Jan 20, 20213 min read

What Are the Most Important Cybersecurity Upgrades to Make in 2021?

2020 wasn’t only a year that changed the way we live and work, it was also one that changed the cybersecurity landscape.

The disruption of the pandemic led to a huge rise in cyberattacks of all kinds. In addition to this, the look of the business network changed dramatically due to the need to support employees working remotely from home.

The FBI reported a 400% increase in reported cyberattacks during the midst of the pandemic.

From accounting and law firms to small businesses around the country, business IT managed services and IT security priorities have shifted to keep up with recent threats and changes to IT over the last 12 months.

If you want to stay ahead of the hackers, you’ll need to adapt and upgrade defenses this year to seal any vulnerabilities.

Where should you focus those upgrades?

We’ve reviewed a study by McKinsey & Company that outlines where small, medium, and large sized businesses are planning to increase cybersecurity budgets over 2021 to meet these new challenges.

Businesses Are Making These Cybersecurity Priorities This year

Network Security

Small and large businesses alike have network security at the top of their list for increased spending this year. A big reason for this is the evolution of the telecommuting workforce.

The number of permanent remote workers globally is expected to double this year. Some of the reasons for this include:

· Companies have realized remote workers are often more productive

· Lower costs by downsizing in-office needs

· The need to keep their business flexible and resilient

· COVID-19 is still an issue

Some of the areas of network security that relate to remote teams include the use of VPNs to encrypt communications through less-secure home routers and improved network monitoring that extends beyond an on-premises firewall.

Companies can no longer look at network security as something that is based at one location only.

Endpoint Security

The look of endpoints has changed drastically over the last 15 years. Computers and servers used to make up the majority of a company’s endpoints. But today, mobile and IoT devices are overtaking them. At the same time, they’re often not as secure.

Mobile devices now make up about 60% of the total endpoints on a business network.

Allowing all those mobile devices to connect to business data without being monitored or managed is no longer an option if you want to ensure network security. Many of the devices used to access business data are also no longer located in the same building.

Companies are realizing this is a big issue and devoting budgets to endpoint device security and management applications, such as SentinelOne. These applications give businesses visibility and remote management capabilities for all endpoints connecting to their business apps and data.

Some of the capabilities include:

· Remotely manage software and OS updates

· Grant and revoke device access to assets

· Apply standard security policies across all devices

· Improve device ability to detect and stop threats automatically

Identity & Access Management

Another area where all sized companies are planning to spend more this year is identity and access management. Credential theft has been a growing problem as more and more business data and processes have moved to SaaS platforms.

77% of cloud account breaches are due to compromised login credentials. Hackers have fewer options to breach a large SaaS provider’s architecture and gaining access via legitimate user credentials is the easiest way to get in.

Identity and access management goes beyond just having employees use strong passwords. Some of the strategies to look at this year are:

· Single Sign-On (SSO) with multi-factor authentication

· Systems that allow geo-based authentication challenges

· Biometric systems that reduce authentication time

· Authentication based upon privilege level

Messaging Security

How many different ways do your employees communicate with each other or with your clients?

Some may use their smartphone’s messaging app, others may use a platform like Teams or Slack, and others may use an app like WhatsApp.

Instant messaging can often be more efficient than email, but you can also end up with a big security problem on your hands if you don’t put messaging security policies in place.

For example, if an employee using text messaging to connect with customers, leaves your company unexpectedly, you’ve lost all those important customer communications.

Putting together a messaging security strategy involves:

· Deciding which messaging tools employees can use

· Ensuring those messaging tools have proper encryption

· Ensuring your organization has a way to capture all customer communications

· Putting data security policies in place to protect files sent via messaging

Put Together a Strong Cybersecurity Strategy This Year!

Phoenix Edge Technologies can help your business with a full cybersecurity assessment to identify vulnerabilities and help you prioritize upgrades for 2021.