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As we enter another Cybersecurity Awareness Month, businesses will once again see their communication hubs flooded with reports on the growing significance of cybersecurity and the increasing peril from cyberattacks. That said, it is easy to get lost in the vast field that is cybersecurity—which is very problematic, considering just how important a role education plays in keeping data safe in today’s digitized world. So let’s take just one element of cybersecurity and clarify it, answering the question: What is threat detection and response? More importantly, why does it matter?
All right, let’s dive in…
| Source: Fidelis Cybersecurity |
Understanding the Role of a Threat Detection and Response Team
As their name suggests, threat detection and response employees deal directly with monitoring and responding to ongoing data breach concerns. In an ideal corporate infrastructure, the threat detection and response staff likely report directly to the chief information security officer or, at the very least, are part of IT. Threats in these circumstances refer to a wide range of issues from simplistic attacks like phishing scams to more complex hidden malware detection. Regardless of the industry, companies everywhere are seeing a wide variety of cybercrime, and threat detection and response are important to early awareness and action—thereby minimizing (or, best-case scenario, avoiding) the damage.
Since data breaches can occur anywhere in the company, threat detection and response staff need administrator access. These are colleagues that must be trusted with access to corporate e-mail accounts, shared data repositories, and company servers (whether on-premise or cloud). If need be, these individuals should also have a physical inventory of company hardware (e.g., devices such as laptops, desktops, smartphones) and anything that houses confidential data. As more businesses turn hybrid, it is increasingly important to keep track of devices that contain sensitive information. The unfortunate truth of cybersecurity is that one weak leak, one unguarded backdoor into a system, and the overall security situation can be severely compromised.
Why Businesses Need Threat Detection and Response
While most reading this will need no help in seeing the value of cybersecurity software (the FBI regularly reports on the rising occurrence and cost of various cybercrimes), there may be some who do not see why a threat detection and response team is needed on top of the investment they’ve already made into secure software and hardware platforms. While secure-by-design software and authentication tools are very important, the fact remains that sometimes software alone cannot identify and contain a data breach before the damage is done.
Having people whose sole responsibility is the cybersecurity and the well-being of a company will place active, trained, and educated minds inward. Colleagues can update themselves on new information quicker than software, which is important when it comes to dealing with something as adaptive as cyberattacks. This team can identify new and developing situations, providing security that may not be covered in existing infrastructure.
This team should also provide support to other departments, helping them design and utilize hardware processes and software infrastructure that is less likely to experience a data breach. Threat detection and response experts can also help identify colleagues who need more education regarding cybersecurity best practices and how to spot malicious activities before they become dangerous.
Why the Print Industry Needs Threat Detection and Response
Many in the print industry still feel safe (or less of a target) when it comes to cybercrime. After all, industries like healthcare and finance contain more sensitive data, making them the focus, right? Additionally, those SMB print service providers, resellers, or vendors may feel too small to be an enticing target. Unfortunately, the data doesn’t support either belief.
A Verizon report in 2019 showed that almost half of cyberattacks were aimed at small or medium-sized businesses, and this was before COVID-19. Despite this, there still exists a false sense of security among SMB business owners and decision makers. A CNBC study found that over half of SMB respondents weren’t even concerned about hacking of any kind; they were also confident that any cyberattack could be quickly resolved. So not only do these businesses not have strong cybersecurity protocols, they’d also be likely to ask, “What is threat detection and response?”
| Source: Blackpoint Cyber |
For print companies, it is a case of similar, still misplaced bravado. Many print providers—whether through services or equipment—interact directly with industries like healthcare, finance, and legal. You know…those industries often most targeted by cybercrime. Malicious hackers are sadly not stupid; many of them will try to steal data or gain entry any way they can. So if a print company has that kind of access, then they are a prime target. Cyber criminals strike often, repeatedly, and through numerous points of entry—looking for that one weak link that will expose the whole system. While secure software and hardware should be a priority, the active human element of cybersecurity must also be enforced. What is threat detection and response? It’s a necessity in today’s digital-first world.
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