What is Data Exfiltration and how to prevent it using analytics?

There are many security threats that organizations face daily.??The most frequent of them are data breaches and data exfiltration. Attackers frequently innovate their attack strategies and approaches.?To identify and evaluate such risks and proactively stop them at the right moment, organizations require cutting-edge security architecture and a powerful analytics platform.?The Talos intelligence unit identified a fresh "Mass-logger" Trojan during one of its routine scans in February 2021. The Trojan was sent via an email campaign that was intended to collect and leak user credentials from several applications, including Microsoft Outlook, Google Chrome, and instant messengers. This Trojan was soon identified by Talos, who urged end users to set up their computers to log PowerShell events like loaded modules and performed script blocks.

What is data exfiltration?

Data exfiltration is often the result of outsiders breaking into a network to obtain sensitive data or user credentials.?Data exfiltration occurs through one or more of several cyberattack techniques and includes loss of data through physical means, such as loss of printed documents or drafts, notices, thumb drives, laptops, mobile phones, or through electronic means, such as loss of data from servers or databases. As more and more organizations have adapted to hybrid work and moved?their data payloads to the cloud, data exfiltration through electronic means is more prevalent and potent.

How can analytics catch or prevent data exfiltration?

Data exfiltration is difficult to detect since the events that precede the actual exfiltration frequently hide behind normal, everyday procedures. The following five methods for using analytics to detect or stop data exfiltration

1.?Tracking your network in-and-out traffic:? Data movement across networks occurs often in every organization. Attackers that want to steal data usually do it intermittently rather than continuously. As a result, data exfiltration is difficult to identify because it is well hidden beneath normal network traffic patterns. However, modest surges in data flow can be detected with attentive network traffic monitoring. Monitoring the network activity of thousands of users is a difficult undertaking, but keeping track of each department's inbound and outbound traffic can help you identify unusual activity.

2. Monitor security training completion rate:

Human error is a well-documented cause of cyberattacks such as data exfiltration. Nearly 90% of cyberattacks, according to the Chief Executive study, are the result of human error. Employees could occasionally accidentally create a doorway for hackers. Employee awareness of typical dangers and hacking strategies is crucial for preventing such situations. This involves keeping track of the proportion of staff members who have finished their security training and requiring that the remaining staff members do the same. The percentage of employees who have finished security training per department is shown in the example report below.

Need to know more about analytics for IT operations??Take a look here?to discover all the ways you can benefit from deploying analytics in your IT.