If you’ve been following cryptocurrencies and blockchain, you’ve heard about distributed ledger technology (DLT). Although the idea of distributed computing isn’t entirely new, the execution of distributed ledgers is one of the most ingenious inventions of our time.

The post Distributed Ledger Technology: A Comprehensive Overview appeared first on Tech Research Online.

But First, Let’s Define Cyber Resilience

What’s a Cyber Resilience Plan?

10 Cyber Resilience Strategies for Your Organizations

1. Craft a Cyber Resilience Framework

2. Implement Controls in Data Access and Management

3. Prioritize Cybersecurity Education/Training

4. Execute Patch Management Procedures

5. Gather Cyber Threat Intelligence

6. Use Secure Backup Solutions

7. Run Cyber Attack Simulations

8. Monitor Cyber Threats Regularly

9. Have an Incident Response Plan

10. Assess Systems for Vulnerabilities

Conclusion

The post Build Cyber Resilience Strategies for your Organization appeared first on Tech Research Online.

• IoT security is an important issue that requires a proactive approach to protect connected devices from hackers.
• There are many ways to better arm yourself against hackers and they include: using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, keeping devices and software up to date, and many more.
• Education is essential to understanding the risks of cyber-attacks and taking proactive steps to protect yourself.
• Simple habits like using strong passwords and keeping devices up to date can go a long way toward protecting your devices from hackers

The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand and become an increasingly integral part of our daily lives. These days, It’s more important than ever to ensure that we practice well-implemented IoT Security. Hackers constantly find new ways to infiltrate and exploit IoT devices, putting sensitive information and personal privacy at risk.

Hence, there is a need to protect internet-connected devices from cyber-attacks and unauthorized access by implementing IoT security. These devices, also known as IoT devices, include smart thermostats, security cameras, and smart appliances.

In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide to IoT security, covering the most effective ways to protect your connected devices from possible threats. From understanding the common vulnerabilities of IoT devices to introducing strong passwords and transitioning to secure networks. We’ll cover key some IoT device security concepts and effective IoT security solutions.

What is IoT Security and What are The Threats It Protects Us from?

IoT security refers to the measures taken to protect internet-connected devices from cyber-attacks and unauthorized access. These include smart thermostats, security cameras, and smart appliances. These devices, which make up the Internet of Things (IoT), are susceptible to a large range of cyber threats such as malware attacks.

Many of these devices tend to cut corners to reduce costs, which leads to potential vulnerabilities. Naturally, this implies that the manufacturers of these devices have not taken enough steps to protect against IoT threats. As a result, these devices can be easily hack and used to gain access to networks and personal information.

In addition to traditional cyber threats, IoT devices also pose a physical security risk. Hackers can break into connected security cameras and use them to monitor unauthorized areas. Similarly, a smart lock could be hacked and used to gain unauthorized access to a building.

The risks of IoT security extend beyond individual devices and can also impact entire networks. For example, someone could intrude into a network of connected devices as a platform for a coordinated attack. This can cause widespread disruptions, outages, and serious damage to infrastructure.

(Source: Check Point)

What Are The 5 Ways To Protect Your Connected Devices From Hackers?

There are many different ways to add an extra layer of security against hackers for your IoT devices. Each way varies in effectiveness and cost. However, we have compiled the 5 that are most convenient to implement and boost your IoT security with actionable steps:

1. Avoid weak passwords
2. Make use of Two-Factor Authentication (2-FA)
3. Ensure that you always have the latest software updates installed
4. Avoid using unfamiliar networks
5. Use firewalls and antivirus software

We will look at each of these IoT device security concepts and effective IoT security solutions in detail. See how IoT security can be implemented in your connected devices to protect yourself from any cyber-attacks.

1. Avoid weak passwords

To start, one of the most effective ways to start working towards a secure IoT ecosystem is to protect your connected devices from hackers. This can be through using strong, unique passwords for each of your accounts. As a general guide, these passwords should be at least 8 characters long and have a mix of special characters.

This goes without saying, but avoid using common words or phrases as your passwords. These include “password123” or “qwerty,” as these are obviously accessible to hackers and do not take long for them to decrypt. Instead, consider using a password manager as a means to upgrade your password security.

2. Make use of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

You can take actionable steps to protect your accounts by enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on all of your accounts. This buffers your IoT device security, by securing your devices across multiple platforms.

This increases your protection for your accounts against hackers, even if they are able to guess or steal your password. For example, let’s say that a hacker tries to log into your online banking account using your password. With 2FA enabled, the hacker would also need to have access to your phone or email in order to complete the login process.

In short, 2FA can provide an important layer of protection for your accounts. To enable 2FA, simply follow the instructions provided by your device or service, most of which are extremely user-friendly and easy to follow. Many popular websites and apps, such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter, offer 2FA as an option.

3. Ensure that you always have the latest software updates installed

One way to boost your IoT security is surprisingly simple and often overlooked. It’s essential to keep your connected devices up to date with the latest patches and updates. These updates usually include fixes for vulnerabilities and other security improvements, so installing them as soon as they are available is important.

For example, even in the home setting, let’s say that you own a smart thermostat that has a security vulnerability that allows hackers to gain access to your home network. If the manufacturer releases an update that fixes this vulnerability, it’s important to install the update as soon as possible to protect your device and your network.

To make this process easier, consider enabling automatic updates for your devices and software. This is a feature that is widely adopted by many products already. This way, you can be sure that your devices and software are always up-to-date and secure.

4. Avoid using unfamiliar networks

When using unfamiliar networks, such as public Wi-Fi hotspots, it’s important to be cautious and take steps to protect your data. Hackers can easily set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots that are designed to steal your personal information and login credentials. It is more common than you would think.

