If there is one thing the past few years have taught the world, it’s that cybercrime never sleeps. For organizations of any size and scope, having around-the-clock protection for their endpoints, networks, and servers is no longer optional, but it’s also not entirely feasible for many. Attackers are better than ever at slipping in undetected, and threats are constantly evolving.
Teams can’t afford to take a minute off, but they also can’t manage the massive security necessary to defend most organizations. A new eBook by XDR provider Cynet (download here) breaks down this challenge and offers some solutions for lean security teams looking for ways to improve their detection and response capabilities.
The guide strikes an optimistic tone for lean IT security teams.
Though the challenges are expansive – including talent shortages, an ever-expanding threat surface, and rising security tool prices – organizations can still find smart and effective ways to stay protected 24x7.
Why 24x7 monitoring is more crucial than ever
Cyber attackers today rarely adhere to normal working hours. Indeed, they’re more apt to stick to the “off hours” for most organizations when defenses are low, and the guard posts are likeliest to be unmanned. For instance, some research suggests that nearly 76% of ransomware infections studied occurred outside of normal working hours. Nearly half of those occurred at night, and a quarter happened on weekends.
The problem requires constant monitoring to resolve, but that’s easier said than done. Cyber security is in the midst of a sharp skills shortage, with some estimating as nearly as 4 million unfilled cyber security positions in 2021. The question is how organizations can overcome this gap to fill these needed holes.
The two pillars of 24x7 monitoring
Achieving 24x7 monitoring and response requires two key pillars, according to the eBook: automation and outsourcing. The first of these should be obvious. Automated systems can detect smaller, more subtle cues in software behavior, and they can do so faster.
Digging a little deeper, however, you can see the real impact of automation. One study shows that organizations that use fully deployed security automation spend as much as $1.5 million less on data breaches than their counterparts. More importantly, today’s tools are finally starting to tap into the potential for cybersecurity automation.
This includes the ability to scan exponentially more data and logs, scanning multiple endpoints and devices in seconds, and piecing together the landscape into a picture that makes sense. However, even the best-automated tools are incomplete when teams have to do significant work to manage them. New tools like XDR simplify the process by putting more security tools into a single pane of glass.
Even so, skills are necessary to manage these tools, and this is where outsourcing comes in. While recruiting an in-house team is always ideal, for many lean IT security teams, outsourcing offers an equally effective and reliable solution. However, it’s all about finding the right vendor and ensuring their offerings match an organization’s need.
The eBook dives deeper into these concepts and more. You can download the eBook here.
