2. Endpoint security to secure all entry points into a network

At any given time, a business will have numerous endpoints that cyber criminals can exploit for entry into a network. Devices such as desktops and laptops in the office, mobile phones used by employees both in and out of the office maintain a connection to the internet and could be weak points in a network.

With the growth of wearables, connected devices and Internet of Things (IoT) in recent years, such endpoints are only going to increase in the future. This means it will only become more difficult for businesses to secure all such entry points that attackers could exploit for breaching the network.

To prevent attackers from exploiting such vulnerable points in the network, businesses can adopt specialised endpoint security solutions . These protect the devices from being breached by inspecting files, processes, and other malicious activity. Usually installed on the devices themselves, they also provide centralised management dashboards where administrators can check on devices that are connected to the network. 

3. Email security to protect against email-based attacks

Email continues to be a frequent target for cyber criminals, as most businesses still rely on this channel for communications. There are various types of cyberattacks that can be launched through email, including phishing, malware and Distributed Denial of Service.

These attacks generally work by tricking the recipient into taking an action – such as clicking a link which takes them to a page where they are asked to share sensitive data or downloads a malware which takes over the device. Once an employee's email is compromised, attackers can gain access to more sensitive data within a company.

Email security solutions employ a number of techniques to protect businesses against email-based attacks. These range from basic spam filtering to blocking emails from known bad IP addresses and using anti-malware to scan and neutralise malware attachments. Encryption is also an effective technique, where emails are secured and rendered unreadable by email servers, so that malicious actors are unable to intercept and decode the contents. 

4. Real-time intelligence on an organisation's cyberhealth

Even with all the cybersecurity solutions in place, you still need to be able to monitor the performance of these solutions, so that you can act quickly. Delays in being alerted to cyber threats can result in significant revenue disruption for small businesses. 

Monitoring your entire organisation's cyberhealth can help you be alerted to incidents on time so you can take immediate action. You don’t have to do it alone either – you can seek the help of managed security service providers with a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Singtel Security-as-a-Service is one such option where you get a single view of the threat landscape across your organisation in one dashboard. It is capable of monitoring the performance of firewall, endpoint and email security applications and responding in the event of a cyberattack.