Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field that cannot be set up once and forgotten. As data and applications move to the cloud, businesses can enjoy several benefits, but many struggle to protect their networks from ever-evolving cyber threats. Ransomware attackers have recognized the value of targeting smaller organizations and have tailored their attacks to exploit businesses they believe will pay immediately, often backed by cyber insurance, rather than investing in defensive measures.
Tight security of data and resources is critical to ensuring that business operations run smoothly and are not disrupted to the point of closure. But how can small and medium businesses with limited budgets achieve comprehensive security management and threat intelligence? The solution lies in forming partnerships and alliances.
Implementing shared threat intelligence within an alliance of cybersecurity experts provides a stronger security approach. Vendors can now deliver integrated security through strategic cybersecurity collaboration, shared telemetry and threat intelligence. The combined resources are more effective than individual offerings, enabling the development of a more advanced security ecosystem needed to combat modern cyber threats.
Customize existing solutions with shared telemetry
Collecting and analyzing data across different parts of the technology stack provides valuable insights for defending and optimizing your company’s IT infrastructure. Rather than operating in siled environments, it’s important to treat your security stack as a constantly evolving ecosystem. Simply layering one solution on top of another in your existing infrastructure is not enough. Each integration works together with other elements, identifying weaknesses and targeting them to address evolving security challenges.
Shared telemetry and threat intelligence collect information about the individual IT components working together as one complete infrastructure, allowing for more thorough data monitoring and analysis. Operators can suddenly see the bigger picture more easily. This is not limited to major security platforms, but becomes possible thanks to existing vendors offering public API integrations. Mimecast reported that there are now more than 200 API integrations available as part of their ongoing security ecosystem, providing even more insight than their already powerful Microsoft partnerships.
Access to expertise and collaborative threat intelligence
Automated security technology is not enough to meet modern challenges; Having expert eyes on your cybersecurity 24/7/365 is necessary and gives businesses the peace of mind that their network is being closely monitored. However, due to the growing cybersecurity talent shortage, millions of companies are now choosing from a much more competitive IT talent pool for roles critical to securing their operations. Limited resources and budgets mean that smaller companies are more likely to miss out on high-quality professionals.
Cybersecurity leaders have access to top talent and resources to secure their operations. Smaller businesses can trust their cybersecurity provider to improve their cybersecurity profile. Cybersecurity information sharing partnerships go even further by uniting experts from all allied partners. This allows all companies to use high-quality cybersecurity for a collaborative approach to threat intelligence.
MSPs, as prime targets for cyber attacks, have realized that having expert security partnerships provides better protection against sophisticated attacks. This enhanced security trickles down as part of the services they offer to their customers. Businesses can rest assured that they have access to a security expert who can meet their specific security needs, rather than needing an in-house IT security professional with advanced expertise in all security technologies. The importance of this specialized knowledge cannot be overstated.
Keep your cloud backups up to date to avoid interruptions
IT security company Sophos reported that 94% of ransomware victims in 2023 had cybercriminals targeting their cloud backups, with 57% of these backup compromise attempts successful. Ransomware and payment demands were also found to double when successfully compromised, meaning ongoing preventative cybersecurity strategies are no longer as simple as relying on just a single cloud backup solution.
Using immutable cloud backups should be a core focus for every company’s security strategy in 2024. By relying on the integrations of high-profile and industry-respected allied partners, such as Sophos and Veeam, or more recently Veeam and Microsoft, companies gain the greater peace of mind that multiple indicators within your business keep your data safe.
Because these are allied technology partners, you don’t have to worry about migrating from one system to another. Unified management of all solutions ensures they work together effectively, delivering greater return on investment from the start. This eliminates concerns about leaving the door open for attacks, as more security tools typically require more management.
Don’t worry about safety: concentrate on your customers
At first it may seem difficult to understand which solution is best for your business. However, this is where your MSP can step in to provide guidance. By tailoring their offerings to your specific needs, you can ensure you don’t purchase services you don’t need. You can also rest assured that the heavy lifting of security is in the hands of the right experts: experts who share their security knowledge for a collaborative approach to threat intelligence.
With the combined power of allied resources and support, business owners have the advantage in the ongoing battle against cybersecurity threats. By entrusting security to a trusted entity, they can focus on their core business, spending fewer hours on security and more time on strategies to help their business grow.
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