The Importance of Cyberthreat Security Monitoring

The Importance of Cyberthreat Security Monitoring

Cybersecurity is a constant game of cat and mouse. The cyber threats of today are evolving and becoming more sophisticated at an incredible rate. The rate at which these threats have evolved has rendered many of the older security technologies ineffective.

Unfortunately, these threats and intrusions aren't limited to the typical 9-5 office hours and are consistently looking for areas of weakness. Using a threat monitoring service allows for continuous oversight of server vulnerability as well as other systems.

What is threat monitoring?

Threat monitoring consists of many different aspects. Generally, this service consists of continuous monitoring across all networks and vulnerability scanning of access points for any intrusions or signs of malicious activity.

From that point, any monitoring would allow the administrator to not only learn what is happening across the network at any given time but also identify any breaches or risks that are in place. In doing so the administrator could address and network vulnerabilities and establish a security protocol that will best address these weak points in your network.

What are some of the benefits

Aside from having a real-time birds-eye view of what is happening across a companies networks; monitoring is also beneficial in helping a company stay ahead of any attacks that may occur or minimize any of the damage done should a breach occur. Businesses face a variety of risks whether it be viruses, malware, identity theft, the list of external threats seems almost infinite.

Through security monitoring a company will be provided with layers of threat detection that will allow administrators to know what is happening across the networks and if any attackers are attempting to gain access to it. Additionally, Simple things like an asset and behavioral monitoring can be implemented to discover or fix devices on the network.

A major benefit of having threat monitoring for companies doing business in certain industries would be meeting compliance standards that require monitoring of sensitive data types. An example of this being HIPAA compliance that sets standards for sensitive patient data protection for anybody operating in the health industry.

Do you need it?

Aside from a few very small exceptions, the answer is yes. Any business handling any form of client or financial information is a major target for cybercriminals. Leaving your network unmonitored is the equivalent of being a sitting duck.

A common misconception that many small businesses have is that their data is not valuable to would be attackers or just not worth their time or efforts. NetworkAccess.com wrote a brief article that summed up the situation well by saying.

You’re considered an easy target.  One of the main reasons you need cyber threat monitoring is because most cybercriminals take the path of least resistance. You need to realize you are facing the same cyber threats as large enterprises even though you probably have a fraction of the budget to deal with them.

Conclusion

Today's attacks have and continue to grow in their complexities. Criminals search for important data such as banking, client, or employee information through compromised access points. With threat monitoring in place, these threats can be detected early on and properly addressed. Even for companies with small budgets security is a vital investment that could go a long way in preventing future setbacks and compromises.