Cybersecurity is a serious matter for businesses of all types and sizes. As a result, creating a cybersecurity strategy may seem daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.
To outline some of the common challenges that can impact an organization’s cybersecurity posture and how these challenges can be mitigated, PDI recently released a white paper titled “5 Common Security Challenges and 5 Steps to Solve Them.”
Avoiding predictable disaster
Business conditions and disruptions can’t always be predicted—COVID-19 is a clear example of this. What can be counted on, however, is cybercrime. The question is not if cyberattacks will happen, but when.
The good news is that because cyberattacks are predictable, businesses can prepare for them and minimize the impact they have. Even so, it can be difficult to know where to start.
For businesses unsure whether their cybersecurity approach stacks up, learning about the common challenges is a great place to begin.
5 common cybersecurity challenges
In the white paper, PDI highlights five top obstacles businesses are facing around cybersecurity. These include:
- An ill-defined cybersecurity strategy
Businesses without a holistic approach to cybersecurity often fail to account for budgeting, tools, staffing, and risk management. By prioritizing cybersecurity from the executive level down, business leaders will be better equipped to protect their companies against cyberattacks.
- Outdated or disjointed cybersecurity tools
Businesses relying on legacy security systems are unprepared to go head-to-head with sophisticated modern cybercriminals. Basic firewall implementations are no longer enough.
With every device and system connected to the internet representing a point of vulnerability, security tools need to address factors such as malware prevention, Web content filtering, and secure VPNs and Wi-Fi.
- IT budget constraints
Some organizations struggle to find the funding and resources needed to invest in cybersecurity improvements. Already overworked IT staff may struggle to add cybersecurity to their workload, and hiring and paying qualified IT security experts doesn’t come cheap.
- A lack of in-house expertise
Hiring full-time IT staff dedicated strictly to cybersecurity simply isn’t in the budget for every business. And with a lot on their plate already, general IT personnel may not be up to date on the latest fraud tactics and tools that can prevent them.
This lack of expertise can lead to companies relying too heavily on a “set-it-and-forget-it” approach, implementing cybersecurity tools but failing to monitor and manage them to make sure they stay current and perform optimally over time.
- Coverage gaps
IT staff members may take vacations and other time off work. Automated cyberattacks, on the other hand, do not rest. It can take just minutes for a cyberattack to infiltrate IT systems, making it necessary for businesses to monitor these systems on a 24/7/365 basis.
Meeting the challenges
After gaining an understanding of the challenges organizations face, businesses must think about how to increase their cybersecurity profile. Honestly assessing security posture, fine-turning security strategy, prioritizing threat prevention, diving deeper on threat detection and response, and conducting ongoing security awareness training are good steps to take. PDI’s white paper goes into substantially more detail on how businesses can approach each of these recommended steps.
Of course, organizations with limited expertise and budgets may still find getting up to speed challenging. Fortunately, there is no shortage of vendors that offer security services and solutions that can help fill these gaps.
Working with a reputable vendor to amplify cybersecurity is a safe and cost-effective option for businesses. The perks of working with a managed security services partner include continuous monitoring, anti-virus and anti-malware tools, network firewalls and VPNs, centralized reporting, vulnerability and patch management, and more.
Of course, not all vendors and not all businesses are the same. A wise move for businesses is to choose a vendor with capabilities that are aligned with their unique business goals.
This enables them to focus on what’s important—adapting to market trends, improving operational efficiency, and growing revenue—while knowing that cybersecurity is being taken care of.
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