One way to safeguard your information while using public Wi-Fi is with a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Essentially, a VPN encrypts your internet connection, making it more difficult for hackers to intercept your data. Additionally, it is best practice to refrain from accessing sensitive information or conducting financial transactions on public networks.

For example, it’s probably not a good idea to log into your online banking account or enter your credit card information while connected to a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Unless you really have to process sensitive information on a foreign network, consider using a personal hotspot or a secure, private network whenever possible.

5. Use firewalls and antivirus software

Firewalls and antivirus software are essential tools for protecting your devices and networks from cyber threats.

A firewall is a piece of software that you have most probably seen before on your devices. It is a system that regulates the flow of network traffic based on predefined security protocols. It can also assist in blocking unapproved access to your network and can be an effective way of preventing unauthorized individuals, such as hackers, from accessing your devices.

Antivirus software, on the other hand, is designed to detect and remove malware and other malicious software from your devices. As a widely used software, its popularity has dropped in recent times. However, this can help to safeguard your devices from attacks so it is still highly recommended to have one for your device ecosystem.

To ensure that your devices are protected, it’s important to install and enable both of these programs and keep them up to date. Many operating systems, such as Windows and macOS, include built-in firewalls and antivirus software. You may already have these tools installed on your devices. If not, there are many excellent third-party options available. Just be sure to do your research and choose a reputable program.

How To Better Arm Yourself Against Hackers

A great way to boost your IoT devices’ security from hackers is to educate yourself about the risks and take proactive steps to arm yourself against them. Here are a few ways to get started.

Firstly, a great way to get started is to stay informed about the latest threats and vulnerabilities. This will help you better understand the risks you face and the steps to protect yourself. Consider following security-focused blogs and news outlets, or subscribing to newsletters that cover the latest developments in the field.

Secondly, if you are serious about boosting your security knowledge and skills, consider taking a course or earning a certification in cybersecurity or IoT security. There are many online and in-person options available and we would recommend reading some reviews to see which best suits your needs. This can be a great way to learn from experts and gain hands-on experience with real-world scenarios.

Finally, consider joining online communities or forums where you can connect with others who are interested in IoT security. These groups can provide a wealth of knowledge and support as you learn more about how to protect your devices.

By educating yourself and taking proactive steps to arm yourself against hackers, you will be able to easily identify cyber threats and know the right courses of action to take against them.

Wrapping Up and Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s clear that IoT security is an important and complex issue that requires a proactive approach to protect your devices and data from cyber threats.

Whether you’re a home user or a business owner, there are many steps you can take to better arm yourself against hackers, including using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and keeping your devices and software up to date.

Furthermore, by educating yourself about the risks and taking proactive steps to protect yourself, you can help to keep your devices and networks safe and secure.

Don’t let hackers get the upper hand – take control of your security today and safeguard your connected devices for the future.

The post A Guide to IoT Security: Protecting Your Connected Devices from Hackers appeared first on Tech Research Online.

‘Hey Google, give me 5 points that prove the importance of robotics & artificial intelligence in the future world!’

Today artificial intelligence and robotics have been such a mundane part of our lives that we appreciate these genius innovations less.

Forget centuries, not even a decade ago humankind would have imagined that a small machine right beside their television can answer all their worldly questions!

Did your Google Assistant suggest this article in return to the question you asked them? Well, that’s understandable as in this article we will be elaborating why AI and robotics are important for tomorrow’s world and how artificial intelligence could be used in the future world.

Pointers That Prove The Importance of Robotics & Artificial Intelligence In The Future World

Concepts like robotics seem like something from science fiction but with AI evolving rapidly, a completely digitally assisted world has already made its arrival.

Artificial intelligence has also established the foundation of computer learning and took the invention of that device to another level.

1. Robots And Artificial Intelligence Never Get Tired

Other than the most obvious pointer of them easing our job, it has also been estimated that new forms of jobs will be coming to play solely for artificial intelligence. Because they will never get tired it will be easier for them to do most of the monotonous work.

Companies will be assigned most of the repetitive workload like testing software to them. They will not have unnecessary conflicts and neither will they require personal recreational time.

2. Adaptability To Help HumanKind

This is one of the most effective reasons among the 5 points that prove the importance of robotics & artificial intelligence in the future world.

AI has a sturdy build which allows them to adapt to any situation. On top of that, they have a very spontaneous thinking capacity and can come up with correct solutions most of the time.

AI can further help people to navigate their way through transportation [which it is already doing] and it is also venturing into autonomous driving.

Robotics on the other hand will be used for physical assistance for human beings starting with the differently-abled kind. They will be known as service robots.

This will also allow data to be adapted to different devices and make them smart. Talking of different devices, do you know Bluestacks can allow you to operate android on your laptop.

Want to know whether bluestacks is safe? Or maybe the best laptops in town?

Wait, let me ask Siri this time!

3. Education Through AI

How many times have we complained about AI one teacher not being enough for a classroom full of 50 students? Lucky for us because the day isn’t far when individual concentration will be given to each and every child through AI-generated robots in classrooms.

Limitless data can be transferred into AI and there will be no such queries of the students’ that it cannot answer. Therefore, implementing AI in the educational field is much needed.

4. AI To Eradicate Crime

With the newfound technological innovations through AI and robotics, tech gurus are estimating a crime rate reduction with its implementation.

These things have often only been shown in movies but it is not part of fiction anymore. At least not for long.

That’s why it has found its place among the 5 points that prove the importance of robotics & artificial intelligence in the future world

AI processed CCTV and drones are the future for the crime management departments. With its precision, the tricks through which it will get to the criminal will be incomprehensible for them.

Statistics have also shown that among the 50 largest nations almost 30 police stations have already utilized the method of prediction software. This AI predicts the nearest palace of crime. Kind of like a weather forecast.

