How to Identify & Reduce Your Digital Attack Surface?

Due to the increasing cases of cyber attacks, attack surface management is essential. A digital attack surface is the total number of entry points (in devices or networks). Professional cybercriminals often use them to break into the company’s IT system and cause mayhem. The more the attack surface, the more opportunities there are for cyberattacks. If you use too many devices, applications, services, etc, for everyday business operations, your organization may have a larger attack surface. 

So it is very important to understand cybersecurity vulnerabilities & take active steps to reduce the digital attack surface. It will help enhance the overall security of your company’s IT ecosystem against potential cyberattacks. Let’s understand cyber asset attack surface management in a proper sequence. 

Simply put, attack surface management is a steady and well-thought-out process towards digital security. Here, Internet-security experts monitor, identify, evaluate, and secure all potential entry points to a company’s digital ecosystem. These points may be internal or external. By ensuring its safety, a company can operate its daily business activities in a safe environment. It leads to rapid business growth, sales, a large database of customers or clients, etc. 

Companies often have many potential attack surfaces. It might include the following-

• Websites, apps, APIs, cloud services, Email services, cloud servers, etc.
• Desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. 
• Third-party services, such as supply chain integrations, SaaS platforms, & vendors. 
• Unauthorized apps and devices are used in the organization without the owner’s knowledge. 
• Human factors- social engineering risks, phishing targets, and employee credentials.

Invest in Premium Digital Infrastructure
Many business owners have a bad habit of using free operating systems, firewalls, virtual private networks, etc. It allows them to save a significant amount of money. But it may be very costly in case of successful cyberattacks. Always remember, free or low-priced IT systems have no effective security features. They might collapse during sophisticated cyber attacks. 

So, say farewell to old computers, laptops, operating systems, VPNs, etc. Invest in top-rated and premium digital infrastructure.  It comes with multiple security features. 

So, they will automatically enhance the overall protection layer around your company’s digital infrastructure. In case of a cyberattack, you will automatically get notifications. Immediately respond to such cyberthreats and eliminate them before the damage is done. 

Capture Digital Footprints With Cloud Technology
Every action in the digital business creates a huge amount of data. A business person or a responsible team can’t analyze it manually. But it is important to examine everyday business data. It will help you to track activities and eliminate the possibility of potential cybercrime.

So, take your business to a cloud platform. It will automatically capture all important data and analyze it for various parameters. If there are suspicious activities, we will notify you immediately. Take immediate action to eliminate cyberthreats. 

The good thing with cloud technology is that you can monitor all activities of your employees from any location. It will help you catch many insiders who might engage in data or money theft. 

Restrict Data Access
Modern businesses need accurate data to make informed decisions and maintain a competitive edge. That is why it is very important to protect the privacy of important business data. If it falls into the wrong hands due to a cyberattack, your organization might face many problems. It may include litigations, lost customers’ trust, reduced business opportunities, or a complete shutdown of the business, too. 

Determine the roles and responsibilities of all employees within your company. And, give them data access accordingly. Never let them have full access to all your data. It may lead to data breaches. 

Say No to BYOD Policies
Many companies, especially startups and small-scale organizations, have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy. They allow their employees to bring their devices to the workfloor for official work. While it allows them to reduce hardware costs, it may have negative consequences. 

Most personal IT devices (such as smartphones, laptops, or tablets etc) are unsecured. You can’t have control over them. So, the chances of data breaches increase dramatically. So, stop BYOD practices from day one. It will help you protect important business data & eliminate losses caused by employees. 

Conduct Cybersecurity Audits
It is always detrimental to fully trust employees, vendors, service providers, etc. They might be involved in unlawful business practices, causing harm to the company without any knowledge. So, conduct unexpected cybersecurity audits. Ask auditors to examine all computers, laptops, external or internal communications, file transfers, incoming or outgoing transactions, etc. 

It will help catch many cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Fix them faster to reduce the total number of attack surfaces. You can conduct audits with the help of internal auditors or Sky Recoup. With impartial digital security audits, our team may explore many cybersecurity vulnerabilities & provide immediate solutions. 

Eliminate Shadow IT Ecosystem
Shadow IT is all about the use of unauthorized hardware, software, applications, or cloud services in a company without the owner’s knowledge. Many employees use it to improve personal productivity. But they operate outside official security protocol. So, it is dangerous to any company. It creates blind spots that you can’t track. 

Therefore, eliminate it as soon as possible. Regularly inspect your computers, laptops, and mobile devices. Make sure no hidden or unauthorized app or service is being used by anyone in your company. It will enable you to protect sensitive data and minimize the digital attack surface.

Remember, cyber attacks occur more frequently. And, you can’t deny the importance of 24-hour monitoring and instant threat elimination. Even the best cybersecurity response strategies fail if online swindlers use advanced ways to launch digital attacks. Don’t ignore the threat posed by the hidden digital attack surface. Contact us at Sky Recoup for effective cyber asset attack surface management. Our team will uncover, evaluate, and eliminate potential vulnerabilities. If required, we use attack surface management tools to reduce the digital attack surface. It promises foolproof security for your digital business.

A higher number of digital attack points works as a fertile ground for successful cyberattacks. You may lose your entire business, data, revenues, customers, and reputation in just a single data breach. So, finding all digital attack surfaces and troubleshooting them is important. It ensures the safety of your digital business and minimizes losses. 

Use the above-mentioned practices to reduce digital attack surfaces effectively. Don’t forget to take Sky Recoup’s help in this regard. We are experts in cyber asset attack surface management. With continuous monitoring & proactive measures, we eliminate the digital attack surface immediately. It promises reliable protection to your online business & lays the foundation for speedy growth.