THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THREAT DETECTION

Cybersecurity risks for businesses and organizations can’t be taken lightly. A brand’s online data is deeply connected to its finance and productivity — a breach can damage companies reputation and put confidential information at risk.

Cybersecurity units in organizations have the major task of getting in front of data security threats. But with the increasing amount of potential threats and rivals, putting an appropriate threat detection in place can be a game changer. Threat detection is definitely the number one priority for cybersecurity teams.

Advanced Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, forcing today’s enterprises to evaluate and adjust. In this article, we will discuss- What threat detection is? What criminals are looking after? Examples of the threats, and how you can avoid them. So let us get started

WHAT IS THREAT DETECTION?

Threat detection is a process of investigating and identifying any type of malicious activity that could compromise your sensitive data and lead to catastrophic damages. It is crucial for every organization. It helps to be prepared for any kind of scenario that could lead to a data breach. If any threat passes through your defense, there should be an adequate system to identify and neutralize those threats.

By detecting the threat, and analyzing its behavior for malicious activity, threat detection solutions can discover and contain malware that would otherwise go undetected, all before it infects a device.

Getting breached is an ordeal scenario. And to avoid this situation, organizations need to prioritize threat detection to secure crucial data.

The term threat detection has many aspects in the context of a business’s security programs, many advanced threats can cause damage even if you have the best security systems. So you have to be ready for the worst-case scenario.

WHAT IS ADVANCED THREAT DETECTION?

Malware is evolving along with the data security systems to evade detection by antivirus solutions, intrusion prevention systems, firewalls, and other network security solutions. Advanced threats that successfully breach networks and compromise valuable company data often result in substantial recovery costs, a loss of trust with consumers, and reputation damage that can take years to repair.

To keep up with the increasingly malicious threats a new type of security solution called advanced threat detection has emerged. These solutions are developed to detect attacks that use high-level malware in an attempt to steal sensitive data over time. To discover these attacks, advanced threat detection solutions use technologies like sandboxing, behavioral analysis, automated monitoring, and other detection solutions.

Network traffic analysis is used in advanced threat detection tools to identify and sandbox suspicious files, and then it is reviewed by virtual machines that analyze behavior across various operating systems and configurations.

WHAT ARE CYBER CRIMINALS LOOKING AFTER?

The end goal of attackers is usually to gain monetary benefits. But the threat may reach you in many different formats and manage various units in your company.

USER CREDENTIALS:

Cybercriminals are often looking for your credentials to exploit. They look for your username and password to get access to the systems that you have access to. Some attackers also use the privilege escalation technique to grant themselves added privileges by abusing the underlying operating system. They then use these escalated privileges to get into your private database.

PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION:

Some criminals want personal information they can use to impersonate you, such as a social security number or driver’s license number. These details are then used to apply for credit cards, open bank accounts in your name, etc.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR SENSITIVE CORPORATE INFORMATION:

Industrial espionage remains a huge threat to this day. Competitors use this to gain an edge or improve their offerings by taking advantage of rivals’ data. Employees are at risk for stealing data like ct designs, customer databases, business processes, marketing plans, etc. These provide for personal gain or are sometimes done out of spite for being passed over for a promotion.

RANSOM OR REVENGE:

Cybercriminals have been attacking companies and individuals for years. Their two most potent weapons are ransomware, where server files are encrypted and demand a ransom to unlock them. The second type is DDoS attacks where traffic floods web servers or networks with bogus traffic. In some cases, attackers may deface web pages to embarrass companies.

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL DATA THREATS?

Here are some common examples of threats: Cybersecurity professionals in your company need to have an in-depth understanding of the following types of cybersecurity threats.

MALWARE:

Malware is malicious software such as spyware, ransomware, viruses, and worms. Malware gets activated by malicious links or attachments, which leads to installing dangerous software. Malware, once activated, can block access to key network components, install additional harmful software, covertly obtain information by transmitting data from the hard drive, disrupt individual parts, making the system inoperable.