5. AI For Cyber Security

It is ironic to think that the phenomenon that can cause a breach in cyber security can also be a cure for the same. Cyber security has reached its height with the advancing of AI, especially during the pandemic.

I am not just talking about debilitating issues like digital data robbery or breach of privacy but also heavy malware attacks that possess the quality of erasing your device in seconds.

With the new AI and robotics innovations, tech masters are finding new ways to recognize these beforehand and halt the attack.

AI is already assisting in combating terrorism with highly effective tools like speech recognition or facial recognition tools that are helping to find missing people.

No, The Robots Won’t Start Ruling The World!

When we think about why many people are opposed to the idea of artificial intelligence and robotics, the thought of giant robots dictating humankind comes to our mind.

Although it does sound like an excellent movie plot, I would like to tell you that these AI-generated machines are not left alone to work on their own. They are always monitored. So, I think you are not the only one scared of robotic domination.

Facebook itself immediately stopped two AI programs after the robots created started talking to each other in a language unknown to mankind.

Hence, to conclude, AI and robotics are important for the future world but at the same time, we have to remember that they cannot be created without the genius of a human mind.

Author Bio

Alisha Jones is an online entrepreneur by profession and a passionate blogger by heart. She is on a mission to help digital businesses grow online. She shares her journey, insights, and experiences at Online Health Media  & Follows The Fashion & Wp Blogger Tips. If you are an entrepreneur, digital marketing professional, or simply an info-holic, then this blog is for you.

The post 5 Points That Prove The Importance of Robotics & Artificial Intelligence In The Future World appeared first on Tech Research Online.

We saw a new wave of digitalization taking root due to the global pandemic. This accelerated digitalization and businesses have to shift their work online.   

As we step into 2021, businesses are looking for new cybersecurity trends to strengthen their vulnerable IT infrastructure. Hence, cybersecurity is probably one of the hottest topics in the business landscape.  

Why are Businesses Giving so much Importance to Cybersecurity?  

Businesses are starting to take cybersecurity seriously because of the ever-rising case of data leaks and other threats. To understand the reason better, let’s look at the numbers:   

• In the first half of 2020, data breaches exposed 36 billion records. (RiskBased)  
• 86% of breaches were financially motivated and 10% were motivated by espionage. (Verizon)  
• 45% of breaches featured hacking, 22% involved phishing, and 17% involved malware. (Verizon)  
• There have been 11,762 recorded breaches between January 1, 2005, and May 31, 2020. (ID Theft Resource Center)  
• Security breaches have increased by 11% since 2018 and 67% since 2014. (Accenture)  

For companies, such kinds of attacks can drain them of time, money, and resources. The cost of attacks due to vulnerable infrastructure:  

• The average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million as of 2020. (IBM)  
• The average time to identify a breach in 2020 was 207 days. (IBM)  
• The average ransomware payment rose by 33% in 2020 over 2019. (Fintech News)  

Meanwhile, the number of cyberattacks continues to grow every year making it a must to be aware of the emerging trends in cybersecurity trends.  

In this blog post, we have compiled a list of the top cybersecurity trends in 2021 that businesses need to avoid malicious activities. Keep reading for more:   

What are Cybersecurity Trends?  

• Phishing and Data Breaches  
• Cybersecurity skills gap  
• Cloud security issues  
• GDPR and CCPA   
• Automation and integration  
• Mobile devices  
• State-backed cyber attacks  
• IoT devices  
• AI and ML  
• Transport Infrastructure  
• 5G  
• Attacks from inside  
• Sandboxing  
• Cyber risk insurance  

1. Phishing and Data Breach  

In 2021, one of the top cybersecurity trends is protection from phishing attacks and this trend is here to stay. Today, phishing isn’t limited to emails anymore but SMS, social networking platforms, and phone calls are among the growing phishing channels.  

Cybercriminals are tricking victims into handing them different kinds of credentials (like login), personal data, and transferring money directly.  

It is better to check the installed SSL certificate on the browser. To do so, you need to check HTTPS and a secured padlock. There may be any reputed SSL certificate like a wildcard SSL certificate in case of a site runs on different subdomains. The same can be checked with other types of SSL certificates.

In 2021, cybercriminals have access to sophisticated tools that will automate the manual aspects of phishing.

Combining such tools with data scan programs from social media networks will enable phishers to send thousands of detailed phishing emails with customized content to each victim.   

Such a kind of attack will dramatically increase and the volume of phishing emails attackers can be sent at once. This will in turn improve their success rate.  

2. Cybersecurity Skills Gap  

In 2021, cybersecurity jobs will remain unfulfilled which means that there will be a gap of people for your cybersecurity.  

But as the demand for cybersecurity specialists will be exceeding supply, small security teams have to deal with the rising number of threats every day.  

One of the ways is too automated security solutions. However, as we cannot replace the cybersecurity experts completely tools can help resist recruitment issues.  

3. Cloud Security Issues  

Past few years, almost every business has shifted its infrastructure to the cloud. Plus, the pandemic has increased the importance cloud. During this time, cloud security has become another critical cybersecurity trend in the industry as the number of cloud-related threats is growing.  

Business enterprises are at risk of data breaches as they are connected with poorly secured data and unauthorized services.  

Besides, cloud service provides such as Google and Microsoft don’t make this situation easier. These companies don’t provide protected solutions which will protect you from attacks on your side. This will mean that phishing, human error, and synchronization errors are still a threat.  

4. GDPR and CCPA Spread   

For businesses present online, securing their personal data has become a top priority. Today, it is getting difficult to ignore data privacy concerns with the rising number of data breaches.  

To tackle the matters, European Union has passed the General Data Protection Regulation act (known as GDPS) and the California government has passed California Consumer Privacy Act (known as CCPA).  

