There are lots of threats out there just waiting to infect your enterprise networks. Advanced threat protection is a way for organizations to stay ahead of these dangers. When thinking about the need for advanced threat protection, it’s all about mitigating the top contenders for the greatest threats to your networks.
Malware remains one of the top risks for any organization in today’s economy. This is because infected devices and networks can create vulnerabilities that allow nefarious actors to steal data or hold your files hostage until you pay a ransom.
Phishing, however, might be the greatest online threat to enterprises. The effectiveness of phishing comes down to the fact it only takes one error from one employee anywhere in an organization to open Pandora’s box. It’s incredibly difficult to defend against phishing, as the attacks are intentionally designed to take advantage of people’s psychology. Simply clicking one bad email attachment from a seemingly reliable source can lead to major problems.
Here are some key elements of advanced threat protection you should keep in mind when building a strategy.
You Must Have a Unified Strategy
In order for advanced threat protection to work, you need to take the time to build an effective, unified approach. Attacks are coming; it’s only a matter of time. It’s your job as a leader within your organization to acknowledge this and begin formulating ways to stay ahead of the enemy.
Creating a unified approach means getting all relevant parties on board. At least IT and executive decision-makers need to have broad, open communications about the way to approach advanced threat protection. While there will likely be disagreements about the specifics, businesses today can’t afford to avoid these conversations.
Work with External Security Brokers
One of the best ways to improve advanced threat protection within an organization is to partner with an external security broker. Your IT department likely has a lot of expertise within it, sure. But it’s unlikely you have many people with the kind of security-specific knowledge you’ll find within a specialized cybersecurity agency.
Getting advanced threat protection as a service can be advantageous in a few ways. For starters, you’re going to instantly raise the experience of your team by hiring outside help for advanced threat protection. While your internal employees are probably great, you want to have people who have “seen it all” keeping an eye on your networks as well. Furthermore, when working with a security broker, you won’t have to worry about whether you’re up-to-date on best practices. They’re going to be at the absolute forefront of the industry, which can alleviate stress on your end.
Have the Right Tools Running
In conjunction with the previous point, a benefit of working with an external security company is the fact they’ll have the best tools for the job. You’re going to be wasting time and endangering your business if you try to use yesterday’s technology for today’s threats.
Email and web gateway technologies to protect your data against phishing are one area in which security brokers can really keep you safe. Thanks to secure web and email gateways, it’s much less likely for an employee to be presented with the opportunity to click a malicious link. This is because gateways can automatically filter suspicious content, making inboxes and web searches safer than ever.
Employee Education Remains Paramount
You’re never going to be completely protected against threats. That’s just the nature of living in the world. Education, however, remains one of the most important forces in staving off dangers of all kinds.
In the workplace, keeping your employees informed about the dangers of malware, phishing and other network threats can save you big time. The average cost of a data breach in the United States is over $8.5 million. It’s well worth it to spend the extra time making sure your workers understand cybersecurity dangers.
You wouldn’t leave your stores unlocked at night. In the same way, you need to secure your networks in order to prevent critical data loss or other catastrophes. Advanced threat protection can help organizations accomplish this.