Threat-Proofing Your Company in 2022

As the year gets into full swing, cyber-criminals are preparing their unsavoury antics across the internet in search of unsuspecting victims. Have you assessed whether your company has closed all the security gaps?

Sadly, the victims of ransomware attacks are seldom prepared or even aware of an attack until it’s too late.

It’s projected cyber-attacks will increase substantially in 2022, and in this challenging economic climate no company can afford to be left dead in the water as the result of an attack. Companies must realise the impact that these attacks present on businesses, large and small. No entity is exempt from an attack, and each network and user are a target in some way.

As a starting point, these are some basic questions for management teams to address:

• What risk is presented to your business should you experience extended downtime, loss of company and/or client data?
• Who will handle the compliance implications and reputation management around sensitive client data having an external exposure?
• Will there be a company reputation impact should these risks occur?

No One Is Immune

Production and protection are paramount in these times, and no one should underestimate the potential risk facing all companies, their clients and their employees. Rudi Haarhoff, Technical Director at Yolo Telecoms says, “We have already had companies, who are not part of our current customer base, reach out to us for an incident response after being severely affected by cyber-attacks in 2022 - and we have not yet ended the first quarter of the year! These types of attacks are one of the emerging threats to every business in South Africa.”

He adds, “In any business, there are many devices and ‘doorways’ available for targeted attacks which will infiltrate your entire environment. Leaving the management and maintenance of your ICT open to attack due to a lack of skills and knowledge can leave a business destitute. Many businesses still have gaps in their networks making it easy for attackers to gain access through basic, entry-level threats.”

Training and Education Are Key

One of the biggest threats to any business is user awareness. Users are primary targets, which is why user training, compliance acknowledgement and threat protection followed by immediate reaction should be prioritised in all businesses. We are now in a world where all levels need to be addressed.

Haarhoff goes on to say, “An outsourced SOC aimed at immediate detection and remediation was always out of reach for smaller businesses and aimed at the operational spend of larger entities. This is no longer the case. At Yolo, we’ve aligned to a global partner who can provide these services to our SME customers, and we’ll be promoting this service as a ‘must-have’ for security and protection going forward”.

Martin Henenne, Sales Director at Yolo Telecoms says, “It is very concerning how few companies are allocating any budget towards cyber security, and how little allocation there is, at that.” He further comments, “Companies go through a process of maturity when it comes to IT. During this process there is a vast realisation of the importance of a reliable MIT structure and protection against cyber threats, but we often see a major reluctance in the investment spend to support these structures.”

It’s Closer Than You Think

What the general public often don’t realise, is that, within the world of cyber-crime, dedicated companies have been established with the sole purpose of discovering security gaps and creating cyber-security threats. An entire industry has been created off the ability to gain financial control through internet attacks of any company, large or small - whether targeted or system generated. “Because of this, companies need to assess how large the risk and financial impact is for them should they become victim to an attack, and this should be guiding their prioritisation and security spend from an IT perspective,” Henenne comments.

There is a multitude of attack strategies, with varying target markets, gaining access through gaps identified in company networks. Management teams need to have confidence that these gaps are closed, and vulnerabilities are identified and addressed before they impact the company negatively.

Getting the Right Partners

Yolo Telecoms MSSP (Managed Security Services Provider) has invested in global partnerships to protect their customers and ensure that proactive monitoring and protection is in place should a gap be discovered. Dedicated to business continuity for all customers, Yolo is making strides in becoming a leading partner for internet security in SA.

If any of your answers raise concerns for you or your business, please get in touch by clicking here.