Guide to Cyber Threat Mitigation

Cyber threats are everywhere, and anyone can fall victim to an attack. It only takes a small vulnerability and you could face irreparable damage and data loss. Attackers can target anything from your cloud infrastructure to applications and devices. Account takeover attacks are on the rise, with perpetrators finding surprising ways to gain access to an account. 

Preventing these attacks is  challenging, but not impossible. This article will guide you through the most important steps for cyber threat mitigation and the strategies you need to make sure you don’t fall victim to an attack.

Cyber threats can take many shapes and forms. From ransomware to malware and other threats, you can lose your account and data in just a few seconds. 

Account takeover is a type of fraud where an attacker will gain unauthorized access to an account. They can do this through various means, but the result typically involves accessing someone’s personal information and other sensitive data.

There’s no shortage of cyber threats, but there are four you’re likely to meet most often.

• Ransomware. This type of attack infects a person’s computer, locking their account or encrypting their files until they pay a ransom. It comes as malware that the person inadvertently installs on their computer from a corrupt source, by clicking a link or downloading an infected file.
• Phishing. In these attacks, the target receives a deceptive email or message or is taken to a fake website where they will need to provide sensitive data, such as usernames, passwords, or credit card information.
• Malware. A malicious software designed to harm devices and networks, the malware can steal data, disrupt operations, or provide attackers access to the infected devices.
• Insider threat. This type of threat comes from people within an organization, such as employees, partners, or contractors. It can take various forms, from stealing sensitive data to sabotaging systems and networks.

When successful, cyber threats can leave a lasting impact on a company. Financial losses are almost always a guarantee, whether you’re hit by ransomware, phishing, or another form of threat. You’ll need to spend money recovering your systems. Some data privacy regulations, like the EU’s GDPR, also include huge fines for companies who experience a data breach if they can’t prove they took appropriate measures to prevent it.

Experiencing a cyber attack will also come with reputational damage and operational disruption. Depending on the type of attack and how quickly you respond to it, you may also face a data breach, losing the personal information of your customers or employees.

Cyber threat mitigation means identifying, analyzing, and minimizing the likelihood of a cyber attack. It includes three main phases: prevention, detection, and remediation.

Prevention

They say it is better to prevent than to treat, and this is certainly true in cybersecurity. Prevention involves proactively blocking threats before they reach your system, avoiding the attack altogether.

Detection

Preventing an attack may not always be possible, but detecting it in a timely manner can stop it from being successful (or leaving behind methods to break back in). Detection focuses on identifying unusual activities or breaches and responding immediately, stopping the attack in its tracks.

Remediation

The final step of cyber threat mitigation is remediation, which involves responding to and resolving security incidents, minimizing their impact, and restoring normal operations.

Cyber threats may be on the rise, but that doesn’t mean they’re unavoidable. To mitigate them, you’ll need to follow a few simple strategies and best practices that will improve your company’s security.  

1. Conduct a Cyber Risk Assessment

The first step to mitigating any threats is conducting a risk assessment. Analyze your systems, networks, devices, and applications, and identify and assess the risks you find. Don’t overlook any vulnerabilities, no matter how small, as attackers will exploit them. 

2. Establish Network Access Controls

Now that you know the risks, you can focus on establishing access controls. These will mitigate risks from both internal and external sources, as everyone will have access strictly to what they need, not the entire system.

3. Develop Incident Response Plans

Any company needs a solid incident response plan to ensure that it can respond quickly and minimize losses in the event of an attack. This should include all the steps you take from the moment you detect a threat, such as containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident analysis.

4. Utilize Privileged Access Management (PAM)

Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions allow you to control and monitor privileged access in your organization. This includes admins, superusers, or service accounts with elevated permissions and access to sensitive data. 

5. Manage Systems and Configurations

Another critical step to mitigate cyber threats is reducing your attack surface, which includes any entry points such as firewalls, web applications, and updates. Maintain an inventory of all network devices and software, keeping a close eye on potential threats in these areas.

6. Leverage Modern Hardware Security

When thinking of cyber threats, many think of improving software security. Hardware security is equally important. Make use of modern hardware security features like UEFI Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to increase system integrity and minimize risks.

