Data is the most sought-after asset in today’s digital economy. Whether it’s financial or consumer information, or intellectual property, a company’s fortune is often determined by its ability to secure that data from prying eyes. The security of confidential information for a company starts with its cyber incident detection and response measures.
Fast detection and response are sure ways to mitigate damages when a breach occurs. But are businesses reacting fast enough to security breaches? Let’s find out!
The Lifecycle of a Cyberattack
The lifecycle of a cyberattack is the time elapsed between the detection and containment of the attack. Detection time refers to the time it takes to identify that a cyber incident has occurred. The response or containment time is the time it takes a company to restore services after a cyber incident is detected.
Research from the cybersecurity company Deep Instinct suggests that it takes organizations more than two working days to detect and respond to a cyberattack.
The findings were based on a survey of 1,500 cybersecurity professionals working for businesses with over 1,000 employees and revenues of more than $500 million.
The survey also found that companies in the financial domain reacted faster, taking approximately 16 hours on average. Large companies were also quick to respond to threats, with an average response time of 15 hours.
What's the Average Cost of a Data Breach?
The longer a cyber incident goes unaddressed, the larger its impact, financial and otherwise, on the company. As per IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021, the average total cost of a cyberattack is now $4.24 million, up from $3.86 million in 2020. This represents an increase of 9.8 percent within a year.
Several factors, such as COVID-19, remote work, and regulatory compliance failures contributed to the rise in average costs of data breaches in 2021.
Detecting a Cyber Incident
It is not wise to assume that an employee who underwent a training program will never make a mistake. A cyber-attack can occur anytime, and it isn’t always easy to detect it. To lend you a helping hand, we share insights that will help you detect cyber incidents more easily.
1. Report Suspicious Network Activity
Why cybercriminals infiltrate a network, users may notice an increased network activity or an increase in the number of users. This will often result in reduced internet speed as the hackers try to download data over the network.
When this happens, make sure you thoroughly investigate the cause and report to the IT security team for prompt action.
2. Note Unusual Password Incidents
If you’re locked out of your system or receive a notification about a password change without you initiating any action, it’s a potential sign that your password is compromised. A good practice is to ensure that all network users create strong passwords and update them every six months.
3. Keep Software Up-to-Date
Human error is a frequent cause for a network breach, but keeping your IT software environment up-to-date can significantly reduce the likelihood of an attack. Make sure to implement regular patches and updates and protect every network device with the right cybersecurity tools. This will ensure that your employees are in a better position to identify malicious attacks and prevent them from causing any damage.
4. Identify Suspicious Emails and Pop-Ups
Malicious actors often use emails and web pop-ups to infect a network with malware. They pretend to be a reputable organization or a trusted website and send emails and pop-ups with spam images and links.
These images and/or links are capable of installing malware or spyware to compromise your network. Employees should avoid clicking on pop-up windows and practice safe email protocols to protect their network from cybercriminals.
5. Network Security Evaluation
It’s always wise to regularly evaluate your network security through professionals. Hire ethical hackers to penetrate your network and evaluate vulnerabilities and weak points. They will assess your system and look for loopholes that cybercriminals can use to infiltrate and cause you substantial damage. When selecting cybersecurity companies or hiring individual ethical hackers, make sure you conduct a thorough background check.
How to Reduce Incident Response Time
With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, companies need to introduce concrete measures to reduce their incident detection and response times. Here’s how they can go about it.
1. Have an Effective Incident Response Plan
Countering the ever-evolving security risks all starts with a proper cybersecurity plan. The plan should implement IT security tools, introduce strategies to identify the emerging threats, and train the staff—since most cyberattacks occur due to human error.
You can also implement the plan in stages until you have an effective incident response solution.
2. Automate Your Security
Automated security systems can significantly reduce the lifecycle of an attack and the cost associated with it. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report that we mentioned above, organizations that have deployed full security automation were able to detect and contain breaches much more quickly than those without any security automation.
They also saw breach costs of $2.90 million, which is much less than the $6.71 million experienced by organizations with no security automation.
3. Give Employees Training and Awareness
Company-wide education and training about cybersecurity are paramount to contain data breaches. All employees should understand potential threats, identify security risks, and be aware of channels to report incidents. Human error is still a major cause of breaches, so companies need to address individual security protocols through security training and awareness.
Top-Notch Data Security Is Paramount
Regardless of the type and size of your business, you should take steps to protect your data. Cyberattacks can happen even against the most disciplined companies, and only the right security tools and processes can timely detect and contain them.
By assessing your incident response plan and adopting it as a core strategy, you can manage the fallout of an attack.