IT Solutions Blog | Technologent

3 Lessons to Take Away From a Data Breach

Written by Technologent | January 23, 2017

Whether it's your company that suffered a data breach or a Fortune 500 that made the news, there are always a few takeaways lurking in the unpleasantness of being hacked.

With Gemalto reporting an astounding 35 records being stolen or illegally viewed every second, it's increasingly difficult to avoid a cyberattack nowadays—lucky for you, we've laid out three of the bright sides:

1. Exposes flaws in system
Despite taking every precaution in existence, you really don't know your network's backdoors until an attack happens. Sure, no one wants to suffer a data breach, but it does allow you to shore up some loose ends.

Need help figuring out which exact endpoint the intruder snuck in? Solutions like QRadar offer unparalleled incidents forensics analysis, allowing the IT department to retrace the attacker's steps using a number of different tools, all while staying compliant.

A data breach can show you where your company's vulnerabilities are.

2. Realize need for network oversight
CIO.com reported the JP Morgan Chase data breach revealed one key insight about cybersecurity—the need for better gatekeepers. During the course of the average day it can be difficult to monitor abnormalities in network activity without the proper tools to do so. According to the news source, this was the ultimate downfall for the financial firm, as with the proper solution, IT professionals would've been able to quickly detect the intruder who stole administrative access.

Preemptive detection is vital in these kinds of attacks, which is why technologies like Network Protection XGS are becoming more popular by the hour. With the ability to distribute and monitor granular user access controls, IT departments have a much easier time ensuring the wrong person doesn't receive the right credentials to enter any part of the configuration he or she wants.

3. More education is required
When it comes down to it, many businesses just fail to give employees the knowledge they need to identify simple and preventable cyberattacks like phishing scams. This kind of education can range from training entry-level workers about the various dangers and how to make sure they don't fall victim, to vulnerability assessments of the entire enterprise infrastructure.

One thing is undoubtedly clear—organizations need to learn from their mistakes, and quickly. The new year is upon us, and companies should take it as an opportunity to revamp their protection against malware and even how they approach employee cybersecurity education. If everything is done right, there's a possibility you could avoid a potential data breach in 2017.