Such an offering also allows you to find solutions that will fit your budget, such as: 

  • 24x7x365 network monitoring 
  • In-depth knowledge and implementation of defensive systems 
  • Incident planning and response  

On top of that, working with an MSSP can provide you with other benefits that wouldn’t be available to the average in-house Security Operations Centre. This could be access to a wider range of cyber intelligence services or having a Cyber Threat Intelligence team.  

The breadth of their experience also offers all their clients a higher, top-tier level of protection. If they have protective protocols in place for something like a bank or financial institution, their other, smaller clients also receive those protocols. 

Additionally, kitting out and hiring a full-blown cyber security department is time consuming and expensive. An MSSP designs its services to be scalable, so it can provide the security you need at a fraction of the cost.  

 

Summary 

With the prevalence of cyber crime and attacks continuing to grow, it’s important to take proactive steps to not only prevent attacks, but also learn from them. By utilising all the protective measures available, you can examine attack attempts (successful or not) and implement ways to guard against them. 

Or, you can engage an expert team from an MSSP to bring your systems up to spec, monitor them, patch them and protect them. 

If you want to know more about how to protect your business or organisation.
Get our Ultimate Guide to Cyber Security 2022

 

Ultimate Guide to Cyber Security