PHISHING:

Phishing is a form of fake emails disguised as valid communications that seek to steal sensitive information from an unwitting recipient. Phishing attacks can be made by email or any other communication methods, to trick the receiver into opening it and carrying out the instructions inside, such as providing a credit card number. The goal is to steal sensitive data like credit card and login information or to install malware on the victim’s machine.

TROJAN HORSE:

It is a computer-executable threat that can be remotely activated to perform a variety of attacks. It also has an advanced function, modular banking Trojan. It primarily functions as a downloader or dropper of other banking Trojans. It continues to be among the most costly and destructive malware.

DENIAL OF SERVICE:

A denial of service (DoS) is a type of cyber attack that floods a computer or network so it can’t respond to requests. A distributed DoS (DDoS) does the same thing, but the attack originates from a computer network. Several other techniques may be used, and some cyber attackers use the time that a network is disabled to launch other attacks.

SQL INJECTION:

A Structured Query Language (SQL) injection is a type of cyber attack that results from inserting malicious code into a server that uses SQL. When infected, the server releases information. Submitting the malicious code can be as simple as entering it into a vulnerable website search box.

WHAT ARE INSIDER THREATS?

Insider threats are threats from people with access to systems and inside information about your organization. It can be a current or former employee or business associate with the access of sensitive information or privileged accounts. It is a malicious threat within the network of an organization, and who misuses this access.

Insider threats can be harder to identify or prevent, and they are invisible to traditional security solutions and intrusion detection systems. But there are many advanced insider threat detection tools that you can use.

If an attacker exploits an authorized login, the security mechanisms in place may not identify the abnormal behavior which makes insider threat so critical.

HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST AN INSIDER ATTACK?

For companies, it is crucial to remember that anyone who has access to your network can be an insider threat. Insider threats mostly originate from what appear to be innocent or harmless actions and consequently, they can prove to be extremely dangerous.

You can take the following steps to help reduce the risk of insider threats:

PROTECT CRITICAL ASSETS:

The first step is to form a comprehensive understanding of your critical assets. Critical assets can be physical or logical, like systems, project details, facilities, and people. Intellectual property, including client’s data, proprietary software, strategies, and internal processes, are also critical assets that need to be protected.

ENFORCE POLICIES:

As a company, you need to document your organizational policies to prevent any misunderstandings. It ensures strict enforcement of policies. Announce the security procedures and make sure everyone understands their rights about intellectual property, so they do not share privileged content that they have created.

INCREASE VISIBILITY:

You need to keep a track of employee actions and correlate information from multiple data sources. You can also make use of deception technology to lure a malicious insider or imposter and gain visibility into their actions.

EMPLOYEE MONITORING SYSTEM:

Installing an employee monitoring software system in your organization provides many crucial insights. There are many tools in the market such as EmpMonitor, which can help you track every activity of your employees.

With the help of EmpMonitor, you can see what your employees are doing during office hours, which websites they are visiting, how productive they are, and you can identify any suspicious activity.

There are many useful features like time tracking, activity monitoring, keystroke logging, and much more. And you can access all these details from a single dashboard.

• Regular Screenshots:

EmpMonitor captures screenshots of your employees’ system at proper intervals. You can access all the screenshots and review what your employees were doing.

• Top Applications And Websites:

It keeps a record of every application and website your employees are visiting. So you can avoid any potential threats from any websites that can let any malware that might enter their system by reviewing their visited sites, etc.

• Stealth Mode:

Stealth mode helps you to monitor your employees without them knowing. In stealth mode, there will not be any popup of the software icon or user history. It will help you to identify and avoid any suspicious activity.

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WRAPPING WORDS:

It is not a surprise that cybercriminals are getting advanced, but so are the threat detection and response tools. And with the proper knowledge of all the potential threats and threat detection tools, organizations can be prepared to fight these threats. A mixture of training, organizational alignment, and insider threat detection tools is the best way to do so.

I hope it was helpful. What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Originally Published On: EmpMonitor