IT Security: Improve the protection of your systems

IT-Security, Cybersecurity und Informationssicherheit

Author
CEO Alfa IT-Outsourcing
More than 20 years of experience in the IT industry,
trained IT specialist for application development,
Scrum Master and project manager with PRINCE2 certification
January 16, 2023

IT Security: Improve the protection of your systems

Information Technology

Cyber attacks pose a serious – in some cases existence-threatening – risk for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as large corporations. Professional cyber criminals and state actors threaten network and data security. According to IT security experts, the question that those responsible for the security of IT systems in organizations must ask themselves is not whether an attack will occur, but when.

The acute shortage of qualified IT specialists exacerbates the threats from attacks from cyberspace as well as the dangers from industrial espionage. In connection with the shortage of specialists, the German Federal Office for Security and Information Technology speaks of a fundamental “bottleneck” in IT specialists who are able to prevent IT security incidents and manage them professionally in an emergency.

Definition: What is IT security?

IT security ensures through appropriate measures that vulnerabilities and threats resulting from the use of IT are reduced to a manageable level and that IT systems are protected against unauthorized access, theft and manipulation. This includes end devices, servers, operating systems, applications and cloud services.

The main objectives of information technology security are to ensure the confidentiality and availability of IT systems as well as data integrity, i.e. the correctness, consistency and completeness of data throughout its lifecycle. Maintaining IT security is a continuous process due to rapid innovation cycles and disruptive technologies in IT.

High losses due to cyber attacks

An important sub-area of information security is cyber security. Cybercrime is a lucrative business. The methods of cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated, hardware more powerful, and malware easier to program and operate. Those responsible for IT security management – posed by the acute shortage of skilled workers – are in a constant race to keep up with the growing threat landscape.

If your organization becomes vulnerable to cybersecurity issues, it can result in significant financial losses, including business recovery costs, repair costs and possible extortion payments. Furthermore, there is widespread damage to your image and reputation after disclosure.

IT security threats

In addition to inadequate network protection due to open or incorrectly configured online servers and the lack of UTM (Unified Threat Management) devices and Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW), violations of corporate security policies by insufficiently qualified personnel are the biggest problem for those responsible for IT security management.

The lack of skilled personnel contributes to the fact that security gaps are not remedied in time and updates and security patches are not installed or are installed too late.

Dependencies due to IT supply chains

The diversification of supply chains and use of different cloud services increases the complexity of IT security management. As a result of digitalization, companies are forced to rely on different IT providers for cybersecurity. This increases the risk of a supply chain attack.

In a supply chain attack, a faulty element in a hardware and software used is identified and attacked before the start or in the middle of the supply chain while still at the manufacturer level using different attack vectors and techniques. The malicious code spreads across vendor, partner and customer networks.

Ransomware – main threat for enterprises

High profits are promised by big-game hunting, i.e. extorting ransom and hush money from high-revenue companies with exfiltrated and encrypted data. If the payments fail to materialize, the data and corporate secrets are published on leak sites.

The increasing number of software vulnerabilities due to faulty codes provides a large attack surface and threatens your organization’s cyber security. The download of an unauthorized software by one of your employees can be enough to enable a targeted ransomware attack by “taking hostage” sensitive data.

Phishing: Targeting sensitive user data

The focus of phishing attacks is on confidential user and login data – preferably of people in key positions. Victims are infected with malware via trust-inspiring and authentic-looking e-mails and websites. With content tailored specifically to the target, a phishing attack is extremely difficult to identify as a threat to your organization’s cyber and IT security.

DDoS attacks on services and servers

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks cripple high-traffic servers and services. This is possible by cybercriminals using a botnet – an amalgamation of remotely controlled, compromised PCs on third-party computer networks – to simultaneously send vast numbers of requests to servers. The sudden overload makes them inoperable and they fail.

Act proactively and strengthen IT security

Cyber security awareness and information security must be a priority for organizations of all sizes. Act proactively and strengthen your IT security measures to minimize the number of potential attack vectors.

Ensure that your IT systems and applications cannot be hacked by attackers and that your business processes function without disruption by employing a highly qualified team of security experts. If the acute shortage of IT specialists in your region prevents you from increasing your on-site IT staff, outsourcing is a sensible option.

Compensate the shortage of skilled workers with remote IT specialists

Break new ground together with us to defend cyber security in your company and realize your IT security projects as well as your IT risk management with our support. Whether ethical hackers, penetration testers, IT security consultants or managers – we offer you a large pool of talented IT experts from India who work remotely for you and strengthen your IT security management with their expertise.

Arrange a non-binding consultation and learn more about the benefits in terms of cyber and information security for your company that you can benefit from by working with our IT outsourcing specialists.

 

FAQ on IT Security

What are the main objectives of IT security?

The main objectives are to ensure the confidentiality, availability and integrity of data and systems.

What are the threats to IT security?

Threats include cyber-attacks such as ransomware, phishing, DDoS attacks and supply chain attacks.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is malware that encrypts data and demands a ransom for its release.

What are DDoS attacks?

DDoS attacks overload servers with a flood of requests, which leads to system failures.

How can companies proactively strengthen their IT security?

Companies should continuously improve their security measures and employ highly qualified IT security experts.