{"id":25219,"date":"2019-03-04T11:32:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T11:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=25219"},"modified":"2019-03-14T11:40:01","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T11:40:01","slug":"is-your-cyber-security-effective-four-key-ways-to-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/is-your-cyber-security-effective-four-key-ways-to-check\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your cyber security effective? Four key ways to check"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cyber security is an essential investment for your business, but it can be a struggle to know where to focus spending in order to achieve the most tangible improvements.<\/p>\n

As your business grows, so too does its attack surface. New systems and devices can create new security risks. \u00a0This fact, combined with the rising sophistication and persistence of hackers, can also mean that the controls you\u2019ve relied on to protect your business for so long are no longer reliable. The only way to understand and improve the effectiveness of your cyber security is test it regularly<\/p>\n

Here we consider four important ways to help assess your business\u2019 cyber security.<\/p>\n

1. Cyber Essentials <\/span><\/h4>\n

The first step to understanding the effectiveness of your business\u2019 cyber security is to perform an audit. One of the best ways to do this is through the government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme. Cyber Essentials is an annual assessment designed to help mitigate common security threats such as malware, social engineering and hacking.<\/p>\n

To achieve certification, businesses are assessed on core security controls such as access permissions, up-to-date virus protection, patch management and the secure configuration of systems and devices.<\/p>\n

There are a huge range of benefits for completing Cyber Essentials, and they go beyond a simple assessment. Achieving Cyber Essentials certification will help to demonstrate to clients and partners that your organisation take security seriously. Additionally, since 2014 business needs to be Cyber Essentials certified<\/span><\/a> in order to bid for government contracts.<\/p>\n

2. Vulnerability scan<\/span>ning<\/span><\/h4>\n

Regular vulnerability scanning using specialist software helps to identify core vulnerabilities in your network and systems so that they can be remediated before being exploited by cybercriminals.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability scans typically take just a few hours to perform and should be conducted on a regular basis, both inside and outside a network. Scans can be scheduled by individuals without minimal security expertise however assistance may be required to interpret the results and address any exposures identified.<\/p>\n

3. Penetration testing<\/span><\/h4>\n

Penetration testing differs from vulnerability scanning, in that assessments are human rather than software led. Penetration tests are conducted by skilled ethical hackers and can help to uncover and address hidden and complex vulnerabilities that software tools can miss. For example, a skilled pen tester is more likely to identify system and application specific flaws such as authentication and session management problems, as well as input validation errors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith threats constantly evolving, it\u2019s recommended that every organisation commissions penetration testing at least once a year, through any of the many different forms:<\/span><\/p>\n