Five Proven Techniques for Early Detection of Cyberattacks
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, cyberattacks have increased both in frequency and effectiveness. Continuing with this trend, 2021 has begun with a couple massive zero-day exploits and supply chain attacks.
These attacks continue to affect public and private organizations around the world which use third-party software products like Microsoft Exchange and other common IT tools. Breaches of IT systems in many of these cases go unnoticed for months. However, if they are detected early enough, their impact can be much smaller.
In this article, we will cover five key strategies for early cyberattack detection which can help to reduce the damage they can cause. Many of these strategies are dependent on cultivating a security-conscious business culture to be successful. Others involve taking a more proactive and aggressive security stance that assumes the organization is currently breached by persistent threat actors. When these strategies are combined to form a comprehensive security plan, they can harden an organization against cyberattacks and reduce the chances of breaches becoming catastrophic events.
1. Implement an Incident Response Plan
The first step towards creating a workplace that actively detects cyberattacks and potential breaches is to implement an incident response plan. While many organizations have cybersecurity plans in place, they often neglect to include a well-defined incident management program. This can leave employees and organization leaders at a loss as to how to respond to cyberattacks that are in progress.
Incident management covers a broad set of events that negatively impact an organization’s operations and customer service. When a response plan is implemented, it involves a number of initiatives to increase the speed of incident resolution:
* Implement communication channels between employees and incident responders.
* Create procedures to quickly identify threats and mitigate them.
* Improve response times by designating subject matter experts as responders.
* Maintain a knowledgebase of lessons learned from past incidents.
2. Secure Internal IT Systems
There was a time when automated network defenses like firewalls and traffic filters could reliably defend intranets from unauthorized access from the Internet. Persistent cybersecurity threats have repeatedly demonstrated that these measures alone are inadequate with ever more spectacular breaches happening worldwide. Whether threat actors sneak malware into third-party applications or exploit zero-day vulnerabilities that bypass network security systems, it’s clear that cybersecurity plans need to assume breaches can and will happen.
The most effective security today is a highly trained workforce that uses secure devices hardened against malware and data theft techniques. This means instituting strict policies for employee credentials that enforce strong passwords or eliminate them entirely. It also means reviewing “bring your own device” policies and installing effective malware protection on all business devices.
3. Test Security Measures and Training
Once a cybersecurity policy is in place, the work of monitoring its effectiveness requires a vigilant testing and continuous improvement culture. Testing can include hiring outside penetration testers to discover weaknesses in an organization’s physical and network security. The lessons learned from such tests can be vital in preventing real cyberthreats from breaching an organization’s information systems.
Employee training is another key security measure because human error is still the most common cause of security breaches. Employees should receive regular training on current trends and common cyberthreats identified by an organization’s security team. The effectiveness of training programs should also be verified with periodic audits and mock incidents.
4. Actively Hunt for Threats and Vulnerabilities
Training and planning are key to detecting and responding to cyberattacks as they happen. However, active threat hunting can also reduce the chance of a cyberattack going unnoticed for months. A threat hunting campaign assumes that cybercriminals have access to an organization’s systems. A security team then attempts to discover attacks in progress. Because this scenario has become increasingly probable, many organizations have adopted these threat hunting strategies:
* Task senior security staff to search internal and perimeter defenses for unknown vulnerabilities.
* Setup logging capabilities for as many IT systems as possible.
* Search network traffic and user login patterns to discover ongoing cyberattacks.
* Train security teams to have the same curiosity and creative thinking as cybercriminals.
* Investigate seemingly harmless computer and network errors thoroughly.
5. Keep Security and Business Software Up to Date
While zero-day exploits can still penetrate systems that are fully patched and up to date, the majority of cyberattacks rely on unpatched vulnerabilities that are already known. Security teams and IT administrators should find ways to automate security patches and software updates even when they sometimes cause problems with IT systems. The vital nature of such updates makes them a higher priority than saving time spent on software maintenance tasks.
It’s also important to keep all security-related software up to date and actively maintained. If an anti-malware app on a single workstation isn’t protecting its user when they happen to click a spear phishing link, it can lead to the entire intranet being infected by a ransomware attack (as an example). Administrators and security teams need to be vigilant in training employees and troubleshooting security tools to prevent weak links inside the organization’s network.
Stop Cyberattacks Early
Early detection of cyberattacks when they begin is proven to prevent serious financial and brand reputation losses. Cybercriminals often need months to complete their goals of stealing data and eavesdropping on employees. Stopping them within days or hours minimizes the threat they pose. That is why a concerted and proactive strategy is needed in today’s security environment.
Outsource IT is experienced with securing business organizations across a wide range of industries. As small businesses and larger enterprises have varying exposures and regulatory requirements, we provide the best advice for their unique situations. Whether a penetration testing team is needed, a revision of the organization’s security plan, or help with applying industry best practices, we have capable experts ready to help. Contact an Outsource IT account manager for a cybersecurity consultation today.
