What CEOs Need to Know Now About Cybersecurity

Since the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, there has been a 600% increase in cybercrimes such as ransomware attacks, data leaks, and an ever-growing assortment of corporate espionage and fraud-based cyber exploitation operations.

This year, organizations worldwide have already allocated more than $6 trillion towards responding to cybercrime, and there is little evidence to suggest this trend will reverse. On the contrary, the techniques criminals are deploying are increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect, leaving the traditional preventative-based cybersecurity approaches inadequate. 

Furthermore, for every instance of a confirmed cyber attack, such as the SolarWinds hack, Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident, Microsoft Exchange data breach, or Kaseya supply chain attack, hundreds more events are never published. Events are often kept quiet with ransoms paid in secret as the fallout from such an occurrence can irreparably harm a business's reputation locally and internationally.  

Cybercrime is on the rise and with the price of cybersecurity insurance policies continuing to escalate dramatically the issue is now clearly a board level discussion that needs to be understood and mitigated immediately. 

Managed eXtended Detection & Response (MXDR)

The Answer to the Rise in Global Cybercrime

The advanced cybersecurity skills necessary to deliver penetration testing services, multi-layered endpoint detection and advanced cloud resource monitoring are highly in-demand and costly to secure. 

MXDR is a means of outsourcing cybersecurity expertise to reduce costs while delivering a much more rigorous and advanced cybersecurity posture for a business. The right MXDR solution will harness advisory services that vastly extend the reach of your in-house IT team without breaking the bank. 

MXDR is the key to mitigating modern cyber threats and protecting your organization against the catastrophic effects of ransomware, data breaches, phishing scams, and other forms of cybercrime. 

Selecting a Managed eXtended Detection & Response Provider

Questions You Need to Ask

Managed eXtended Detection & Response services are a form of outsourced cybersecurity that provides 24/7 protection against cybercrime by combining the best prevention-based and detection-based strategies

Here are some key questions you should ask when selecting a Managed eXtended Detection & Response provider: 

• What is your cybersecurity background and experience as an organization?
  

  Most modern MXDR service providers leverage some degree of expertise in areas such as information technology, telecommunications, and cybersecurity. You will want to be sure that your MXDR provider has the relevant experience to deliver an industry-leading security operations center (SOC). 
  
  

• Does your organization provide a multi-layered cybersecurity strategy?
  

  Endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions provide rich insight into what is happening across the various endpoints where users connect to your digital environments, but is only a part of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
  
  

• Why is your company a good fit for serving my organization?
  

  Not all Managed eXtended Detection & Response services are equal. Have a provider outline why their approach to cybersecurity aligns with your organization's unique risk management needs.
  
  

Secure the Protection You Need

Speak with your IT team to decide if now is the time to make the switch to a Managed eXtended Detection & Response service. Here are questions to get you started:

• What cybersecurity solutions are we using, and how protected are we from new unknown threats?

  Traditional prevention-based cybersecurity efforts have focused on strengthening digital defenses by analyzing known cyber threats and taking steps to prevent these threat vectors. Unfortunately, modern polymorphic and metamorphic malware variants evade prevention-based efforts by constantly changing their shape and evolving. This is a key reason why Managed eXtended Detection & Response services are essential to countering these threats.
  
  

• What kind of risk does our organization face?

  In truth, cyber threat actors are highly motivated to attack private and public organizations. However, different industries face different challenges. Your organization must defend against the types of threats it is most likely to encounter.
  
  

• How do we handle cyber risks coming from vendors and other 3rd parties?

  Cyber threat events can come from every internal and external interface connected to your network environment. Only the comprehensive view provided by an MXDR solution can provide the visibility to risks posed by 3rd parties
  
  

• Are our employees trained to have a cybersecurity mindset?
  

  You are only as strong as your weakest links. Cybersecurity best practices must come through your organizational culture and are a part of continued training efforts.
  
  

• Do we have any cybersecurity incident response plans? —If we do, how often do we test it?
  

  Your organization needs to have a straightforward game plan for responding to the most advanced forms of cybercrime. Without a clear response strategy, it will be impossible to move quickly enough to prevent more serious losses.
  
  

• How is leadership informed about the current level of cyber risks and their business impact on the organization?

  Cybersecurity decision-making must be elevated as a c-suite and board-level topic. Business leaders must be informed about best practices, current threats, and ongoing security challenges across your organization. 
  
  

• Is cyber risk part of our enterprise risk management?

  There is increasing evidence to suggest that organizations are responsible for adequately managing cyber risks by making investments in advanced prevention and detection-based security efforts. In the future, cyber insurance policies will likely not cover organizations that are not taking steps to limit risk. 
  
  

• Is there adequate staff with knowledge in cybersecurity?
  

  Cybersecurity requires the insights and efforts of your entire team, not just those connected to the c-suite or IT departments. Every business division must take steps towards improving its cyber hygiene and resilience.
  
  

• How does our level of cybersecurity preparedness compare to our competitors?

  It is essential to maintain a competitive advantage by investing in Managed eXtended Detection & Response services to counter emergent cyber threats. Don't be left behind. Take action today. 

Learn more

Understanding cyber dangers and how best to guard against them is critical in today's environment. To help you navigate the risks and know how to lead your teams, we created the ebook: What CEOs Need to Know Now About Cyber Risks and How to Protect Their Business. 

Download the ebook to learn more about:

• What cyber security protection is available
• Where blind sports lie in both known and unknown threats
• How you can enhance your resilience organization-wide
• And much more!

Download the free guide today!