What Are Cybersecurity Best Practices?

Numerous best practices help to deliver robust cybersecurity. Adopting these will involve combining many of the technologies already outlined in the previous entry.

Key Cybersecurity Best Practices

Implement strong authentication mechanisms - Replace weak passwords with complex passphrases, enable multi-factor authentication across all systems and consider adopting passkeys for enhanced security and a better user experience.

Maintain current software and systems - Establish regular patching schedules, automate updates where possible and maintain accurate asset inventories so that no items you are unaware of are on the network.

Continuously educate staff - Conduct regular security awareness training, simulate phishing attacks and create clear incident reporting procedures that encourage rather than punish disclosure of mistakes. Aim to build a collective security ethos rather than a blame culture.

Apply least privilege principles - Grant users and systems only the minimum access required for their job function. Regularly review and revoke unnecessary permissions and implement just-in-time access for administrative functions using PAM solutions. Implement ZTNA. Implement guardrails for GenAI systems, such as Microsoft Copilot, to prevent them from exposing sensitive data that users didn’t intend to access.

Maintain air-gapped backup systems - Create regular backups that ransomware cannot access or encrypt. Test backup restoration procedures regularly and configure the backups to include both data and the system configurations necessary for rapid and complete recovery. Remember the adage: untested backups are not backups at all!

Why Cybersecurity Matters for Everyone

Cybersecurity is not just something for “the techies” to worry about. It’s a core fact of life for everyone. Here are some reasons why cybersecurity matters to individuals, businesses and governments across various levels.

Individuals - For everyone, cyberthreats are a direct threat to our privacy and financial transactions. Many transactions performed across multiple areas today occur on web pages or via smartphone apps. Identity theft incidents impact millions of people every year, and those who have their information stolen often become victims of financial loss, fraud, social engineering attacks and online harassment. Good cybersecurity practices can help reduce the risk of threats.

Businesses - Attacks against businesses pose risks that include those listed for individuals, as well as additional threats. On the financial side, cyberattacks against businesses result in preventable costs, including ransom payments, system recovery expenses, legal fees and business interruption costs. A business’s reputation can also take a significant hit due to a cyberattack. Especially if the business is unable to operate for a time, or if customer data is stolen and released by attackers. Reporting regulations in many jurisdictions require businesses that have suffered a data breach to notify authorities and impacted customers within a short timescale. This mandated reporting can severely dent the confidence of business partners and clients. Often, it destroys goodwill and a reputation built over decades. Many regulations also include provisions to levy significant fines on businesses that leak sensitive data, further increasing the financial costs associated with an attack.

Government - Cyberattacks are now a national security-level threat. With much of the infrastructure that enables countries to operate now online for remote management purposes, it is a tempting target for attacks. The targeting of critical infrastructure by adversarial state-backed groups is now a reality for every country. The USA designates 16 critical infrastructure sectors, and the EU has a similar list with 11 sectors.

Future Trends in Cybersecurity

As the saying goes, it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. But we can outline some broad areas that are likely to see changes that impact cybersecurity. These trends will necessitate that organizations reassess their security architectures, invest in new skills and adopt innovative approaches to threat defense.

Machine learning is revolutionizing both cyberattack and defense. Attackers use generative AI (GenAI) to create more effective social engineering attack collateral that evades automated detection and deceives individuals into visiting malware-impersonating websites through phishing emails. For defensive teams, deep learning AI tools will enhance threat intelligence gathering and analysis, allowing organizations to stay ahead of threat actors and free up their skilled cybersecurity teams to focus on security tasks that humans are still better at. This AI-based competition between defenders and attackers will define the next decade in cybersecurity.

Cloud-native security architectures will increasingly replace traditional perimeter-based security approaches. As organizations adopt application delivery technologies such as containerization, microservices and serverless computing, operations teams will need to integrate security into development pipelines and runtime environments.

Zero Trust, SASE and SD-WAN adoption will accelerate to deliver a fundamental shift in network security philosophy.

