The Cybersecurity Tools Every Business Needs

Regardless of the size of your business, you need the right cybersecurity tools to protect your data and digital assets.

In your IT network, you will hold so much important information that you don’t want to leave yourself vulnerable to potential hackers and cyber attacks.

No business is immune from this, even if you think you have a robust cybersecurity system in place. Cyber attackers are becoming more cunning and clever, so you can’t just assume that your current security system is adequate.

Therefore by understanding the different cybersecurity tools available, you can choose which ones are most suitable for your business.

We should note that every business has different needs, and a different IT network, so not all of the tools covered in this blog post will be relevant to you.

However, it’s important to have an understanding of what’s on offer in case you need to tweak your cybersecurity system in the future.

In this blog post, we’re going to explore the different cybersecurity tools available to give you the knowledge you need when it comes to protecting your business. We’re also going to start by looking at why cybersecurity is so important, as this is often something organisations either overlook, or don’t properly understand.

Either way, TLR is here to provide you with clear, concise information to help you secure your business moving forward.

So, let’s get started.

Why Is Cyber Security Vital?

Cybersecurity is important as it protects all different types of data from theft and damage, including sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), intellectual property, and governmental and industry information systems.

As well as protecting your data and information, cyber security also protects what’s most important to business and facilitates the organisation’s critical missions.

Your IT network stores so much information, including:

• Business financial details
• Customers’ financial details (such as credit card data)
• Sensitive personal data
• Customers’ or staff email addresses and login details
• Customer databases
• Clients lists
• IT infrastructure
• IT services (such as the ability to accept online payments)
• Intellectual property (such as trade secrets or product designs)

As a result, it’s important you keep all of this data safe.

However, without a cybersecurity program, this information is essentially open to cyber attacks and your organisation cannot defend itself.

As such, you are an irresistible target for hackers who will easily be able to gain access to your network, and cause serious damage.

There are various reasons why cyber attacks happen, but they are often driven by financial gain. When cyber criminals steal important information, they can exploit this to the world unless you pay them a sum of money.

To protect your information, whether that’s business financial details or staff email addresses, organisations usually pay out huge amounts of money. This is an extremely stressful and expensive process for a business of any size.

However, by investing in the right cybersecurity tools, you can be confident that your information is safe and secure. In addition to this, having the right tools can massively improve your return on investment. To put this into context, most ransomware attacks cost hundreds of thousands to recover, yet these events could be prevented by investing less than $15,000 in cybersecurity.

You do the maths!

How Do I Choose the Right Cybersecurity Tools?

Now that you understand the importance of cybersecurity, the good news is that there are lots of useful cybersecurity tools for you to take advantage of.

These tools are designed to mitigate a range of cyber dangers, whether it’s protecting your employees who use email, or protecting different endpoints.

As we’ve mentioned earlier in the post, the cybersecurity tools you need will vary depending on the design of your IT network. However, regardless of how your IT infrastructure is set up, it all starts with identifying your most valuable assets.

From this point you can identify which cybersecurity tools you need to maximise the security of your business.

For many organisations, vulnerabilities are found in the endpoints that connect to their network rather than the network’s internal assets.

By analysing which devices connect to your network and how data flows through it, you can find the right type of cybersecurity tool to protect your organisation.

More information about endpoint protection is covered below, which leads us nicely onto our next section.

Which Cyber Security Tools Do I Need?

Below is a list of cybersecurity tools, each created to meet a variety of cybersecurity dangers, whether that’s phishing, hacking, ransomware, or any other type of threat.

Endpoint protection

Let’s start by identifying exactly what endpoint protection security is.

Endpoint security involves securing endpoints or entry points of end-user devices such as:

• Desktops
• Laptops
• Mobile phones
• Tablets
• Internet of Things (IoT) devices
• Point of Sales (PoS) stems
• Switches
• Digital printers
• Any other devices that connect to your network

Having an endpoint security strategy in place is vital as any of these devices can be the entry point for a cyber attack.

Protecting against endpoint attacks can be a particular challenge, because endpoints exist where humans and machines intersect.

However, you can strengthen the defences of these devices with endpoint protection tools. This ensures that any laptops, desktops, and mobile devices that connect to your network are safe and secure.

This is particularly important when you have remote workers logging in to your network from home as you don’t know which threats their devices might be exposed to.

Endpoint detection

Endpoint detection systems make it easy to detect devices that connect to your network and respond to threats that the system identifies.

For instance, if someone connects to your network and they have malicious intentions, your endpoint detection response system will provide detailed information about the device that is connected, as well as data about its activity while joined to your network.

In addition to this, an effective endpoint security solution is also a powerful tool for gathering forensic information following a data breach. By analysing the logs created by the system, you can see who connected to your network, and determine whether they were responsible for the breach.

Antivirus software

Whilst antivirus software is traditionally associated with combating computer viruses, modern antivirus solutions also do a great job of defending against other kinds of threats, including cyber security threats.

In fact, a robust antivirus program can identify a range of malware attacks by checking your computer for evidence of known threats.

Antivirus software works by using existing profiles of attacks that have impacted users. It then checks your IT system to see if these kinds of attacks exist on your computer, informs you about these unwanted elements, and gets rid of them.

As a result, with the right antivirus software in place, you can defend yourself against some of the most dangerous cybersecurity threats before they have had time to penetrate your network.

