Businesses have to think differently about cyber security. Their existence may depend on it.
“There are 2 types of companies: those that have been breached and those who do not know it yet,” Jens Thonke, our Executive VP Cyber Security Services, has said.
Our Chief Research Officer Mikko Hyppönen put it another way last year.
“How many of the Fortune 500 are hacked right now? The answer: 500,” he said. “They all have security breaches, big or small. If you have a big enough infrastructure, you won’t be able to secure all of it.”
This video released as part of our recent Threat Report shows an example of how advanced group of hackers works slowly and deliberately to progressively penetrate cyber defenses:
Given ever increasing threats we face, we’ve adopted a new approach to protecting systems and networks that we call the “360° approach to security.” The graphic above lays out how the strategy works.
How does this apply to your personal security?
It’s a pretty simple formula: predict where you’re likely to be attack, prevent as much as you possibly can, respond to any signs of invasion and detect what can be learned from those incidents.
If you’re not running a large network or protecting extraordinarily valuable data, you’re not likely to be targeted with advanced threats, so you can focus on the first two steps: predict and prevent.
Predict
What are your weak spots? What devices do you have to protect, what files are irreplaceable, where are you most likely to be attacked. Given that most threats target desktop PCs then Android and Mac, with other platforms much less likely to be targeted, focus on those devices first.
Prevent
Next take a look at your potential vulnerabilities — weak passwords, software that isn’t updated, unprotected devices — and secure them. Also continue to check your own basic safety habits. Are you cautious about what you click online? Do you open attachments you weren’t expecting? Do you have you files backed up!
“After all, the human being is typically the weakest link in a security strategy, and recent studies confirm that this weak link is the most commonly cited culprit of cyber incidents,” our Business Insider blog reports.
In a world where everything is connected, cyber security isn’t just about keeping your computer safe. In our connected future, is about securing your home, your car, and our cities. Changing the way you think about cyber security is the first step to accepting that security requires thinking ahead, correcting mistakes and isolating threats, no matter how big your network is.
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