Why Isn’t There A Cyber Security Silver Bullet?

Barely a week goes by without news of another cyber incident making the headlines and the stakes have never been greater for businesses. Data theft has become commonplace, the scale of ransomware demands has risen steeply and the environment businesses are operating in has become more hostile than ever.

As the number of firms reporting cyber incidents has grown, so has the level of accountability and scorn that continues to be aimed at businesses which are the victims of cyber attacks. Doing business in a digital world is fraught with risk and nobody wants to have their sensitive data leaked, operations disabled and reputation ruined. However, malicious criminals are highly motivated, increasingly creative and their sole aim is to exploit organisational vulnerabilities.

After each headline-grabbing security breach, we see a tirade of organisations posting about how their product or solution could have quashed the threat. However, in reality, there is no silver bullet to fix every vulnerability and halt every attack.

Take ransomware for example. Ransomware is a widely known threat and up to a third of organisations across the globe are hit by it each year. Does that mean that 30% of businesses have completely neglected cyber security? Or do factors such as size and resources mean they struggle to adjust their operating models to a new and mutating threat?

Unfortunately, ransomware attacks are just one of a whole host of threats organisations are regularly facing and defending against every type of attack, effectively and to a limited budget is a difficult situation all businesses are facing.

The one bonus for organisations is that malicious individuals, whilst motivated to exploit organisations vulnerabilities for the rewards are also inherently lazy and will go after the easiest targets first. Therefore, those organisations which have implemented basic security measures such as: being more diligent with incoming emails and phone calls, performing regular backups, securing your systems with encryption and introducing two-factor authentication are much less susceptible to attack than those with no defences at all.

This doesn’t mean that just because you’ve implemented basic level security you won’t be attacked, it's still essential to invest in higher tier security ranging from regular scanning to highlight vulnerabilities, staff training to enhance the human element of security or incident response planning to ensure you’re ready to act when disaster strikes.

Whilst, there’s no silver bullet product or service to stop all threats. At SES we can analyse your organisation's security posture to recommend the right solution to enhance your defences and ensure you have a clear plan of action to deal with incoming threats.

If you have any concerns about your organisation's security or would like to discuss how you can take steps to improve your defences, please click here to enquire.

This article was originally published by our Cyber Partners PGI and can be found here. The article has been updated for the benefit of our clients.

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