Here are some rules from these acts:  

• Individuals must know and consent to the organizations storing and using their personal data.  
• Robust data encryption is a must.  
• Individuals should have an option to forbid sharing their personal data.  
• Companies have to inform their users about data breaches within a set period.  

 In 2020, we should expect more acts like those as governments are trying to push organizations and establish some cybersecurity rules. Even with the looming threat, some companies are taking their security seriously while others continue to ignore them.   

On other hand, similar acts can emphasize the creation of encryption backdoors and allows governments to access encrypted data for dispensing justice.   

5. Automation and Integration  

Tech security specialists, professionals, and developers constantly work under pressure to complete tasks in less time. Automation and integration are great ways to save time, reduce workload, and raise overall productivity.  

Organizations that follow DevOps and CI/CD processes reach risk management at the required development, quality, and speed.   

6. Mobile Devices Risk  

We are living in a socially connected village, but global connectivity brings the problems of cybersecurity. For instance, there was a rise in banking and other malware.

This means only one thing that it the data we are using for payments is more vulnerable than ever.   

Cybercriminals are making even better and stronger attempts to get using SMS, email, social media posts, and other methods to get banking credentials.  

7. State-Backed Cyber Attacks  

Politics have come in the middle of the cybersecurity landscape because some countries are unofficially supporting cybercriminals.

They are especially helping them execute stealing sensitive governmental data, DDoS attacks, spreading misinformation, and doing things that potentially threaten national security.  

Meanwhile, political interference in cybersecurity has become another common problem. This is because many cybercriminals are launching disinformation campaigns that can affect public opinion before elections or other political events.  

One way to tackle this problem is by taking this matter under the control of an enterprise and governments. Both entities should work together to build solutions that can detect vulnerabilities and eliminate them.  

8. IoT devises Risks  

Internet of Things has evolved to become a necessity today. However, this technology is more vulnerable than ever. F-Secure’s report says that the attack traffic has seen a three-times increase and raised to 2.9 billion events in the first quarter of 2019.   

Issues such as non-encrypted personal data, hardcoded passwords, wireless communication security issues, un-updated software, firmware from unverified sources, and others are actual threats connected with IoT devices. These devices are placed at home and public places, or in the enterprise.  

NAS servers and routers can be compromised so get access to sensitive data or use it as a focal point for future attacks. Meantime, devices used at homes can be used to steal personal data which benefits cybercriminals.  

Hence, IoT devices vulnerability solution is going to be one of the cybersecurity trends in 2021.  

9. AI and ML  

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are both good and bad guys these days. On one side, AI and ML are being used by enterprises to combat cybersecurity threats. On the other, they are letting fraudsters spread misinformation such as deepfake photos and videos.   

Besides, AI and ML are also helping them with malware development and preparation for cyberattacks. Deep learning algorithms can be used for detecting threats, face detection, processing natural language, and so on.  

We are curious to see where this cybersecurity trend will lead in the year 2021 and beyond.   

10. Transport Infrastructure  

Today, software and hardware are connected like never before. It is not just putting a risk on IoT devices we use in our everyday life but also the entire infrastructure around them.  

Although, with smart cars and cities we are getting closer to the dream they are also bringing a lot of vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. Hence, it is crucial to secure transport infrastructure for a better future.  

11. Fifth-Generation Network (5G)  

The deployment of the next-generation mobile internet (or 5G) is underway. This means that using our beloved IoT gadgets will become easier. But it will also make humanity more vulnerable to cyber threats and cybercriminals.  

5G network has a complex architecture that needs certain high-security measures. Many vendors aren’t complying with the security standards. Hence, unsecured spots can be detected by hackers and they can leverage it to compromise personal and enterprise data.  

12. Inside Attacks  

Verizon says that 34% of cyberattacks involved internal factors in 2019 which means that the employees might be involved in data leaks. This can be intentional or unintentional, but if it is unintentional that means we need to educate employees on cybersecurity.  

13. Software Bypassing Sandboxes  

Antiviruses and many other applications use sandbox technology to spot malware attacks. They allow different programs to “play” in their sandbox. This step separates them from one another and secures them from malware.  

However, as cyber attracts are become powerful, more and more sophisticated threats that can bypass sandboxing are popping up.   

For a simple solution, cyber specialists have come up with a range of technologies to protect businesses from attack. But, shortly, we will see this type of malware evolve and learn to bypass barriers. Hence, it is another important emerging trend in cybersecurity.  

14. Cyber Risk Insurance  

Similar to any other type of insurance, businesses need to have a cyber insurance policy. It is aimed at helping companies mitigate risks from cyberattacks connected with money losses.  

 A report by PWS says that some U.S. companies already have some type of cyber risk insurance.  

Conclusion:  

In this blog post, we have covered the top 14 Cybersecurity Trends and Predictions for 2021. We have tried to cover the main points; have we missed any?   

In case, we missed any do let us know in the comments below.  

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Top 14 Trends in Cybersecurity to Look Out for 2022 appeared first on Tech Research Online.

In the year 2020, we have seen many changes taking place all over the world with the pandemic. For instance, schools have shifted online, businesses are switching to remote work, events happening online, and so much more.    

But, along with this, we have seen a rise in cyberattacks and breaches. Here are some stats which will give you a clearer understanding of the threat we face today:    

• Damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. (Cybersecurity Ventures)    
• Worldwide spending on cybersecurity is going to reach $133.7 billion in 2022. (Gartner)   
• 68% of business leaders feel their cybersecurity risks are increasing. (Accenture)   
• Data breaches exposed 4.1 billion records in the first half of 2019. (RiskBased)   
• The average cost of a data breach is $3.92 million as of 2019. (Security Intelligence)   
• 71% of breaches were financially motivated and 25% were motivated by espionage. (Verizon)   
• Security breaches have increased by 11% since 2018 and 67% since 2014. (Ponemon Institute)   
• Hackers attack every 39 seconds, on average 2,244 times a day. (University of Maryland)   
• 43% of breach victims were small and medium businesses. (Verizon)   
• 15% of breaches involved Healthcare organizations, 10% in the financial industry, and 16% in the Public Sector. (Verizon)   

With the rising risk, companies should be wary of the threats they face. To prepare themselves for such mishaps they should follow life-saving cyber hygiene practices.   

