By Chad Carter, VP of Sales North America, WALLIX
Cybersecurity is a critical subject for all businesses. In fact, Gartner predicts that as many as 40% of boards will have a committee dedicated to cybersecurity by 2025. It’s no surprise, given that organizations across all industries have seen a dramatic rise in the number of cyberattacks over the last few years. Between data breaches, ransomware, and insider threats, the time has come for every business to invest in a strong cybersecurity infrastructure.
And yet, for many organizations, it’s unclear where to begin. How do you determine which solution(s) to implement? How do you choose from among the many established and emerging competitors within the sector? It can be an intimidating and costly endeavor, to be sure.
Here are five things to look for when choosing a cybersecurity solution:
1) Ease of Implementation: Finding a platform that can seamlessly integrate into your environment with minimal disruption to your workflow is paramount. One that considers security from conception (not as an afterthought or patch) is even better. The main challenge of security by design is being able to implement it in such a way that no one needs to worry about it, despite it being at the center of our lives.
2) Ease of Use: Just as important as implementation, the solution you choose needs to be easy to use. Already-busy IT teams not only want to avoid a lengthy implementation process, but need to have an intuitive solution that is secure and can also make their day-to-day functions simpler and more efficient. Similarly, if end users are hampered by a security process slowing down productivity, it’s not serving the organization well. When a security platform is cumbersome and difficult to use, the adoption rate plummets and people will find a way around it.
3) Compliance Controls: One of the greatest motivating factors in a cybersecurity strategy is the need to meet standards and regulations. When looking at cybersecurity solutions, look for one that addresses the requirements of multiple compliance frameworks at once. Decide on a framework that encompasses the compliance requirements for your specific industry and location, and make sure the solution’s capabilities can be mapped to that framework.
4) Access Management: Over 80% of all cyberattacks are accomplished with privileged accounts. Controlling and tracing access, particularly privileged access, needs to be top priority with the cybersecurity infrastructure. Who has access to data and servers? What elevated rights do they have? How are user accounts tracked, modified, and removed when the need expires? What are users doing with their access? Being able to streamline management and oversight of internal and external user accounts and access saves time and can save you from a breach.
5) Endpoint Management: Security by design means cybersecurity is built into the very fabric of a solution, and of an infrastructure. It needs to encompass the entire network to be effective. Securing servers, routers, switches, etc. is essential, but leaving endpoints open to attack makes internal security policies far less effective. Block applications and programs from running unwanted processes and stop privilege elevation in its tracks. PEDM eliminates the need for excess privileged accounts and allows for administrators to elevate specific users on an as needed basis, ensuring Least Privilege and securing the network.
When taking the leap into a comprehensive cybersecurity program, it can be difficult to know where to start. With a few key points and priorities in mind, complex cybersecurity can be simplified.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chad Carter is VP of Sales for North and South America at WALLIX. He has 25 years of experience in IT and previously has worked for hardware and software companies, providing network and security solutions.
