Proactive IT Support

Five Benefits of Outsourcing Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity companies provide essential services in safeguarding and overseeing networks and servers, offering companies very valuable protection. Outsourcing cybersecurity allows companies to access expertise from industry professionals, ensuring the highest quality of service. Organizations should not be hesitant to outsource their security, and here are 5 reasons that explain why. Cost Efficiency You may assume that outsourcing work will incur higher costs compared to handling it internally. However, to effectively safeguard valuable information across your device network, outsourcing help from a team of experienced professionals is the way to go. Building your own in-house SOC (Security Operations Center) can be extremely expensive, potentially reaching up to three million dollars each year. Rather than managing a team of security analysts, conducting training, dealing with turnover, and deploying multiple security solutions, opting for a reputable cybersecurity company can be a far more cost-effective solution. The Work of Experts Relying on the services of a cybersecurity company not only proves to be cost-efficient, but it also significantly enhances effectiveness in developing and implementing security solutions. While some companies solely depend on software for information protection, this approach falls short; a combination of software and human analysts is essential. Given the ever-evolving nature of cyber threats, the expertise of a security team is vital in detecting issues and devising solutions. This process can be challenging, and it requires constant attention from a knowledgeable staff to effectively protect a network. Real-Time Monitoring and Instant Analysis By leveraging high-quality software and the expertise of security analysts from cybersecurity firms, you can quickly detect potential breaches within your network as they occur, rather than discovering them days, weeks, or even months later. Advanced Monitoring While exploring the capabilities of outsourced services for your company, it is important to understand the abilities of varying software solutions when they’re effectively managed. Utilizing SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solutions enables you to tailor your security defenses to target specific threats prevalent in your industry. With ongoing updates to servers, computers, and other devices, a team of experts can oversee your SOC and proactively fortify your network against emerging threats. They possess the capability to promptly identify and address potential issues and threats before they escalate. Time Efficiency Outsourcing any service inherently frees up time to concentrate on more pressing matters. Given that your company likely does not specialize in cybersecurity, entrusting these needs to a dedicated firm alleviates concern. By outsourcing your cybersecurity, your company can divert its focus from security tasks, allowing for more attention to be directed towards core objectives.

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What is Zero Trust?

What is Zero Trust? Zero Trust is an IT security model based on the idea of “trust no one, verify everyone”, recognizing that potential threats can emerge from sources both within and beyond the network boundaries. This security model removes implicit trust and mandates a constant verification process by actively gathering real-time data from various sources. In essence, Zero Trust ensures that while users have necessary access, their permissions are limited strictly to what is essential, minimizing potential vulnerabilities and risks. Why is Zero Trust Important? The Zero Trust security model was derived as a solution to the continual advancements in technology and the unique threats that come with it. In a cloud-first, remote working world, this framework has proved to be increasingly important. With more data and more people operating beyond the traditional network perimeter than ever before, it is critical to verify the authenticity of users to prevent a costly data breach. Zero Trust abandons the outdated method of “trust but verify”, which automatically trusted users and endpoints within an organization’s perimeter. Instead, Zero Trust requires continual monitoring and verification that a user and their device has proper authorization. This constant verification is crucial because threats and user attributes are always subject to change, and a one-time verification will no longer adequately protect against today’s advanced cybersecurity attacks. How Does Zero Trust Work? Zero Trust works by employing a range of technologies to continuously monitor and authenticate users and devices. It ensures that users are granted access only to the necessary resources and verifies the authenticity of users attempting to access corporate data. Instead of a one-time validation, it advocates for continuous authentication of access requests. This model relies on organizations having a broad understanding of their services and users in order to effectively monitor and capture any suspicious activity, and approve or deny them in real-time. Indications of suspicious activity include logging in from an unknown location or from an unknown device, and with Zero Trust malicious activity is quickly identified and removed from the system. What are the Main Principles Behind Zero Trust? Zero Trust automatically assumes that there are attackers both within your network and outside of your network, so continuous monitoring and validation of user activity is one of the largest principles behind the security model. Another principle is least-privilege access, which only permits users with the necessary access they need within the network. This involves attentive management of user permissions, but if managed correctly, it will largely minimize unnecessary exposure to sensitive parts of the network. Along with continuous monitoring and least-privilege access, Zero Trust relies heavily on device access controls and multi-factor authentication. Just as individual user’s are continuously monitored and authenticated, the devices being used need the same amount of controls. This is what is known as device access control. Zero Trust systems are monitoring the quantity of devices trying to access the network, whether or not every device is authorized, and continually assessing the devices to ensure that none of them have been compromised. Zero Trust networks also utilize Multi-factor authentication. MFA requires more than one piece of evidence to authenticate a user onto a network. For example, just because a user has entered the correct password, does not mean they are automatically admitted into the network, as they need an additional piece of information to authenticate them. This has become standard practice for a lot of security systems, but it is just one of the many principles of Zero Trust.