This is especially important for organizations that are involved in remote work because they need to secure remote work access.   

So, in this blog post, we going to introduce you step by step to the world of cybersecurity hygiene. Then we will give you an overview of the precautions you should take to avoid an attack.   

What is Cybersecurity Hygiene?   

Cyber hygiene refers to the practices of computer users to maintain a health system by improving its online security.    

Cyber hygiene is crucial and should be regularly conducted to ward off common threats.   

The organization often adopts these practices as a part of the routine to ensure the safety of the information that could be stolen or corrupted.   

The European Union’s Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) says “cyber hygiene should be viewed in the same manner as personal hygiene and, once properly integrated into an organization will be simple daily routines, good behaviors, and occasional checkups to make sure the organization’s online health is in optimum condition.”   

What are the Benefits of Cyber Hygiene Practices?   

Maintenance and security are the two distinct benefits of having a routine cyber hygiene procedure in place for your computers and other software.   

Maintenance:

It is important for computers and other software as it helps them run at peak efficiency. Every year, files become fragmented and programs become outdated which in turn increasing the risk of vulnerabilities. Maintenance usually spots such issues early and prevents serious damage. Well-maintained is less likely to be vulnerable.   

Security:

It is perhaps the primary reason to incorporate a cyber hygiene routine. While we cannot predict threats, we can still prepare and prevent them    

What are the Cyber Hygiene Practices for Secure Remote Work?   

Real-time Inventory:   

For many organizations, maintaining an up-to-date real-time inventory system is very crucial. The reason behind this is that the devices in an enterprise changes constantly, physical machines migrating to virtual, and IT constantly installing and updating software. Here, inaccurate inventory will make managing compliance and cyber-risk as you will not be able to improve what you can’t measure. Hence, it is important to maintain a real-time accurate inventory.   

VPN Accessibility:   

There is an organization with large remote workforces that also have a robust VPN solution. It is crucial for employees who are constantly accessing your private resources. However, for organizations will no infrastructure for work from home, mobilizing to VPN can be hard.    

Hence, such an organization should prioritize access for your senior staff since if their assets are compromised, it will have a much greater impact. Once you’ve done this for all the senior staff ensure visibility into all VPN connections.   

Comprehensive Visibility:

A handful of vulnerable systems usually start a breach on the extended perimeter. This might happen because of phishing, weak password, or unpatched vulnerability. Extended your perimeter as it’s more vulnerable with remote work on the rise.   

Monitor Password Strength:

In the cases of weak, default, and reused passwords are often stored and/or transferred in the clear. But companies should focus more on monitoring the strength of the password and avoid reusing it.    

Endpoint Protection:

As we have discussed earlier, the number of malicious websites and phishing scams is skyrocketing. Which makes it all the more important to avoid your employees falling victim to these scams.   

Organizations can do this by rolling out strong controls for endpoint protection. However, if you have already implemented endpoint protection, you should make sure to validate that endpoint visibility.   

Patching for Business-Critical Assets:

In most organizations, when a high severity vulnerability is being addressed, all assets are treated equally. But, in the case of new vulnerabilities, business-critical must be addressed first. For instance, patching the CFO’s laptop is more crucial than patching the laptop of any other employee.   

Implement Training Measures:

Organizations will have an easy time predicting breaches if they monitor web traffic and hygiene among users. Because once identified, users can be given appropriate high-risk training or tighter endpoint controls.   

Owners of risk should also be identified and educated on correct security measures.   

Multi-Factor Authentication:   

Identifying a user who is trying to access enterprise resources robustly is important. For this, it is crucial to establish a strong user identity. This can be done by establishing an enterprise Identity and Access Management (IAM) combined with a password manager.    

This will provide you with robust multi-factor authentication and policy control and enable good password hygiene.    

Strong Device and Application Identity:   

Strong device identity can be established with the help of client-side certificates and strong application identity.    

Track Assets that Would Impact Breaches:   

It is extremely important to maintain the visibility of these assets by building on them. This will allow you to correctly track them so that you are aware of vulnerabilities affecting these assets when they arise.   

Conclusion:   

In this blog post, we have covered life-saving cyber hygiene practices to make your remote work secure in 2021.  Try them out and do let us what helped you the most. you can also read our blog Top 10 Cyber Security Tools To Look Out For In 2022  

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Cyber Hygiene Practices for Secure Remote Work Access 2021    appeared first on Tech Research Online.

In this blog, I will show you how pandemic increases cybersecurity concerns around the world.  

Without doubting, COVID-19 changed everything that we do, and mainly it affects online businesses around the world.  

Many companies shifted from on-site to remote work, which pushed hackers to target remote networks. Since work from home took place; therefore, cybercriminals started throwing the latest malware and viruses to disrupt home networks.  

Home networks are way less secured than office networks, and therefore, various cyber-attacks occurred during the pandemic.  

Organizational networks are robust because they use proper cybersecurity tools to defend the system. Whereas, home networks are an easy target for cybercriminals because they lack security; hence, cybercriminals can easily steal confidential business data from home networks.  

How hackers captured crucial data during work from home?

As I mentioned earlier, home networks are unsecured, and therefore, hackers attempted to steal information by all means. Due to the frequent hacking approaches, the cybersecurity concerns during pandemic also increased to a new level. 