Preparations for post-quantum cryptography are underway among many encryption solution providers, as quantum computers will render current encryption methods obsolete. The immediate threat from quantum computers is still a way off, as only large nations or the top few technology companies will have the resources to build and operate a quantum computer. That’s assuming that stable quantum computing is achieved. Nevertheless, we are aware of how quantum computers will render current encryption methods vulnerable and how to address this issue. Many cryptographic key providers and encryption software vendors are already making the changes needed to make their solutions post-quantum safe. You should update your software when your suppliers release it, even if the threat to most organizations at this point and over the next few years is small.

Careers in Cybersecurity

This article may give you the impression that all is doom and gloom in the cybersecurity sector. There is no value in denying that the threats are significant and unlikely to diminish anytime soon. However, with this challenging landscape comes opportunity for individuals. There is a substantial need for skilled cybersecurity professionals.

The cybersecurity sector offers high salaries, job stability and opportunities to protect organizations against real-world threats. Remote work options are common, and the ongoing evolution of threats keeps the work intellectually stimulating.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a 33% growth rate in the number of cybersecurity professionals needed in the United States over the decade from 2023 to 2033. They estimate the number of people working in the sector in 2023 at 180,700, and a 33% growth rate means another 59,100 will be required. They also list the median annual salary as $124,910. Quite an incentive to join the defense! There will be a similar requirement for additional cybersecurity professionals in Europe and the APAC region.

This skills gap creates opportunities for new graduates and existing IT professionals seeking career transitions. Some of the positions that will need filling over the next few years will include the following roles.

Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts monitor security systems around the clock, investigating alerts and coordinating incident responses. Entry-level positions often require CompTIA Security+ certification, providing an excellent foundation for future cybersecurity careers.

Threat hunters proactively seek out advanced threats that automated systems overlook, employing specialized tools and techniques to identify sophisticated attack campaigns. This role merges technical expertise with investigative instincts.

Penetration testers simulate cyberattacks against organizations to identify vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. This hands-on role appeals to professionals who enjoy creative problem-solving and ethical hacking techniques.

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) develop organizational security strategies, manage security budgets and communicate risks to executive leadership. These senior positions require extensive technical knowledge and business acumen, serving as an excellent route from the technical side of an IT career into senior management and the C-suite.

Training and certifications that make it easier to land one of these roles include the already mentioned CompTIA Security+ for foundational knowledge, CISSP for management-track professionals, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) for penetration testing available from several organizations and specialized certifications such as GCIH for incident handling or GNFA for network forensics. Plus, business-focused degrees, such as an MBA, for those looking to move into CISO or other senior management roles.

Conclusion

The days when cybersecurity was just a concern for the IT team in an organization (or their external MSP) are long gone. Cybersecurity is now a core business function on par with finance, operations and other core business functions. This is due to the risks involved. A ransomware attack that shuts a business down for a few days or weeks can have a devastating impact. In some cases, it can be business-ending. As shown by the demise of KNP Logistics in the UK.

However, effective cybersecurity also presents an opportunity. Investing in strong security programs can help organizations safeguard their assets, preserve customer trust and gain a competitive advantage by demonstrating a robust security posture. They can also pursue digital transformation faster and with confidence in their cybersecurity procedures, which have been tested to help accommodate changes while managing risk.

Good security provision is a team effort. Business leaders must prioritize investments in cybersecurity. IT teams need to use investments well to deploy top-tier protection technologies, such as network detection and response, and adopt industry best practices and sound governance procedures. Similarly, every staff member must be made aware of their role in defending the organization and ultimately their jobs, and they must play a role in maintaining security, even if they don’t work in IT.

Don’t wait for the worst to happen before starting your cybersecurity improvement journey. Implement strong authentication with MFA today, and implement ransomware protection measures for your backups. Once these fundamentals are in place, build the multi-layered approach to security that is necessary to minimize your overall risk.

This multi-layer protection should include advanced network monitoring and detection, with a mechanism to respond rapidly to detected suspicious activity. Visit the Flowmon webpage for platform details and the Flowmon ADS page for further information on the Anomaly Detection System (ADS). To learn how Flowmon capabilities can help improve the security of your networks, contact us.

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