How can technical support improve cybersecurity and protect against cyber threats?

One of the largest mistakes technical support makes is thinking the user understands the technical language being used in the conversation. End users rarely understand the language and will even more rarely ask questions when they don't understand. Training technical support to educate users to technical level that they understand and are comfortable participating in is critical to a successful education program.

1. Technical support teams should continue to get updates on latest threat Intel and Cyber Security trends so that they can quickly understand the type and impact of a cyber attack and respond efficiently. 2. Tech support team should know the business context and have clear understanding of the organization’s regulatory requirements and their Incident Response plan should also contain SLA's that are aligned to the business based on the applicable legal/regulatory requirements. 3. Tech team should closely work with the impacted business users/owners to articulate the issue clearly and provide remediation as quickly as possible.

It is important that technical support personnel are able to understand trends/threats and are able to understand this in context of organisation risk. Cyber security is an ever evolving field, hence keeping up to date with trends is vital.

In my experience security starts with the user. Education and awareness regarding these aspects is paramount to success. We often assume a normal user understand these topics and their importance, however this is not the case. The vast majority of users are not aware of simple Phishing attacks or what they do. They are not trained to be vigilent and build a level of intuition. Much more needs to be done in changing the behaviour of users and how they interact with corporate tools vs their own mobile phones. Education up front and tools afters.

Technical support's role has surpassed mere troubleshooting. Today, it's about shielding businesses from burgeoning cyber threats. A thorough grasp on malware, phishing, ransomware, DoS attacks, data breaches, and their implications is non-negotiable. Understanding the legal and regulatory fallout of cyberattacks is a key element. Laws on data protection, compliance stipulations, liability matters bear grave meaning for a company. As such, technical teams must comprehend these finer details to ensure compliance post cyber incident. In the AI era, tech support is pivotal to any company's cyber defense strategy. Knowledge of cyber threats and legal domains is fundamental in preserving users, company reputation, and assets.

Technical support plays a pivotal role in cyber incident response. This team is often the primary interface between the technology division and the user base, they are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between the two. Through their frequent interactions with users, technical support can provide valuable ad-hoc advice on cybersecurity, promoting a proactive awareness of threats. Users often cannot differentiate between a standard incident and a cyber incident, often reporting the latter as the former. With the right training and awareness, technical support can adeptly identify, channel, and escalate potential cyber threats. Keeping in mind, that many normal looking incidents could have cyber implications.

User education is crucial together with testing how users handle things like phishing attacks or a random USB being sent in. Quite often employees who do not use computers are left out of the security education creating greater risk if they allow someone into the building either not realising it's a risk or maliciously.

An organization’s cybersecurity program has limited touchpoints with end users. Each technical support encounter represents an opportunity to do things differently and creatively, enabling continuous improvement of the organization’s security posture. For example, instead of merely responding to routine password reset requests, use these encounters to educate users about using multifactor authentication for work and personal accounts. Instead of sending a standard post-support survey, include phishing prevention guidance and links to cybersecurity awareness articles in the message. In short, don’t waste a single opportunity to proactively mitigate cybersecurity risks.

Educated users are the organization's first line of defense against cyber threats. By understanding the latest threats and attack vectors, users can be more vigilant and less likely to fall victim to phishing attacks or other social engineering scams. They can also help to identify and report suspicious activity, which can help technical support teams to investigate and respond to incidents quickly and effectively.

User training can't be a 'One size fits all' approach. It has to be designed based on multiple factors like: Awareness/Maturity of the individual, role in the organization, domain they work in and the training should help each and every one in the organization to understand cyber security purpose and potential threats to their own organization and how to become first level of defence against potential hackers and security threatd

Cyber engineering helps to design and maintain the security of the organization's information systems and therefore should provide knowledge and contribute to ongoing training to technical support. Both teams can provide a wealth of information to each other.

Although I do not agree with these A.I powered articles... Here are my two cents: Tech support can enhance security by helping in the implementation of advanced measures like Endpoint detection and response, (EDR), intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and SIEM systems with their insights. These solutions are real-time threat detection and response, making technical support a crucial safeguard as first line for users and organizations against cyber threats.