Since pandemic was an unprecedented situation for the entire world, governments and countries across the world had no clue how to face it, and a confused environment created naturally.  

Hackers make the most out of this situation and create fake, spam websites related to the COVID-19 details.

Many users thought these websites are real and authentic, but in reality, these sites were malicious. Many websites asked users for details like name, number, and age.  Some websites contained malware; these sites captured data and also stolen sensitive user data.  

Not only that, hackers around the world used spam tricks to capture data. Here I am defining those approaches used by the hackers to gather information:

• Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks are an old but useful approach for hackers. In a phishing attack, a hacker impersonates as a legitimate authority and ask employees to share details. Employees got trapped and send out details, thinking that their official contact is asking for that. In this way, a hacker easily gets access to business and user data.

• Spread of Malware 

Besides increased phishing and malware attacks, the spread of malware was also a great concern during the pandemic. COVID-19 was the golden opportunity for hackers to spread as much malware as they want. Cybercriminals designed malicious links and presented those links as something important related to the COVID-19 stats.  Users around the world clicked those links to get the updates and ended up receiving malware.  

• Social Engineering

Social engineering is one of the most common spam tricks based on human interaction. In this trick, hackers come off as an authentic source and ask users to share personal information. Users believe hackers and share intended information.  

How Companies Stopped Hackers from Penetrating into Sensitive Network?  

Pandemic has raised cyberattacks much more than ever before. Online businesses were in trouble; therefore, companies had to take IT support to combat all the scams.  

First, a lot of businesses started to launch new work from policies to keep things under control. 

Employees had to follow those policies, including not clicking unknown links. Many organizations also restricted their network access only for limited IT professionals. Luckily, these new policies helped corporations to control cyberattacks to a certain extent.  

After introducing work from home policies, companies also follow further rules to stop hackers from infiltrating networks. Here are a few more protective measures are taken by the corporations: 

• Employee online learning  

Online learning has never been implemented to a great extent before a pandemic. However, the COVID-19 situation encouraged online learning a lot. Many companies started online sessions to teach their employees how to continue work from home safely. With the help of online sessions, companies taught their workers about the latest scams and how not to fall victim to that. In this way, employees better understood how to protect their devices and data by not clicking and checking unknown websites using the home network.

• Deployment of VPNs 

During the pandemic, companies instructed their employees to deploy VPN for home network security. VPNs are great for encrypting traffic, and due to its strong encryption, no hacker can intervene in online traffic. It means that all your data remains safe while traveling online. Moreover, many workers installed VPN in routers to get network-wide protection. You can use a VPN router to keep all IoT devices under VPN protection.

The best thing about VPN technology is its encryption. The encryption encodes online data. If your data happens to get intercepted, the information remains unreadable without the decryption code. Hence, VPN also played a significant role in securing data during the pandemic.  

• Access Control  

As I mentioned earlier, access control was one of the most significant measures adopted by most companies. Companies locked their network access for everyone, even for their own employees. Only a few IT individuals were allowed to access it. This approach dropped cyberattacks drastically and stopped hackers from accessing networks and throwing viruses into that.  

• Installing Antivirus Software  

This pandemic, cyberattacks have been continuously increased, which pushed businesses to install the most updated antivirus software.  

Antivirus software helps companies understand upcoming threats so IT managers can take better preventives to combat forecasted threats.  

Moreover, antivirus programs are great to protect your system from viruses and malware. It also notifies you about all the incoming viruses.  

Conclusion  

Shifting from physical to remote work was an unprecedented move. We never saw work from home on such a massive scale. However, it was a great learning opportunity for businesses around the world. On the other hand, work from home approach left various security holes for disruption. The good thing is that companies have realized the importance of cybersecurity.  Global businesses have seen massive security concerns that have been grown during COVID-19. Luckily, organizations used cybersecurity tools to curb security breaches better, but new technologies are still needed to keep the space safe and secure.  

Author Bio 

Sundas Noor is a technical writer who loves to cover online security insights and create reviews for users to buy VPN software and IoT devices. She’s contributed five years of experience in technical writing and sharing security how-to guides with readers worldwide. 

The post Cybersecurity Concerns Increases in This Pandemic appeared first on Tech Research Online.

These days, mobile phones have become vastly popular across the globe. In 2019, worldwide smartphone penetration was 65%, and it is predicted to reach approximately 80% by 2025. The reducing prices of these devices and technological advancements in the industry have made them highly affordable for people all over the globe.  

Smartphones are now able to perform almost all the functions that are performed by PCs;

Example: Offering access to emails, global positioning systems, and the internet.

Even though technology has made things incredibly easy for people, it has also paved the way for security breaches. 

Security measures, including software and firewall, are not frequently updated on mobile devices, which makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, the growing utilization of mobile devices has also given rise to mobile botnets that result in the loss of information and can also lead to the denial of services (DoS). In a recent interview with Economic Times, Saurabh Sharma, who is a senior security researcher at Kaspersky said, “We see smartphone users being targeted more due to mass consumption and increased digitalization.” 

Owing to this, the global cybersecurity market is predicted to generate revenue of $433.6 billion by 2030, increasing from $119.9 billion in 2019, at a 12.6% CAGR during the forecast period (2020–2030). 

What Is Cyber Security? 

Cybersecurity defends computers, mobile devices, networks, electronic systems, data, and servers from malicious attacks. Different types of cybersecurity solutions are meant for protecting all these solutions and devices. The major cybersecurity solutions are: 

• Data loss prevention 
• Antivirus 
• Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack management 
• Unified threat management 
• Intrusion detection system/intrusion prevention system 
• Encryption 
• Security and vulnerability management 
• Firewall 
• Identity and access management 
• Risk and compliance management 

Out of all these, the demand for identity and access management solutions has been the highest up till now, owing to the rising need for complete user access control in enterprises, protection of sensitive data, secured collaboration with external stakeholders, and automation of repetitive tasks. As per an article on the website of Norton, in 2017, 15 million people in the U.S. suffered financial losses due to identity thefts. The adoption of this solution further decreases IT expenditure. 

