As cybercriminals get bolder and cybercrime becomes a more common risk for businesses, it’s important for those businesses to continuously improve and strengthen their cybersecurity infrastructure. Here are six things you should look for in your cybersecurity software.
1. Foundational Security Features
The first thing you need for a strong security infrastructure is tools that provide foundational features. Make sure your organization has access to a firewall, antivirus software, automatic backup capabilities and disk defragmentation tools. You should also construct an external network for developing and managing your cybersecurity policies, including documentation, penetration testing and employee training.
2. Encryption Capabilities
Encryption is one of the key ways you can protect sensitive information and otherwise risky internet connections. One of the most common encryption tools is a Virtual Private Network, or VPN. A VPN can be utilized by an individual to encrypt his or her data from end to end when he or she is accessing the internet on public, unsecured wifi. Encryption can also be employed by organizations, particularly those conducting e-commerce, to protect their customers’ sensitive data, such as credit card information.
3. Secure Gateways and Networks
Depending on your business model, you may want to invest in an API gateway, a micro segmented network, or both. These tools are vital aspects of many cybersecurity infrastructures. You can use them to ensure only people with proper access credentials can access certain parts of your computing infrastructure or network. API gateways, for example, will help you keep any external users out of your cloud network or datacenter, while microsegmentation ensures internal users can only access the parts of your network they need to in order to do their jobs.
4. Scanning Tools
Every cybersecurity infrastructure should incorporate various scanning tools. These tools can be used to scan for malware, spyware, ransomware, viruses and other malicious software or programs. There are also more specialized tools that can scan your entire network, seek out the sources of hacks and determine whether firewalls or encryptions have been breached. Scanning tools are essential because of how expansive, complicated and interconnected modern computing infrastructures are. Without scanning tools to automatically sweep your network, it would be impossible to reliably comb your entire computing infrastructure regularly.
5. Security Testing Features
Make sure you incorporate tools and training that allow you to conduct security testing on your software. You don’t want to employ a security tool that isn’t proven to work, so you need to make sure certain employees have the knowledge and resources to conduct tests to search for vulnerabilities and weaknesses in your infrastructure at large and in each tool you use. You can have an employee with relevant skills pretend to be a hacker and try to break into your network or software, or you can leverage specialized tools to automatically test and probe your infrastructure. You should have these employees or tools test your security infrastructure regularly, particularly when you make changes to your infrastructure.
6. Cloud Security Services
More computing infrastructure is being migrated to the cloud, which means you need to have some different tools to protect cloud-based networks. When you choose security software and applications, make sure they include adequate cloud security for your organization’s needs. You need to be certain your data will be backed up and stored safely. You also need to make sure all of your access points and credentials are carefully controlled and protected. While the cloud is a relatively safe place to store your computing infrastructure, it can be much more vulnerable than a traditional, on-premise infrastructure if you don’t have the proper tools and security features in place.
While there are some customizations each organization needs to make to meet its specific cybersecurity needs, most of the tools organizations use can benefit everyone. You should have as many tools as possible in your security arsenal and make sure your employees understand how to use those tools correctly.
