How digital transformation can mitigate cybersecurity concerns

As a result of continued business interruptions, rising incident response costs and incoming cyber threats from around the world, companies are quickly adapting and constantly looking for ways to digitally transform their business. Progression in technology is important for businesses in order to remain competitive in their industries but companies should also be aware of transformations to ensure they are mitigating security risk in the cyber realm.

As we know, the more information that’s digital, the more susceptible it is to cybersecurity issues or ransomware, but rather than fear what may happen if we progress toward the next steps of transformation, we must look at how digital technology can strengthen our security instead. 

Today, cybersecurity incidents are occurring right and left and are leaving no individual or business safe in their wake. A recent study found that over half of personal IT workers lost data at least once in the past year. While it’s apparent how crucial online security is for individuals, it’s even more important for small businesses and managed service providers (MSPs) to obtain a cyber insurance policy. Why? Just as health insurance cannot keep you from catching a cold, cyber insurance cannot prevent an attack from occurring, however, it can help mitigate losses from data destruction and theft, extortion demands, crisis management activity, and legal claims for defamation, fraud, and privacy violations, legal defense, and more. 

We know cyber criminals are looking for opportunities to breach businesses and MSPs, so by adopting cyber insurance, you can take a critical step in ensuring the road to recovery after a data breach will not be as grueling as it would be without. 

Digital technology to mitigate risk
While cyber insurance doesn’t prevent an actual cybersecurity incident from occurring, there are other steps that both individuals and businesses can take to secure themselves. One way that digital transformation is supporting cybersecurity is with the use of enterprise password management (EPM) software. This is one step that a business or MSP can take to lower their cyber insurance policies, and also shows a cyber insurance company that they're taking necessary precautions to be responsible with their data. 

An EPM solution tracks password security across all MSP employees - features such as a built-in password generator, secure credential storage, and automatic credential filling help the businesses and MSPs use strong, unique passwords to protect both the systems and their clients. 

The benefits of adding layers to security 
Another way we have seen security transform digitally to mitigate cyber threats is through adding multiple layers of security. Multi-factor authentication (MFA), specifically a solution that incorporates biometric and contextual authentication, can significantly increase security in a way that is quick and easy for employees and adds additional layers of authentication to the login process that can help prevent hackers from holding your systems hostage in a ransomware attack. 

According to research from Microsoft, over 99.9% of the Microsoft accounts that are compromised every month don’t have MFA enabled. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t yet see the increasing value of requiring employees to utilize this extra step of security. In a recent survey LastPass conducted, it was found that only 48% of businesses required employees to use MFA. 

Digital transformation is indeed broad; however, businesses are shifting into a world where they're using data and analytics for everything. As individuals, businesses and MSPs continue to transform how they’re working with data in this new digital space, it’s important to ensure that we're also fortifying security systems to be one step ahead.