Other than these, a number of services are also offered by cybersecurity vendors, which include: 

• Professional 
• Managed 

The demand for professional services, specifically risk and threat management services, is projected to increase considerably in the coming years in organizations. Threat management services are being used for 24×7 security monitoring, proactively identifying the vulnerabilities in the system, analyzing the causes of cyber incidents, enhancing the threat response time, and reducing the operational complexities. 

Penetration of BYOD Policy Driving Need for Cyber Security 

The growing utilization of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy in companies is a key factor leading to the increasing requirement for cybersecurity solutions and services. It has been observed that BYOD enhances productivity and improves employee satisfaction. A lot of people are more comfortable working on their own devices, rather than the ones provided by companies. 

However, the adoption of this policy has also been posing various challenges for companies, in terms of data security. Personal devices do not have innovative security measures for mitigating the risks involved. Furthermore, IT departments are not always able to fully approve and evaluate each and every employee device, which further leads to a high-security threat to confidential data. Owing to this, companies are increasingly adopting cybersecurity solutions for protecting their data.  

Cyber Security also Helping Comply with Data Privacy Regulations 

Cybersecurity solutions are not just needed for protecting the data, but for meeting regulatory compliances as well. In order to provide an enhanced security ecosystem, governments of several countries have introduced various cyber laws, in addition to amending the existing laws. 

Such regulations make it mandatory for companies to invest in cybersecurity services and solutions so that they can avoid financial loss and ensure that individuals’ personal data is safeguarded. For example, in 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act was signed, which came into effect in January 2020. The act aims to offer consumers control over their personal information and strong data privacy rights. 

Despite High Usage of Cyber Security, Statistics still Ominous for North America 

Companies and individuals in North America have been deploying cybersecurity solutions the most significantly, which can be ascribed to the below-mentioned factors: 

• Swift implementation of data center services 
• Growing focus on using advanced data analytics tools 
• Presence of major cloud service providers 
• Shift to a multi-cloud environment 
• Adoption of electronic health records 
• Increasing utilization of mobile applications 

However, even after a strongly secured IT infrastructure with innovative cybersecurity solutions, the scenario is quite grim in the region. As per Norton, between 2015 and 2017, 38% of all cyberattacks were targeted on U.S. companies and individuals. Further, the country is expected to witness almost 50% of all data breaches by 2023, with 33 billion records predicted to be stolen. Moreover, IBM says that compared to the $3.86 million global average, every data breach costs the U.S. $8.64 million. This is why the U.S. government kept aside $15 billion in its 2019 budget as cybersecurity spending.  

In addition to this, the use of cybersecurity solutions and services is also projected to rise considerably in the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years. The rising traffic on websites, deployment of big data analytics in business operations, increasing adoption of cloud computing services, and expanding the e-commerce sector are driving the need for cybersecurity solutions in the region.  

Also Read: Top 10 Cyber Security Tools To Look Out For In 2021

As per Norton, following the U.S., India is second on the list of cybercriminals, witnessing 17% of the worldwide cyberattacks. Other APAC countries in Norton’s list of the top 10 countries by percentage of global targeted cyberattacks during 2025–2017 are Japan (11%), Taiwan (7%), South Korea (6%), Vietnam (4%), and Pakistan (3%). 

Thus, the adoption of cybersecurity solutions will continue to rise due to the surging number of cyber-attacks, the rising penetration of smartphones, the growing adoption of the BYOD policy, and the need for maintaining regulatory compliances for data privacy. 

Author’s Bio:  

Abhishek has around 5+ years of experience in market research and consulting services for ICT & Semiconductor domain. He holds varied experience in market sizing and forecasting with varied models, competition landscape, consumer behavior analysis, opportunity analysis, product/company benchmarking, data mining, and others. He has successfully delivered multiple projects on go-to-market strategies, pricing strategy, price point analysis, Business Expansion, market entry, and exit, share analysis, and others. Prior to joining P&S Intelligence, he worked with different research companies, including Grand View Research Inc., Phronesis Partners: Research & Consulting, and Genpact. Some of the projects delivered by him include DevOps, IoT, automation technologies, Natural language processing, data warehousing, and gamification.

The post BYOD Policy Helps, But Only with Cyber Security in Place appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Recent technological development has made cybersecurity something that every business needs to take seriously. Additionally, with ever-rising numbers of cyber-attacks, it has become crucial for businesses of all sizes. 

Today, everyone needs to be aware of the various dangers to keep themselves secure. There are several ways to protect the business from such attacks but choosing the one that best suits your business and can be used as a long term solution is best.

Your cybersecurity tool stack should include cybersecurity monitoring tools, cybersecurity analysis tools, cybersecurity detection tools, network defense or network security monitoring tools,cybersecurity software tools, network security audit tools and attack tools, and computer network defense tools.  

Let’s see some of the vital cybersecurity tools and services that every business should invest in to ensure the safety of their IT infrastructure from cybersecurity as strongly as possible.

List of Top 10 Cyber Security Tools to Look Out For in 2022

#1. Firewall

Today, cyber-criminals have become more sophisticated as their defenses have become stronger. This has made the firewall one of the most crucial cybersecurity tools, though a little obsolete. It blocks unauthorized access to your system and monitors network traffic. If there is any connection attempt it decides whether to pass it freely or not in your computer or network.

