When it comes to cyberattacks, the biggest mistake is thinking, “it won’t happen to me.” The frequency of cybercrimes is rising at an unprecedented rate, with 66% of global companies having experienced cyberattacks in the last year. The attacks have become targeted, sophisticated, and multi-vector. In such a threat landscape, how can you be sure of your safety?
This blog will focus on the top three industries at risk of malicious cyberattacks. If you belong to these industries, you need to pay close attention. If you belong outside these industries, pay more immediate attention because your industry is also on some attacker’s list. There’s a lesson for us in how these industries have leveraged the power of managed security service providers (MSSPs).
The industries in focus are:
- Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)
- Retail
- Healthcare
Why are these industries most vulnerable to cyberattacks? And how do managed security service providers help? Read the Benefits of Managed Security Service Providers for Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) Sector to know the answer.
The BFSI sector deals in critical information and high-risk transactions day-in and day-out. Trust is crucial in the relationship between financial firms and their customers. Given the high volume of sensitive information, this sector faces a tremendous risk of cyberattacks. The black market for stolen data is very lucrative for hackers and cyber-criminals.
Data breaches have cost the financial sector companies $9.23 million on average, according to research by Ponemon Institute. Cybersecurity is the biggest challenge faced by this industry. Engaging third-party security vendors is the go-to strategy for a proactively secure network.
4 Benefits of MSSP for the BFSI Sector:
1. Keep up with a rapidly evolving threat landscape
There are newer, more sophisticated attack variants in the market every other day. Hackers are constantly updating their attack strategies. An MSSP has extensive experience and the technological capacity to predict threat evolution and put necessary safeguards in place. Your internal IT team may not have the same foresight. MSSPs are equipped to block ransomware, zero-day threats, file-less attacks, and advanced persistent threats.
2. Round-the-clock availability
While your IT team needs time off the clock, there is no off-time for attackers. MSSPs provide 24x7x365 monitoring of your entire network and all security technologies. For financial firms, the danger of data breaches never pauses. The constant vigilance provided by MSSPs ensures that your security infrastructure runs at the optimum level.
3. Compliance management
The banking and financial industry is heavily regulated. Strict data privacy regulations, such as the GDPR and the CCPA, are a core component of operations. MSSPs have the resources to conduct a full audit and eliminate the gaps and vulnerabilities in your IT system. MSSPs also implement new controls, optimize existing controls, and generate audit-ready compliance reports.
4. Endpoint Security Management
In keeping with today’s flexible work culture, financial firms cannot prevent their employees from working remotely. That means agents and bankers access sensitive data on their personal devices and over unsecured networks. MSSPs provide endpoint monitoring and threat detection to ensure that all endpoints operate at maximum security and don’t fall prey to breaches.
3 Benefits of MSSPs for the Healthcare Sector:
The healthcare sector has become increasingly digital in the aftermath of the pandemic. Remote healthcare has become a necessity these days. It has opened the door to faster and more accessible, more inclusive healthcare. But technological advancement comes with added risk. The healthcare sector has become prone to data breaches. The HIPAA Journal Healthcare Data Breach Statistics reports up to 5000 data breach attempts on average for healthcare institutes in 2021, and more than 3.5 million medical records were exposed to cyber-criminals.
Managed security services providers(MSSPs) assist the healthcare sector in mitigating cyber risks in the following ways:
1. Protecting patient data and maintaining compliance
Unfortunately, stolen healthcare data is a hot commodity in illegal black markets. The onus of protecting patient data falls on healthcare institutes, which regularly face a barrage of data breach attempts. Since they lack IT security capabilities, outsourcing security processes to MSSPs is the smartest option. MSSPs implement and maintain robust cybersecurity infrastructures and fix open vulnerabilities.
The healthcare industry must follow HIPAA guidelines for sensitive patient data protection. MSSPs ensure that your security processes are compliant with the rules for protecting medical records.
Suggested Reading: EDR vs SIEM: Which Threat Detection Tools You Need?
2. Establishing a secure connection between patients and healthcare professionals
Remote healthcare consulting has opened the door to advanced healthcare for many suburban and rural communities. MSSPs secure the digital connection between patients and remote doctors, giving both parties the peace of mind to communicate openly.
3. Data backup and disaster recovery
Data loss is a massive risk for the healthcare industry. Proper treatment depends on access to past medical records; losing those records can have life-and-death consequences. MSSPs provide flexible data backup and disaster recovery services for data, servers, and entire cloud infrastructure.
3 Benefits of MSSPs for the Retail Sector:
The retail industry has become highly prone to cyberattacks since the advent of e-commerce and online retail operations. E-commerce sites process vast customer data, including their personal information, browsing practices, and sensitive financial information. Naturally, that makes e-commerce businesses an attractive target for cybercriminals. Let’s see the significant ways in which MSSPs support businesses in the retail sector:
1. Protection of vital customer data
Busy shopping seasons are the optimum time for hackers to steal valuable payment data. Retailers are under pressure to maintain smooth operations, and cybersecurity has become a secondary concern. MSSPs provide immense support to retailers by protecting against malware and trojan attacks and monitoring the system for threat detection and instant response.
2. Prevention of DDoS attacks
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks overload websites with spam and numerous queries. The damage and loss in revenue can mean a huge financial and reputational loss for retailers. MSSPs use next-gen network perimeter protection technologies and configure security policies to prevent such attacks.
3. Detection of competitor spyware
Many competitors use malicious spyware or bots to gain information regarding inventory, customer databases, or business strategies. MSSPs conduct intensive behavior analysis and proactive detection to weed out such spyware and eliminate them from the system.
ACE Managed Security Services
If your industry is vulnerable to cybercrimes, your business needs specialized security management. ACE Managed Security Services provides industry-specific security. Our experts recognize the threat vectors unique to your business and customize security solutions that are tailor-made for you.
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