Sun Tzu's Art of War is a renowned work on military strategy that has found applications beyond warfare, including in cyber security. Organisations face an ever-evolving threat landscape and to stay ahead of those risks, and as Sun Tzu says; understanding the enemy is crucial. Managed Digital Risk Protection services can help organisations do exactly that by providing intelligence on the latest threats, vulnerabilities, and where they may already be exposed.
The threat landscape refers to the overall picture of potential threats that an organisation may face. This includes understanding the types of attackers, their motivations, and the methods they may use to carry out attacks. Understanding the threat landscape is essential for any organisation to effectively protect against potential cyber-attacks.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the threat landscape, it is necessary to analyse both internal and external threats. Internal threats refer to potential risks that may arise from within the organisation (insider threats), such as employees who may intentionally or unintentionally compromise sensitive information. External threats, on the other hand, come from outside the organisation, such as hackers and other malicious actors.
To fully comprehend the threat landscape, organisations must stay up to date with the latest trends and attack methods used by cybercriminals. Threat intelligence is an effective tool that can help you stay informed about potential threats. This involves gathering and analysing information about current and emerging threats to identify patterns and potential targets.
Managed Digital Risk Protection services use machine learning, artificial intelligence, and human analysts to monitor the dark web, social media, and other sources for information on cyber threats and on malicious actor activity targeting a specific organisation. By analysing this information, they can identify emerging threats and provide organisations with actionable intelligence on how to protect themselves.
Knowing the enemy means understanding the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by cyber criminals. Cyber criminals use a variety of techniques to gain access to sensitive information, such as phishing, malware, and social engineering. By understanding these techniques, organisations can better defend against them. Managed Digital Risk Protection services provide organisations with this knowledge by analysing data on cyber-attacks and threat actors. They can help identify patterns and trends in the data, anticipate attacks, and prepare defences accordingly.The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting
In cyber security, defeating the enemy means preventing cyber-attacks before they happen. This requires a proactive approach to security, rather than a reactive one. Managed Digital Risk Protection services can help organisations take a proactive approach by identifying exposures in their externally facing systems and providing recommendations on how to address them.
Digital Risk Protection also offers a number of use cases to help organisations understand if they are specifically being targeted or indeed have already been compromised. These use cases include Data Leakage Detection (have credentials or sensitive data already been stolen or leaked online), Brand protection which checks for spoofed websites, mobile applications or social media profiles, and Attack Surface Protection that takes and attacker’s-eye view of your externally facing infrastructure to check for weak or expiring certificates, open ports, or other misconfigurations that could be exploited.
It's worth noting that Managed Digital Risk Protection services are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Different organisations have different needs and face different threats. It’s important to choose a service that is tailored to your organisation’s specific requirements. A good Managed Digital Risk Protection service should provide tailored and actionable intelligence as well as shielding the client organisation from alert noise, filtering down notifications to only those incidents that require action.
Managed Digital Risk Protection services provide organisations with the intelligence and guidance they need to implement a proactive cyber security strategy that enables them to stay ahead of threats. By investing in these services, organisations are better equipped to protect their sensitive data and maintain the trust of their customers.
Another key benefit of Managed Digital Risk Protection services is 24x7 monitoring of the open, deep, and dark web. These services have dedicated teams that constantly monitor online forums, marketplaces, and other sources of information to identify data or credential leakage, or threat actor mentions that may indicate an impending attack. This allows organisations to stay ahead of the game and anticipate attacks before they happen.
In addition to monitoring, Managed Digital Risk Protection services also provide major threat advisories and industry-specific alerting. These services have access to a wide range of threat intelligence feeds that allow them to provide tailored, actionable insight to organisations. This includes information on emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and best practices for cyber security.
Managed Digital Risk Protection services also support unlimited assets and users. This means that organisations can use the service to protect their entire infrastructure, regardless of size. They can also add as many users as they need to ensure that everyone in the organisation is aware of potential threats and has the knowledge to prevent cyber-attacks.
By providing 24x7 monitoring, major threat advisories, and industry-specific alerting, Managed Digital Risk Protection services enable organisations to take a proactive approach to cyber security. They can anticipate and respond to threats in real-time, rather than waiting for an attack to occur. This helps organisations to reduce their risk exposure and maintain the trust of their customers. By investing in these services, organisations can take a proactive approach to cyber security and stay ahead of the constantly evolving threat landscape.
As Sun Tzu says; 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'