Effective & timely rollout of cybersecurity capabilities is key to reducing vulnerability exposure for enterprises. Cybersecurity engineering, operations & governance play an important role in enabling technical support ro successfully complete such implementations. In my experience , complex cybersecurity initiatives take substantial time to be implemented because of large user base, geographic constraints and business priorities. Another drawback of long drawn implementations is the risk of implemented solutions being obsolete due to rapid developing security threats. A well crafted implementation framework that relies on full automation , tool orchestration and safety first business prioritization policy can reap rich rewards.

Tech support is a linchpin in the defense against cyber threats. By implementing and maintaining security solutions, conducting regular audits and tests, and staying proactive in addressing vulnerabilities, they plays a pivotal role in bolstering an organization's cybersecurity posture.

Technical support can bolster cybersecurity by promptly addressing vulnerabilities and implementing patches. They play a pivotal role in educating users about potential risks, fostering a security-aware culture. Monitoring systems and network health, they can detect and respond to threats swiftly. Ultimately, their proactive measures and vigilance enhance overall protection against cyber threats.

Smart monitoring is required to effectively safeguard against cyber threats. This means event correlation and simultaneously automated first response become essential.

Cybersecurity relies on vigilant system monitoring, primarily managed by technical support. Their continuous oversight of network traffic, system logs, and security alerts swiftly identifies deviations and vulnerabilities, preventing minor issues from becoming major breaches. This proactive approach fortifies defenses, preserves data integrity, and upholds confidentiality. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration tests further enhance resilience, reduce susceptibility to emerging threats, and ensure operational continuity, making technical support's role pivotal in defending against evolving risks and securing digital assets.

In the realm of cybersecurity, technical support plays a role similar to a vigilant guardian employing surveillance systems to safeguard a community. Using tools and methods, they actively monitor the network, devices, applications, and data. Similar to security cameras tracking activities. These tools help detect anomalies, incidents, and vulnerabilities, acting as a watchful eye alerting them to potential threats. Just as a guardian responds promptly to unusual activities, technical support utilizes logs, alerts, scans, and patches to swiftly address and neutralize cybersecurity risks, ensuring the digital environment remains secure and resilient.

Technical support ensures that software upgrades, including the most recent security patches, are applied on a regular basis. By fortifying the infrastructure, this method effectively prevents weaknesses that cybercriminals could exploit for malicious objectives. Security Configurations: Setting up firewalls, access controls, and other security measures is one of their main duties. By erecting hurdles to dissuade bad actors, this proactive strategy helps protect the network from outside threats. Monitoring and Alerts: To quickly detect unusual activity or security breaches, technical assistance makes use of monitoring tools. They can minimize potential harm by identifying and addressing new hazards quickly by being proactive and watchful.

Not Technical teams are communicating results. They are provide only the KPI result. The rest is fine by the Senior leadership teams to mitigate the risk of communicating something in an improper way which could result faulty point of view about the organization' security Asis.

Enriching the narrative by mentioning the tailoring of communication to the technical acumen of the audience, alongside introducing a feedback mechanism for refining the communication process, could lend more practical insight and depth to the discourse.

Effectively addressesing the 'how' and 'what' of communication within technical support roles is important, but the article misses out on the crucial element of timing. Knowing 'when' to communicate can be as vital as 'what' to communicate. Immediate reporting of a vulnerability might not always be the best course of action if it compromises larger security initiatives. Additionally, adopting a storytelling approach can make complex technical issues more understandable for non-technical stakeholders. This not only makes the information digestible but also elevates the role of technical support within an organisation.

Communicating the results is a crucial element in the cybersecurity-technical support partnership. It ensures transparency, accountability, and informed decision-making, ultimately strengthening an organization's defense against cyber threats.

Technical teams are not always the best communicators. They need training and understanding of what is expected from them, and how to react and communicate to technical and non-technical stakeholders. There is a lot at stake, so you can't leave it to chance that people at all levels understand and will comply with expectations. Leadership over technical teams need to emphasize the importance of good communication skills, and organizations need to facilitate and support appropriate forums, channels and protocols for communicating important findings. It is also important to support people reporting and communicating these things, and encourage them, even when it may seem embarrassing or inconvenient to admit fault.

