What Makes Cyber Threat Intelligence Services Important In The Post-covid World?

By Author: Kim Marmoy
Total Articles: 12
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Amid an unprecedented health crisis that has taken the world by storm, malicious actors are taking complete advantage of the calamity to attack the information systems of organisations and carry out targeted cyber-attacks. Experts say that the rise in coronavirus cases and cyber-attacks are following a similar curve. Besides an exponential increase in fraudulent activities online, the evolving work environment has become bigger risks for organisations. Harnessing the power of cyber threat intelligence services is thus essential for businesses.

Many businesses worldwide woke up to the significance of cyber security when the pandemic struck a light on the state of cyber security. With the new constellation of home offices creating more targets for cybercriminals, the number of risks facing businesses has increased in the digitally connected landscape. Organisations need to be agile and act very swiftly to improve their cyber security posture and it is here that threat intelligence comes into the picture.

Security Challenges In The Post-Pandemic World
• Although several companies do offer secure ...
... VPN to their remote workers, the first point of interface for their device is the home network. Often, these home wireless routers and home networks have rudimentary security configurations along with traffic encryption.

• Home networks have little protection against unauthorised access since they have weak passwords or unchanged default passwords.

• Unauthorised installation of software, applications or tools that can be a security risk.

• It is difficult for in-house IT security teams to control and monitor remote activities.

• All users of the home network may not be aware of the best cyber security practices and might engage in dangerous and insecure practices.

Types Of Threats Businesses Should Be Familiar With Today

• Nation-State Threat Actors
Businesses need to be aware of some of the top threat actors that may be a part of a state apparatus or receive funding or direction from a nation-state. These aggressively target and gain access to various private and public sector networks to steal, compromise, change, or destroy information.

• COVID-19 Themed Intelligence
The Novel Coronavirus pandemic has brought about a new window of opportunity for cyber-attacks to lure their victims. This includes attacks that will result in leakage of data at a price that has spiked the number of cases in e-crime activities.

• E-crime threat actors
Known exclusively as ‘Spiders’, the ‘Wizard Spider’ and ‘Indrik Spider’ were known to be the most prolific in the year 2019. This is one kind of cyber security threat every business and industry should be wary of.

Threat Intelligence Services – The Key To Survive & Thrive For Businesses

One of the major lessons learned from the COVID-19 experience is that cybercriminals and attackers have no mercy at all. Regardless of the situation, intruders can exploit global human catastrophe to fulfil their goals. Here’re a few critical lessons learnt from this pandemic and why cyber threat intelligence services are essential for every business.

1. There Can Be No Obstacle To Innovation

With lockdowns being imposed, businesses have been forced to make fast decisions which in some cases have completely transformed their business models. However, this could have serious implications for cybersecurity. For example, the rush to get employees working from home has exposed security shortcomings in third-party applications, resulting in numerous attacks. This necessitates the need for threat intelligence to enable real-time insights that are specific to the unique situation of the organisation.

2. No Security In Obscurity
Awareness of cyber issues has been elevated throughout this period and is routinely highlighted as a matter of foreign diplomacy, intergovernmental co-operation and even warfare. Cyber awareness is among the most effective weapons in the cyber-security arsenal and the simplest and cheapest to implement at an elementary level. And as businesses progress beyond the simple testing of users, seeking threat intelligence services becomes more and more crucial to supporting more sophisticated approaches.

3. Organisations Can Take More Measures To Remain Safe
When it comes to cybersecurity, it is now clear that stakes are now sophisticated for businesses and that cyber threats are intensified. Implementing cyber hygiene has never been more important and added measures need to be taken for reflecting new trends in remote working practices. And, with the cyber threat landscape being a constantly changing picture, having an effective threat intelligence system is essential to stay abreast of the unpredictable and unknown changes in threat types.

Conclusion:
2020 has witnessed great changes and all of it points to the greater need of companies to be fast and accurate in their responsiveness to complex cyber threats. No matter how small or large your organisation is, this applies to every business.

Author’s Bio:
The author is a cyber-security specialist with in-depth knowledge of actionable threat intelligence. He believes that the importance of cyber-security will continue to grow as COVID-19 is not the only disruption businesses are going to face.