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What is Managed Detection Response?

CRC Data Technologies uses a variety of tools and techniques to keep clients safe from the never-ending influx of cyber attacks. One of the most important aspects of cybersecurity comes in the form of threat detection, when cybersecurity companies get notifications of potential threats that can harm their sensitive data and servers. This is the most crucial aspect when stopping online threats, and the best way to do this is through a service called managed detection response (MDR). If you haven’t heard of this service, here is what a managed detection response is and how your company can benefit from it. Characteristics of MDR While different MDR vendors offer their own set of tools and procedures when it comes to the detection of threats, all managed detection response services share some common characteristics: Rather than having to rely on a dashboard or portal when it comes to alerting, investigating security events, and case management, managed detection response services require the involvement of a live staff.  MDR services are delivered using the provider’s own set of tools, but they are deployed on the user’s premises. MDR providers are responsible for managing and monitoring these tools and technologies. Managed detection response services rely on security event management.  MDR is focused on threat detection rather than compliance.  MDR service providers help identify any indicators of compromise, reverse malware engineering, sandboxing, and more. They will also consult with you on how to contain or remedy security vulnerabilities. The Benefits of MDR The modern enterprise generates massive amounts of user and system activity data that results in an avalanche of alerts. How do you keep pace with identifying what’s a real threat? Do you have the right tools to help you? Does your IT security staff have the expertise needed to make sense of it all—and if yes, do they have the cycles required to defend you 24/7? If your responses leave you feeling vulnerable and a bit overwhelmed, consider the following five reasons for working with our team who is utilizing MDR:    Centralizing your security information The modern enterprise operates by utilizing a complex ecosystem of devices. Some of the devices are edge devices such as firewalls and IDS/IPS systems. Others include wireless access points, anti-virus tools, endpoint threat detection, and so on. With so many devices generating thousands of siloed event logs, it’s important to centralize this data into one source to identify anomalous activity that may indicate malicious activity. Pinpoint threat detection MDR is designed to detect real threats to an enterprise. Many organizations are overrun with tools that generate waves of alerts. Too often, these alerts result in false positives that are expensive and time consuming to resolve. MDR delivers automated cross-correlation and analysis of alerts across multiple systems, providing centralized visibility to events in real-time. This allows for faster and more accurate identification of what is real and requires prioritized response, reducing the burdens of alert fatigue.  Customizing your system for best protections Along with recognizing your networks devices and understanding actual threats, a managed detection and response solution is designed to customize a tailor-made protection force tuned to the unique conditions of your network environment. This customized configuration is based on the type of servers and applications you run and the different types of user community profiles that make up your workforce. As your environment changes, the solution can be easily modified to adapt to changes in the environment. An example of this would be a sudden shift of office-based user activity to remote.  Real-time notifications and time efficiency While an MDR solution constantly detects and protects against changes within routers, firewalls, and other servers, it also gathers full configuration information and recognizes changes in threat feeds, blacklists, and geolocations. This improves the accuracy in monitoring and reporting, and when you combine that with an expert staff monitoring your security operations, you have a threat detection system that stands ready to identify, respond, and remediate any threat to your business.   Regulatory compliance fulfillment All organizations with personal information must operate within the bounds of FFIEC, HIPAA, PCI and other security regulations. A managed detection and response solution helps in achieving compliance. When the request comes in looking for an audit report or exam, the MDR solution can generate the needed reports on controls such as user access logs, system changes, and any other monitoring adherence needed.   An MDR solution can deliver the visibility and protection you need. For the best coverage and solution fit for you, give us a call to discuss how we can help you achieve better security and compliance outcomes. 

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