There still are limitations such as skilled hackers have learned to create data and programs that can trick firewalls as trusted devices programs. This will allow them to pass through it without any problems. However, they can detect less sophisticated malicious attacks on your business.

#2. Antivirus Software

If you run a business then having both a strong firewall and up-to-date antivirus software in place is crucial to keep your system secure. Antivirus software alerts the system in case of any virus and malware infections. 

Some cybersecurity software tools also provide services such as scanning emails to ensure that they are free from malicious web links or attachments. Some of the modern antivirus programs can also perform various protective measures that include quarantining and removing potential threats.

#3. PKI Services

PKI software service is often associated with SSL or TLS, encrypts server communications. It is responsible for the HTTPS and padlock in browser address bars. SSL is also extremely important for both security public sites and internal networks. 

It can solve numerous cyber-security pain points and can be used for enabling multi-factor authentication and access control, create compliantly and trusted digital signatures, encrypt email communications and authenticate the sender’s identity, digitally sign and protect code, and lastly, build identity and trust into IoT ecosystems.

#4. Network Security Monitoring Tools

Network security monitoring tools or cyber security monitoring tools can help businesses detect outside network threats. It can also be used to detect threats originating from inside the network. 

In an Intel Security Report, Grand Theft Data, they revealed that as much as 43% of all security breaches are caused by internal actors. Despite half of them being unintentional the loss of data and financial cost incurred to business due to an internal breach can be significant. This is because the perpetrator in such cases knows where to look.

Network security monitoring tools can prevent many insider thefts by analyzing historical data to identify unusual or suspicious file share access Then alerts can be set up to warn of specific network activity by both traffic analysis and IDS engine from on-premise or cloud networks. It is effective as it can help businesses prevent unintentional breaches for malicious purposes.

#5. Encryption Software

Encryption software powered cybersecurity tools enable encryption and decryption of data streams at rest or in transit so that it is secure and unviewable by unauthorized users. It encrypts data and files by working with more than one encryption algorithm to protect data from being viewed by unauthorized users.

A key is required to decrypt each data packet or file from its encrypted form. This key is generated by the cybersecurity software tools itself and shared between the data/file sender and receiver thus avoiding compromising original content. Businesses can use encryption for their important file encryption, email encryption, disk encryption, and network encryption.

Furthermore, encryption can also protect business for neutralizing hackers, protect external drives, secure internal hard drives, make cloud storage safer, hide internet traffic, protect email, lock lost devices, neutralize employee mistakes by safeguarding file transfers, and much more.

#6. Web Vulnerability Scanning tools

Web vulnerability scanning cybersecurity tools are automated security programs that can detect vulnerabilities within web applications by crawling the entire website, analyzing in-depth each file, and displaying website structure. It performs an automatic audit for security vulnerabilities by launching a series of web attacks and can be used for the webserver, proxy server, web application server, and other web services.

It can help businesses by reducing the costs of compliance, fraud reduction, cost savings of manual processes detecting software flaws, user protection, breach notification costs, network security audit and attack, and many others.

#7. Network Defence Wireless Tools

Network defense wireless cybersecurity tools can add majorly in security as they are designed to protect the usability and integrity of data as well as the network. Effective network security manages access to the network through both hardware and software technologies. It detects a variety of threats and stops them from entering a business network. 

The digitalization of business means that services to the customers and employees must be protected in its network. A network defense wireless tool helps businesses protect proprietary information from attacks.

#8. Packet Sniffers

The packet sniffer can prove to be a vital cybersecurity tool for business as it can help them to identify applications that generate unusual traffic, collect data for security analysis, highlight peaks and valleys in the demand of the network, and debug application traffic. It is an excellent cybersecurity software for diagnosing network problems and debugging Internet applications since it can significantly simplify troubleshooting weird situations with the network.

#9. Managed Detection Services

Managed detection services analyze and proactively detect, remediate, and eventually eliminate cyber threats. Its analysts shift through alerts to determine if any action is required and offer immediate support in resolving the issue. 

They also determine the source to stop them from occurring again by taking a proactive approach to threat detection to help businesses determine the overall state of their cyber-security measures.

#10. Penetration Testing

Penetration testing helps find weaknesses in the business network before attackers by breaking into the networks by using the tools of cybersecurity and techniques available to malicious hackers. The test offers an ability to safely test the system’s resistance to external hacking attempts by modeling the actions of a potential intruder and exploiting vulnerabilities. This can be caused by code mistakes, insecure settings, software bugs, service configuration errors, and operational weaknesses.

The test and hacking occur in a safe and controlled manner and simulates a real attack scenario. Taking the test will help businesses save remediation costs and reduce network downtime, develop efficient security measures, and enable compliance with security regulations.

Conclusion:

In the digital age, every business and individual needs the right cybersecurity tools to protect themselves against cyberattacks. But, as the cyber attacks rise and take different forms, hence, it is all the more important to have protection against all of them.

There are a few simple tools available in the market which can help you covers most of the aspects of cybersecurity. Some of them include cybersecurity monitoring tools, network security audit tools and attack tools, analysis tools, and cybersecurity detection tools. the variety of tools will help you keep your business secure from different types if cyber attacks.

These tools will give you protection for your personal information, mitigate the costs of data breaches, and stolen hardware. Other benefits of these tools include greater privacy and tighter security.  

Cybersecurity tools are essential for preventing cybersecurity threats and protecting data and systems. They provide real-time threat detection, offer protective measures like firewalls and antivirus software, aid in vulnerability management, and support incident response and recovery efforts.

In this blog post, we have shared the top 10 cybersecurity tools for you businesses. These must have cybersecurity tools will help you secure your IT infrastructure and avoid cyberattacks.

Lastly, these cybersecurity softwares requires maintenance and upgradation to constantly have top notch security.

Author Bio:

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