Shankar Radhakrishnan, Founder of Skedler, recently sat down with the Director of Security Operations at Rocus Networks aka Corvid Cyber Defense, John Britton to discuss the top cyber threats that businesses face and if Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are prepared to handle them. John was able to provide a wealth of knowledge on these specific talking points and give us a higher level view of how cyber threats have evolved. Without further ado, let’s review the top cyber threats that plague businesses and if SOCs are up to the task of combatting these threats before they become an issue.

Today’s Top Cyber Threats  

While small and midsized businesses are increasingly targets for cybercriminals, companies are struggling to devote enough resources to protect their technology from attack. John describes how “5 or 6 years ago, if someone wanted to go steal some money, they would go to a bank,” John goes on to explain that “today, the way that the internet has connected everybody and all businesses are now operationalized to be ‘always on,’ every organization is targetable.” These small businesses don’t have access to a large information technology staff and many don’t have expensive, sophisticated software designed to monitor their systems. This leaves them literally defenseless against these types of cyber-attacks.

John tells us that “the biggest thing that really affects any organization is the people because people make mistakes and they can be manipulated out of things.” This why being aware of the tactics and methods used by hackers implementing social engineering attacks and applying them to our everyday lives is the key to a solid defense. As more organizations experience these types of attacks, more will become aware of ways to internally combat them; in the meantime, it’s best to look to the guidance of an SOC to help you keep the ship afloat in rocky cyber waters. 

What Techniques are Hackers Using?

A recent Ponemon Institute-Keeper report showed that 66% of organizations surveyed have experienced a breach within the last 12 months. Since businesses are still proving to be vulnerable to cyberattacks, it’s clear that more needs to be done so they adapt to a fast-moving and ever-increasing threat landscape. In their quest to achieve this goal, businesses are continuing to invest in their IT security and systems.

John explains that “we find that, at least this year, that the biggest threat to any organization is social engineering.” One eye-opening statistic to understand is that 64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks with 62% experiencing phishing & social engineering attacks.  Social engineering attacks are especially dangerous because all it takes is one weak link in an organization to initiate a damaging event. Companies need to remain vigilant when it comes to cybersecurity, because social engineering is only going to get more sophisticated in the future.

Are SOCs Prepared to Handle These Threats? 

SMBs have continued to embrace mobile devices as a way to run their businesses recently which has led to an increase in convenience and efficiency that comes at a price. That price is the diminished role of cybersecurity in their companies. John explains that, in the future, “organizations are going to [need] security as a 24/7 monitoring, data retention, and policy assessments.” SOCs are well up to the task provide companies of all sizes with innovative solutions that are integrated to work efficiently, ensuring that they always have the strongest and most effective cybersecurity defense at their disposal.

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