To fully understand what a cybersecurity consulting company can do for you, you first need to know what cybersecurity is and what is needed to fully protect your system from any and all attacks.
This is a highly dynamic industry where changes happen in the blink of an eye to address present threats. If you were to handle the cyber security end of your company, you’d have to be on your toes 24/7. But, if you hired a cybersecurity consulting company, you’d have a team of experts keeping watch for you while you focus on other important aspects of your business to make it grow.
A lot of improvements and innovations have been made in the cyber security industry. It can’t be denied that the number of threats present today have also increased.
Needless to say, no one is safe from cyber threats these days.
And it is in your best interest to make sure no threat, big or small, ever gets through to your system and wreaks havoc to your business.
What is Cybersecurity?
First off, what is cybersecurity anyway?
Cybersecurity, also known as information technology security or electronic information security, protects your system/network/programs from attacks, specifically done through digital means. It also covers computers, servers, and mobile devices.
These attacks are focused on gaining access, making changes, or destroying your sensitive information. Sometimes all three in the course of one attack. It can also be done to extort money or simply to disrupt your normal business proceedings.
Types of Cyber Threats
Here are the three types of cyber threats that a cybersecurity consulting company deals with on a regular basis: cybercrimes, cyberattacks, and cyberterrorism.
Cybercrimes are usually committed by individuals or groups looking to extort money or simply disrupt normal workflows. Cyberattacks on the other hand are usually politically motivated and aim to gather information for future exploitative use. Last, but not least, is cyberterrorism which intends to cause panic or fear.
Common Methods Used in Carrying Out Cyber Threats
The reason why a cybersecurity consulting company is crucial to business owners like you is the fact that they have the experience needed to handle any threat that comes their way. Chances are, they’ve already handled that threat you’re thinking is new or unique.
Cybercriminals also employ a variety of methods to get what they want from your system. They don’t just rely on one method. So, you could be facing a multitude of attacks that will take you a long time to solve because you lack the tools, skills, or expertise to properly handle the situation.
A cybersecurity consulting company on the other hand has experts in the field who have experienced your situation and dealt with it properly. They will also have logs to review as to how to properly assess threats and combat them effectively.
To get a better idea of how numerous these methods are, here’s a list:
DoS Attacks
A Denial-of-Service attack floods a network or a system to trigger a crash and render it unusable. This form of attack is devastating to eCommerce sites that rely on legitimate traffic to convert into sales.
Malware
Malware is an umbrella term for common cyber threats also known as malicious software. This is often used to extort money or carry out politically motivated attacks. Here are the types of malware currently out there today:
Adware – disguised as advertising software that spreads malware.
Botnets – perform online tasks without the user’s permission.
Ransomware – used to extort money from the user by locking the files/data until payment has been made. The threat is made more serious with the threat of file/data erasure if payment is not made within a certain timeframe.
Spyware – secretly records users’ behavior to gain information like getting credit card details or finding out passwords.
Trojan – disguised as legitimate software that upon installation wreaks havoc to a system or secretly gathers data.
Virus – a self-replicating program that spreads throughout an entire computer system.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
This type of cyber threat is perpetrated through the interception of communication between two individuals. This usually happens in an unsecure WiFi network as data passes from the network to the victim.
Phishing
Phishing is often done through emails that appear to come from legitimate companies. Email recipients are often sent a form to fill out that may lead to data theft. Phishing was one of the more popular forms of cyber threats over the last few years.
SQL Injection
This cyber threat is carried out to steal data from databases. This is usually done when vulnerable spots are found and exploited by cybercriminals who then insert malicious code that gives them access to sensitive information.
These are just examples of a small portion of what’s out there today. New threats continue to arrive each day, usually as an improvement of these examples. This means a cyber security consulting company should also continue to update its skills, tools, and expertise regularly.
So, How Does a Cyber Security Consulting Company Protect You?
A cybersecurity consulting company employs all of its tools, skills, and experience to ensure your system’s safety.
But that’s not all. A lot of the hard work goes into establishing the protective nature of the system. The rest is just maintenance work to ensure all failsafe is still in place or performing updates to combat new threats.
Here’s more:
A cybersecurity consulting company will assess your network and make it a priority to shield it from any intruders whether it is a targeted attack or simply an unnoticed malware in the system operating in the background. This is what you call network security.
Next, comes application and software security which basically frees your software and devices from security threats. This is usually where problems begin simply because there are too many unauthorized devices connected to the system or the network.
Another key thing a cybersecurity consulting company secures is the information shared or stored by your company. This is called information security and it protects all of your data privacy and integrity in storage and in transit.
Operational security is also included in the package to ensure proper handling and protection of data assets.
If all else fails, there is a data recovery and restore points put in place to ensure business continuity. This allows you to bounce back faster after a disaster. This is also done regularly by a cybersecurity consulting company to ensure restore points and backed-up data are as current as possible.
Last but not least, there’s end-user education which is probably the most important aspect of hiring a cybersecurity consulting company. This ensures that all users follow best practices and always be cautious so as not to introduce any unwanted elements into the system that could have disastrous results.
Conclusion
Cyber threats continue to multiply rapidly. In 2019 alone, almost 8 billion records were exposed to data breaches. This number has grown throughout 2020 and 2021.
Cybercriminals aren’t too picky when it comes to whom they want to victimize. Small-scale or large-scale businesses are all fair game. Don’t become a victim. Hire a cybersecurity consulting company to cover all your bases.