Over the past few years, countless organizations have transitioned into the digital world, utilizing technology for data storage, sales, and several other business operations. This digital age has indeed revolutionized the business world and enhanced business processes. However, at the same time, you can’t ignore the fact that cyberattacks have been rising at unprecedented rates in recent years. Cybercriminals have seen the rise of business technology as an opportunity to attack organizations and steal or destroy valuable data. As a result, today’s companies are now more vulnerable to cyberattacks than ever before. But on the bright side, there have been several advancements in the field of cybersecurity to develop effective security tools to keep your organization safe.
It’s crucial to integrate such tools into your security plan to thrive in the dangerous digital world. To help you with this purpose, here are the top five cybersecurity tools you can use for foolproof digital security.
Anti-Malware
Malware refers to malicious software that can be used to attack a computer system. Due to its effectiveness, malware is widely used by cybercriminals to steal or destroy data and cause damage to hardware. But what’s even more concerning is that there are countless different types of malware emerging as cybercriminals advance in their techniques. Some malware applications such as ransomware can hold valuable data until a large sum is paid in ransom, causing significant financial loss to organizations. But thankfully, anti-malware serves as an effective solution to malicious software. Anti-malware applications constantly monitor computer systems for malware and quarantine them as soon as possible.
However, a few dangerous malware applications can bypass anti-malware software. More importantly, maintaining and monitoring anti-malware applications and other cybersecurity tools requires extensive knowledge of cybersecurity. It’s best to understand the complexities of cybersecurity yourself instead of completely relying on tools. Earning a master’s degree in cybersecurity is one of the best decisions you can make for this purpose. So, make sure to pursue an MS cybersecurity degree to ensure your company’s safety.
Encryption Tools
No matter how many tools you use to protect your company’s data from unauthorized access, there’s always a chance of cyberattacks. Especially considering the cutting-edge technology used by modern cyber criminals, it’s crucial to have a secondary plan in case your organization gets attacked. For this purpose, it’s a good idea to get each bit of your private data encrypted. Doing so will scramble your data and turn it meaningless.
As a result, even if your company gets attacked and the cybercriminals successfully steal your data, they won’t be able to use it for illegal purposes. After all, meaningless data is worth nothing to cybercriminals. Only the person with the secret encryption key can turn the data back into its original form to use it. However, today’s cybercriminals use highly powerful computers that can crack encrypted messages. Therefore, it’s crucial to use the most secure encryption techniques to protect your organization.
Multifactor Authentication
Passwords are often the only line of security between a cybercriminal and your organization’s confidential data. But what makes it worse is that companies frequently use the same and easily predictable passwords. 81% of data breaches occur due to the use of poorly designed passwords. Not to mention, even if a cybercriminal is unable to guess your password, powerful computers can do so in a matter of seconds. For foolproof security, it’s essential to reinforce your authentication techniques by using multifactor authentication.
Unlike a simple password, multifactor authentication requires people to pass through several authentication levels before accessing the data. For example, the first level might require a password and the second might confirm the identity of the individual by sending an SMS confirmation. You can add several levels of authentication to your organization’s private accounts to make it challenging for unauthorized users to access your data. Moreover, some authentication tools also offer alerts in case someone tries to access your organization’s data without permission. This will allow you to take immediate action and secure your valuable data.
Firewalls
Considering the increasing use of the internet in organizations, installing firewalls on your company’s systems is crucial. This tool helps to monitor incoming and outgoing internet traffic and has the ability to block any security threats entering your systems through the internet. Whether it’s malware or unauthorized login attempts, the firewall will help to protect your company by blocking them. What’s best is that firewalls also keep a list of unsolicited network traffic to prevent any future security threats of the same nature. However, it’s best to have more than one firewall installed on your computer systems for effective security. 30% of organizations use more than 100 firewalls for network protection.
Furthermore, firewalls are among the best measures against intrusion from hacking techniques. Any intrusion attempts are instantly recorded and sent as alerts to IT teams for immediate action to protect data. However, you can further reinforce intrusion detection and prevention by adding an intrusion prevention system (IPS) to your firewall. IPS analyzes network traffic at a deeper level, allowing it to halt any hacking attempts before they get out of control.
AI Security Software
Cyberattacks are not only increasing in number but also in complexity and effectiveness. Cybercriminals have started to use artificially intelligent software to automatically conduct cyberattacks at unimaginably large scales. But fortunately, the weapons of cybercriminals can be turned against them. AI and ML security software can be used to counter the tricky, complex, and large-scale cyberattacks.
Unlike human cybersecurity professionals, AI security software has the power to analyze millions of security threat factors several times in an instant. As a result, it can identify any unwanted activity or unauthorized access in a computer system before it’s too late. Moreover, thanks to data analytics, AI software can also provide cyberattack risk prediction. This feature can allow you to adjust your cybersecurity measures according to the cyber attack you might face in the future. Another feature found in AI security software is that it can provide recommendations to improve your cybersecurity measures.
Conclusion
Cyberattacks have emerged as a concerning threat for organizations. A single cyberattack can cause significant financial loss and a loss of reputation. It’s not surprising how many organizations have gone out of business soon after a cyberattack. If you want to avoid being one of those organizations, make sure to utilize the security tools mentioned above and protect your business effectively.