SonicWall released its 2024 threat report recently and what really stands out is the discrepancy between response times for cybercriminals vs. businesses and organizations.
In making its assessment, SonicWall analyzed the reaction times to public exploit code information, a type of cyberthreat intelligence that assists experts in determining system weaknesses.
The company reported that 61% of the time bad actors jumped on public exploit codes in the first 48 hours of release while businesses and other related entities typically did not react for 120 to 150 days. In fact, cybercriminals responded in the first four days 75% of the time and in the first day nearly 18% of the time.
That’s a huge window for hackers to infiltrate a network and wreak havoc.
Additional findings showed that one out of three cyber insurance claims were the product of BEC or Business Email Compromise attacks. These are the attempts by hackers to get employees to click on fraudulent links or attachments, like invoices, in order to gain access to a network.
Other results of the study were that Internet of Things threats increased by 124%, and 85% of all alerts were associated with cloud accounts.
According to the report, cyberattacks on average cost businesses last year nearly $5 million, which includes not only the ransom payments but also the downtime and data recovery.
So, with that much on the line, what should a business do to protect itself?
The first step is to close the patching gap by utilizing automated management and scanning so hackers do not have a chance to pounce when public exploit codes are released.
The next step is to implement 24/7 threat monitoring. FTC can provide around-the-clock tools through its Security Operations Center, which recognizes attacks in real time and responds to prevent breaches from occurring.
The final steps are to educate employees on possible threats and tactics utilized by hackers and to implement a zero-trust policy when no users are granted access into a network by default.
These processes and protocols are FTC IT Solutions standards. The professionals there understand the importance of these steps and have the expertise to utilize them. Rather than hiring an IT department, businesses should consider turning to FTC IT Solutions to get the protection and support they need.
If you are one of these organizations, please call 888-218-5050 to get the conversation started.
