World-class cyber security expert, DigitalXRAID, has urged businesses to take a proactive approach to their cyber security with a 24/7 SOC (Security Operations Centre), to address the threat of time-based cyberattacks and increase in attacks over the last year.
In light of the well reported attacks on Rackspace, Intersport and recently The Guardian, it is clear that cybercriminals are using holiday periods and out of hours timing to target businesses who may have their guard down.
Timing is a key factor when it comes to attacks and therefore it is essential for cyber defence. Cyberattacks that happen when IT and security staff are operating with skeleton staff or are away from the office altogether are more devastating, resulting in the exfiltration of much larger quantities of data and causing greater disruption.
A cyberattack that isn’t detected immediately can take more than 300 days to contain. If several hours pass before an attack is identified, attackers have the possibility to move laterally across a company’s networks undetected, which can be dire for an organisation’s business operations and result in downtime.
The most recent example of a devastating cyberattack comes as Royal Mail announced that they had suffered a crippling cyber incident which halted all international deliveries. The attack follows a similar pattern to the cyber incident at delivery service Yodel which reports suggest was the result of a ransomware attack launched at the weekend. With a delay in the identification of the attack, Yodel experienced widespread disruption and systems being unavailable for days following.
A similar attack early in 2022 on another delivery company reported an overall cost of $60 million to the business.
Hackers don’t exclusively operate during office hours, so neither should security measures. With such high profile incidents advertising the advantages of out of hours attacks, cyber criminals will be looking to profit from these opportunities.
Cyberattacks cannot be taken lightly. Reported statistics say there is a cyberattack happening every 39 seconds, with over 4,000 ransomware attacks taking place daily. Moreover, large companies that aren’t the only ones being targeted—43% of these attacks represent small businesses.
Most organisations, especially small to mid-sized businesses don’t have the resources to build and support a 24/7 security operations centre (SOC) in house. Setting up a 24/7 SOC in-house, with all of the tooling and manpower needed for 24/7 coverage, can cost over £500,000. This just isn’t achievable for most businesses, especially in view of the global cyber skills shortage.
In view of this, and the potential cost of cyber incidents reportedly reaching upwards of £3.18m, organisations are looking to 24/7 SOC providers for support.
Outsourcing cyber security to a specialised 24/7 SOC provider gives access to the latest in tooling and highly skilled security professionals, without risking sensitive information and protection.
Outsourcing a company’s 24/7 SOC opens the door to world-class threat detection and response without having to spend time and money in hiring, training, and retaining competent analysts.
At the same time, a 24/7 SOC provides advantages such as:
- Skilled personnel overseeing their business 24/7
- The ability to stop attacks in minutes
- A lower cost of ownership to secure the business
- More time to pursue other business opportunities
An outsourced 24/7SOC team acts like an extension of the business, leaving IT and security staff to focus their skills and energy on other aspects of the operations. At the same time, businesses do not have to compromise on detection and remediation time if they’re targeted by threat actors.
DigitalXRAID provides a CREST accredited Security Operations Centre, offering clients cyber protection 24/7/365.
The company also provides comprehensive cybersecurity solutions and services such as penetration testing, cyber awareness training and phishing campaigns and ISO 27001 certification. To learn more about what they offer, please visit https://www.digitalxraid.com/