Tech support should understand the goals and efforts of their cyber security team. The cyber team can't afford to exist in a vacuum. Typically, tech support is the first line of touch for end users. Understanding this, tech support has an opportunity to engage with users helping make them more cyber aware. When tech support is engaged by the cyber team, they can reinforce the fundamentals to end users at a level cyber security may not be afforded. The cyber team, in some instances, may not engage with users until a situation has been escalated. Tech support can be that bridge between the end user and cyber, if they (tech support) understand the goals and ambitions of their cyber team.

Cybersecurity is not a task of technical support. Cypersecurity has to be a departement of its own reporting directly to the CIO. They develop and control the guidelines and rules to be followed by the suppliers, the internal IT teams and the users. They decide which tools have to be put in place to supervise cypersecurity and monitor the results accordingly. Senior and executive managment can not be excluded from those guidelines and rules including corporate smartphones.

Hacking and cyber crimes are big business. They are constantly innovating and evolving. New threats appear every minute of every day. To stay abreast of these criminals, cyber security professionals must keep their skills sharp and current, not merely through certifications and degrees, but through continual networking, knowledge exchanges with other professionals and peers in the field, conferences and periodic re-certification and training as things evolve. It is also important to note that cyber security professionals need to be compensated well to keep them motivated to put on their armor every day and go to war with the cyber criminals, who are very well funded and often have state level backing.

Cybersecurity is a critical skill for technical support and many other teams and users. Different levels of knowledge are available to specific areas of security. Final users need capabilities of understanding the risks but also ability to use the tools that help protect their daily work. Technical support needs a deeper understanding of the threats, communication skills, tools expertise, risk analysis, etc. Cybersecurity expert teams need expertise in the technical deep dive of the assets, attacks and technology development required to keep tools and defense continuously adaptive.

The article rightly emphasises the importance of certifications and mentorship for technical support teams in cybersecurity. However, an overlooked aspect is 'empathetic cybersecurity.' Tech support needs to understand end-users, often the weakest link in cybersecurity, to provide tailored advice that's more likely to be implemented. Additionally, integrating AI and machine learning tools can enhance real-time learning and threat identification. These augment human skills, allowing for a more dynamic and resilient cybersecurity framework.

Break Silos & Collaborate : In modern enterprises, tech support and cybersecurity teams can't operate in silos. While cybersecurity teams are skilled to proactively monitor threats, and strategize to prevent or recover from cyber attacks, implementation of cyber strategies is best done by the Tech Support teams. Both teams must collaborate in real time to validate threat intel, swiftly react and remediate against any cyber security flaws. It's pertinent to build necessary skills in the Tech Support function to unambiguously actionize cyber recommendations, when asked for. Hence it's extremely important for both teams to work-in-tandem and share knowledge in peace-time to avoid chaos in cyber war-time !

What I see nowadays is that the world of information security increasingly separates Cybersecurity as something purely technical, when it is forgotten that much of Cybersecurity is due to the fact of processes, procedures and people. Without understanding the environment in which one is situated, the pure use of technology, or more precisely technical support, will lead to a gap between the real world and the ideal. By understanding the environment that is being protected, we can then list the best technologies to protect it, remembering that we will always need motivated, trained and experienced people to get the best that any technology can offer.

So, the first thing I truly learned about technical support, is that it is overhead, it is a drain on the bottom line and is looked upon as an evil necessity. Giving been a leader of Technical Support, I realized that we needed to take a Customer Service approach and bring something of value to the company. Making Tech Support a friend to the business and not a road block. Tech Support should never just say No, it needs to be we can't do it that way, but let's see if.... keeping this in mind, they need to be the front line to the user community and build trust within the organization. With this approach, the biggest threat to a company, the end user, can now be trained to look for the bad actors threats, the social engineering.

Don't forget the importance of a well defined, understood and tested business continuity / disaster recovery plan. Technical recovery is one thing, business recovery is another.

Cybersecurity for technical support teams involves controlling access, ensuring strong authentication, and educating team members about security practices. It's crucial to use secure channels for communication, keep software and systems updated, and protect data through encryption and regular backups. Having an incident response plan and utilizing secure remote support connections are essential. Vendor management, phishing awareness, and robust logging and monitoring contribute to a comprehensive security strategy. Regular audits, well-defined security policies, secure file sharing, and attention to physical security and equipment disposal are key practices and employ security tools like antivirus, firewalls, VPNs, and encryption.