3 Ways to Limit the Scope of Cyberattack

A cyberattack refers to a deliberate system or network exploitation. These attackers use malicious codes to compromise, steal or leak your computer, data, or logic.

Cyberattacks are made maliciously in an attempt to exploit a system’s weakness or vulnerability. These attacks are an increasing and dangerous problem for many businesses or individuals.

Most modern-day organizations need a network of computers, printers, routers, servers, and access points to operate efficiently. Plus, businesses also make use of software tools and solutions for streamlining all functions.

However, these applications and devices may provide considerable benefits to the organization; they represent security risks. That is why cybersecurity is as essential as ever.

While cyber-attacks remain an ongoing fight, there are several ways to limit their scope. Keep reading!

1. Using A VPN

Virtual Private Network (VPN) makes anonymous internet access possible with route and encryption of the traffic through the local networks’ outside servers. VPN can encrypt data, help bypass region-locked content, bypass firewalls, and speed up internet connections. It can also secure browser histories, and of course, protect against cyberattacks.

However, VPNs alone are not sufficient. It helps protect against cyberattacks, but it still depends on the type of attack being performed. For instance, a VPN address has many weak points that attackers use to breach networks. The hackers can bypass VPNs easily.

VPN cannot prevent viruses and malware. While it offers baked-in features and encryption protocols, it cannot protect your network or system against physical viruses. If you are using a free VPN on a crowded server, it creates additional security threats.

Additionally, pulse secure VPNs are one of the hacker’s favorite targets nowadays. More than 80% of 23,000 enterprises and Fortune 500 companies employ them to connect to the networks securely. However, attackers can take control of the pulse secure VPN servers. They will then penetrate the organization’s internal network, steal intellectual properties, install ransomware, or deploy malware.

2. Implementing Software-Defined Perimeter

Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) reduces the attack surface area. It limits access to the internal network according to the user identity. As a result, it limits the organization’s exposure and threat surface for cyberattacks.

How It Works

Software-Defined Perimeter can effectively limit the access to authorized users and resources only through the following stages:

User Authentication

Before providing access to resources or information within the network, the SDP securely authenticates the user. It tries to guarantee that the users are who they claim to be through support for multi-factor authentication. As a result, a company’s potential exposure to breaches due to credential security is minimized.

Device Authentication

The SDP focuses not only on the user requesting access but also on enforcing rules about the connected devices. In return, the access to sensitive resources or data becomes limited to corporate devices compliant with the organization’s security policies.

Zero-Trust Enforcement

With Zero Trust, overly-permissive access control policies are being replaced. The users are only permitted to access the data or resources they need to do their job rather than free control within the company’s network.

Resources Secure Access

The SDP is also designed to establish a one-to-one connection between the resources and the authorized users. Besides being encrypted, the collection also undergoes a complete content inspection to determine and block any potential threat according to the robust threat intelligence. The users’ connections and sensitive resources are protected from being hijacked or eavesdropped upon through individual and secure connectivity.

How It Reduces the Attack Surface Area

Software-Defined Perimeter implementation is one of today’s best practices in reducing cyber-attack areas. It allows organizations to have an effective zero trust security model implementation and enforcement. As a result, cybersecurity risks are reduced.

Even if cybercriminals successfully compromised the users’ accounts, the access and ability to have a lateral movement within the organization’s system or network becomes limited.

3. Monitoring the Uses on the network

Through network use monitoring, the organization’s system is continuously observed to detect cyber threats, data breaches, and other system vulnerabilities. It is an effective and proactive cybersecurity practice that helps organizations to sift through cyber events. As a result, they can quickly determine one poses security risks to the systems or data.

In 2018, roughly 80,000 cyberattacks occurred per day. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically increased cybercrime by 600%.

Keep in mind that protecting an organization’s data and the system is critical as it maintains security for the company, customers, employees, and partners. Ongoing network use monitoring integration to the organization’s digital practices helps limit the scope of security configurations, data breaches, and cyber threats in real-time.

Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can analyze behavior on the network and block cyber threats.

With AI-enabled programs, data is collected and analyzed. These programs also make critical decisions with outcomes understanding. That is why AI applications to cybersecurity efforts offer defense against attack.

The increased cyber-attack numbers have encouraged AI adoption to cybersecurity to deliver accuracy and efficient data defenses. For instance, AI-based network monitoring tools can identify security vulnerabilities quickly through user behaviors. Then, the tools analyze the patterns and determine the irregularities within the network.

AI-based network monitoring tools detect, close, and monitor more cybercriminals. It works once AI models ingest high data volume in every application within the organization at all endpoints. As a result, a behavior baseline is established.

AI also boosts biometric authentication. Digital users need to conceive, remember, and change passwords regularly, and hackers take advantage of them to compromise or infiltrate secure data. Biometric logins solve this vulnerability by using palm prints, retinas, or fingerprint scans.

Conclusion

When it comes to protecting the organization’s system or data from cyberattacks, it is challenging to determine where to start.

However, if you follow the above ways to limit the scope of cyberattacks, you can have peace of mind knowing that your system or data becomes less vulnerable to attacks.

You will protect not only your organization but also your employees, customers, and business partners.