7. Implement Real-Time Monitoring

Constantly monitoring your traffic is another essential part of cyber threat mitigation. It helps you detect and respond to attacks in real-time before they can damage your systems. Solutions you can use include: 

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, which can analyze security-related data from various sources.
• Endpoint Detection Response (EDR) solutions, which focus on monitoring endpoints such as laptops, servers, or mobile devices.
• Threat intelligence feeds, which include streams of information about known and emerging cyber threats providing insights into attack techniques.

Cyber threat mitigation depends a lot on how solid your defense strategy is and what security measures you have in place. Here are a few tips to consider.

Access Control and Least Privilege

Access control helps prevent both internal and external threats. You’ll know exactly who has access to what and you’ll limit access to sensitive data. One key idea in this area is the principle of least privilege. 

This means, each user receives minimal access to company data and only to areas that are strictly necessary for them to perform their job. It strengthens company-wide cybersecurity and reduces the risks of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Network Segmentation

With network segmentation, you’re segregating critical parts of your systems. Usually, a company will place its most critical assets in a sub-network which will be kept separate from the less critical assets. This ensures that an attack will hit first the non-critical assets, giving you time to respond before the sub-network is affected. 

Patch Management

Updates and upgrades are a critical part of cybersecurity. In 2022, up to a third of cyber attacks were possible because of unpatched vulnerabilities. Outdated software poses incredible risks, but it’s easy to fix. Periodic updates will patch vulnerabilities and minimize the risk of a cyber attack. 

Data Encryption

Encryption is one of the best-known security techniques and one that can protect sensitive data at rest and in transit from unauthorized access. 

There are encryption techniques you can choose from, depending on your systems and goals, such as RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), AES (advanced encryption standard), or ECC (elliptic curve cryptography).

Cyber threat mitigation is a complex challenge that needs to take into account various aspects and strategies. At HUMAN, we offer a complete cybersecurity platform that will assist you on your journey to threat mitigation. It safeguards your entire organization, so you don’t have to worry about account takeover, data breaches, or other risks.

Account Takeover

HUMAN’s packages prevent automated account takeover by protecting account authentication and rendering compromised credentials useless before attackers can use them. Attacks are prevented at the account perimeter before attackers can penetrate so that you spend less time investigating and responding to the attack. 

Data Contamination

Irrelevant, inaccurate, or corrupt data can seriously impact your results. Preventing data contamination is a must. HUMAN comes to your aid with a powerful solution that will help you trust your data from day one. 

It can prevent automated form fills and other product page interactions that harm your CRM. By rejecting data submitted by bad bots, you’re minimizing non-compliance risks, as that data is often stolen.

Credential Intelligence

Our Account Takeover Defense solution detects the use of compromised credentials in real time, stopping any threat actors before they can do damage. 

HUMAN Bot Defender

HUMAN's Application Protection Package offers a behavior-based bot management solution that stops automated attacks and other cyber threats. 

It reduces the risk of fraud, improves your systems’ efficiency, and creates a better experience for your customers. It’s a giant step towards regulatory compliance and it improves brand reputation, increasing your customers’ trust. 

New cyber threats appear every day, but so are techniques to mitigate them. 

• AI and ML technologies, when integrated into your cybersecurity solutions, enhance threat detection, response, and prevention capabilities. They can spot patterns and anomalies that could lead to an attack and help you prevent it much quicker.
• Zero Trust architecture assumes no user or device is trustworthy, so it limits access based on user rights or device posture.
• Cloud security focuses on protecting data in a cloud environment and is a must-have for any company that uses cloud-based services.
• IoT security, which focuses on the interconnected devices forming the Internet of Things (IoT) involves robust identification and access control systems, secure communication protocols, and continuous system monitoring.
• Threat intelligence means gathering and analyzing information about emerging threats and is essential if we want to stay one step ahead of cyber threats.

One thing is certain—we’re going towards a more nimble approach that aims to stop the enemy in its tracks, minimizing the damage to systems and the likelihood of an attack.

Cyber threats are here to stay, so protecting your organization is critical. In 2023 there were over 2,000 attacks that affected 343,338,964 victims. If we’re not careful, these numbers will increase soon, leading to disastrous consequences for companies and consumers.

Start protecting your organization right away. Identify and analyze your risks, use access control techniques, develop an incident response plan, and monitor your systems constantly. We know this journey can feel overwhelming and we want to help. Request a demo to speak to a member of the HUMAN team today. 

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