BEHAVIOUR ANALYTICS PRODUCTS CAN ALLOW FIRMS TO FLAG RISKY BEHAVIOUR OR UNORTHODOX USAGE . people extracting critical data or lock down the machine quickly .
EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
CHRISTO VAN STADEN , FORCEPOINT REGIONAL
MANAGER : SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
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Phishing , spear phishing and ransomware represent serious threats to any organisation . They can be used to steal money , extort ransom payments , exfiltrate intellectual property , disrupt business operations and , in extreme cases , actually put a company out of business .
As cybercriminals constantly evolve their methods , unless organisations evolve their cybersecurity solutions and practices at the same time , these threats are very real . This shouldn ’ t come as a surprise – there have been an increasing number of well-publicised attacks recently including WannaCry and Petya , demonstrating the impact cybercrime is having on mainstream businesses . What might not be so obvious is that the point of entry into an organisation often comes down to people . It seems that despite security professionals ’ best efforts , employees are still tricked by cybercriminals using social engineering techniques on email , social media and other business systems .
There are robust cybersecurity solutions and best practices that can be implemented to reduce the chance that a phishing , spear phishing or ransomware attack will be successful .
It doesn ’ t always require a big overhaul of infrastructure . The starting point is to focus in on your people to truly understand how they currently use and access critical data and systems in their day-to-day roles . By fully understanding the baseline , normal user behaviour and movement of data , one can effectively counter abnormal behaviour .
Behaviour analytics products can allow firms to flag risky behaviour or unorthodox usage , ultimately helping security teams to quickly identify potential breaches and either stop
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BEHAVIOUR ANALYTICS PRODUCTS CAN ALLOW FIRMS TO FLAG RISKY BEHAVIOUR OR UNORTHODOX USAGE . people extracting critical data or lock down the machine quickly .
There are three types of insider behaviours that can put critical data at risk :
• The accidental user ( who makes mistakes , or is unaware of wrong-doing )
• The compromised user , who has their credentials stolen by cyber criminals )
• The malicious user ( who intends to cause harm )
In the case of phishing , it ’ s often an accident that causes an individual to become compromised by malware . For example , should a user click on a malicious URL in a phishing email , the change in the way those credentials are used afterwards is dramatic . Rather than logging on and opening emails , a criminal would undertake atypical activities – using a compromised account to access completely different parts of the network or seeking to extract large volumes or different types of data than is typical for that person .
Organisations run on people , and people by very nature are curious , prone to making snap decisions and often led by their emotions .
For this reason , it is essential that you develop a social engineering toolkit to help tighten your security against attacks that prey on human vulnerabilities .
If firms are able to take a human-centric approach , thinking differently about security and starting with an understanding of human behaviours and cadences , they can ensure their most valuable data is surrounded by the right behaviours that enable them to protect against breaches now , and in the future .
30 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com