Next Generation Firewall (NGF)

A next-generation firewall (NGFW) is a network security device that provides capabilities beyond a traditional firewall.

The difference being that a traditional firewall provides stateful inspection of incoming and outgoing network traffic, whereas a next-generation firewall includes additional features such as application awareness and control, integrated intrusion prevention, and cloud-delivered threat intelligence.

As a result, a NGF provides even greater protection against an array of cybersecurity threats.

It also makes it easier for users outside of your organisation to enjoy secure connections to your network.

A NGF works by inspecting data packets as they are sent to and from your IT network. If a known threat is detected, your firewall can automatically discard the problematic data packet which will keep your IT system safe.

And even better, the right type of next-generation firewall uses machine learning that can pinpoint malicious behaviour. This means even zero-day attacks (a security attack that the vendor is unaware about) can be stopped, because the nature of the malicious code can be detected without the system needing to be informed of its existence beforehand.

Vulnerability scanning is another way that businesses can protect themselves against advanced attacks, as these solutions simulate attacks on software code, review code for errors, and attempt to find new issues that have been introduced in a software update.

Domain Name System (DNS) Protection

DNS Protection enables you to block your employees from accessing certain websites which may carry a cybersecurity risk.

These systems can also filter out content that you do not want infiltrating your network, as well as content you do not want your users to access.

For example, perhaps one of your internal employees is regularly visiting a website that is dangerous in their private time. They might also start visiting this website whilst they are at work, which would expose your network to potential cyber attacks.

This might be totally innocent as the chances are, your employees do not know what sites are deemed as dangerous. It’s very difficult for people to identify phishing attempts, as from first glance, they would not know what sites carry malicious content, such as viruses and scams.

Therefore, by investing in DNS protection, you are providing an additional layer between your employees and the internet which gives you peace of mind.

When your employees try to visit this website when they are connected to your network, they will not be able to gain access, which ensures your data is kept safe.

Authentication Services/VPN

With an authentication service/VPN, you can keep unwanted users and hackers from getting inside your network.

This is achieved by devising a privileged access management (PAM) system that forces users to authenticate who they are before they can connect to your IT system.

Using a VPN is one of the easiest ways of preventing potentially dangerous users from gaining access to your most valuable digital assets. Aside from asking all users to present login credentials, you can also encrypt all of the data that gets exchanged between them and your system.

By doing so, their devices and your network are protected from potential external threats.

VPN Services are also great at protecting remote users and their data from those on questionable networks, such as internet cafes or coffee shops. Who knows what kind of criminals are stealing that data.

Cavalry

Cavalry or CAVS for short, is an automated solution which constantly analyses and detects security or vulnerability issues related to your organisation’s network.

It’s more than just a vulnerability scanner, as the Cavalry system enhances human operators.

Another huge benefit is that CAVS does automatic asset discovery, so if you don’t have a list of your critical assets already, then we can find them for you.

As an automated solution, this periodically scans your infrastructure, giving you an outside look of your organisation. This information empowers operators and reduces the manual efforts required for a Penetration Test or Threat Assessment.

At TLR, we know that IT managers have millions of other tasks to do, and managing all of your assets manually can be difficult to maintain, slow, and expensive.

That’s what makes Cavalry a necessity for your business.

By automatically scanning your IT system, Cavalry quickly and seamlessly alerts any discovered security threats, so that your team can stay one step ahead.

And even better, your team will also receive a report which can be generated at Manager, SOC Operator, and SIEM levels to best fit your organisation. This gives you an insight into your security network so you can protect your business more effectively moving forward.

How Can TLR Help With Cybersecurity?

At TLR, our mission is simple.

We wanted to make you cyber resilient so that your organisation is prepared for any kind of cybersecurity attack.

Being reactive isn’t good enough.

Instead, you need to be proactive, and identify issues before they have been given a chance to develop. This is the best way of protecting your business as you can identify vulnerabilities and put the right solutions in place.

We know that cybersecurity sounds scary, but it doesn’t need to be.

That’s why we’re committed to providing you with straightforward, clear information so that you truly understand how to protect your data.

There’s no point bombarding you with technical jargon, as you need to understand the problems, and most importantly, the solutions, to create a robust cybersecurity system.

The Cybersecurity Tools Every Business Needs

Cybersecurity tools are important for any business, regardless of its size.

No organisation is immune to cybersecurity threats, and it’s important you have the right tools in place to defend your business in the best way possible.

Cyber attackers are becoming increasingly clever, and can find ways to penetrate your IT network, even if you think your current system is sufficient.

Whilst all of the tools listed above will not be relevant to every business, you can choose the ones that will be most beneficial.

At TLR, we know how overwhelming cybersecurity can be. Your IT team will have so many other tasks on their to-do list, that this can seem like an additional stress.

However, Cavalry periodically scans your infrastructure to quickly discover any potential security threats, and then alerts your team. Because this is an automatic process, this eases your security team’s workload, meaning they’re free to focus on other jobs.

As such, this saves your business precious time, money, and enables you to stay cyber offensive without adding more stress onto your employees.

To find out more about Cavalry and how it can benefit your business, simply get in touch with our team of experts at TLR. We’re committed to explaining the process in a clear and concise way to give you practical advice about your cybersecurity system.