Tag: Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

As cyber attacks grow in frequency and complexity, it is urgent to shift from prevention alone to detection and response. Many businesses still rely on outdated, reactive approaches, even though Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is not a new concept. Without proactive cyber threat management these reactive methods leave organisations vulnerable to sophisticated attacks.

Security technologies have come a long way from the anti-virus and firewall solutions of the past. As data grows exponentially, traditional security measures are no longer effective. Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in improving cyber defences. Companies across industry sectors must adapt to ensure their data and infrastructure remain secure through more innovative endpoint security strategies.

Ransomware gangs have really upped their game in the last few years, generating billions in paid ransoms from public and private sector organisations. The gangs have increased attacks on critical infrastructure operators, hospitals, manufacturing companies and pharma companies. Ransom demand amounts have gone up as well, with victims such as CNA Financial paying out a record $40 million.

Virtualisation in the cloud and the advancement of internet-connected devices have made running industrial systems much more manageable. However, these technologies are also introducing operational environments to new vulnerabilities and risks.

Cybercrime has risen exponentially since the start of the global pandemic. While no security is full proof, crafting a security posture with multiple layers, built on the basic tenets of cybersecurity is certainly a good start. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber attacks have been on the increase on a global scale, inflicting financial losses across all sectors including manufacturing, banking, and energy, to name a few.

Results of our new Incident Response Analytics Report demonstrate that just implementing an appropriate patch management policy decreases the risk of incidents by 30%, and a robust password policy reduces the likelihood of being attacked by 60%.

According to our new report, ‘How businesses can minimise the cost of a data breach’, enterprises in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) that decide to voluntarily inform their stakeholders and the public about a breach, on average, are likely to lose 38% less than their peers that saw the incident leaked to the media. The same tendency has also been found to be the case in SMBs.

For any South African organization, the best way to prepare for POPI is to implement a solid data protection strategy that guards against loss of data whether through malicious or accidental methods.