Align SECaaS to Your Cybersecurity Risks
Security

Security As A Service: Align SECaaS to Your Cybersecurity Risks

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Security can’t just be tied to data centers. How can you enforce security for your applications on the cloud hosted from another part of the world?

Enter, Security-as-a-Service, otherwise known in short as SECaaS. 

Most businesses have shifted to cloud platforms to build, store and manage applications. In such cases, the business operations happen entirely through a network connected to the cloud.

With the increasing threat of cybersecurity, SECaaS ensures maximum safety for the information sent to and from the cloud using the network.

So, what actually is SECaaS and how can it help you?

Let’s find out.

What is Security-as-a-Service?

What is Security-as-a-Service?

Simply put, Security-as-a-Service is an outsourced model for cybersecurity services. Through SECaaS, the company providing IT security services will offer the required technologies for cybersecurity to make the cloud and mobile platforms safe and secure.

The cybersecurity service provider will take control of your online security needs, including monitoring, intrusion, authentication, updation, malware protection and antivirus security. This provider will also be well-equipped to handle any future threats and advise on the best practices for implementing security for any new applications.

The 2019 Gartner report, “The Future of Network Security Is in the Cloud”, mentions: 

“What security and risk professionals in a digital enterprise need is a worldwide fabric/mesh of network and network security capabilities that can be applied when and where needed to connect entities to the networked capabilities they need access to.’

This is exactly what we focus on at Layer One Networks. By combining the security for network, web gateway, cloud access security broker and other network access points, our data security service providers at Corpus Christi focus on delivering holistic cybersecurity solutions customized to business needs. 

We help to work against the cybersecurity risks and resolve them without causing any harm to your organization.

5 Common Cybersecurity Risks that Every Business is Exposed To

For any typical business, irrespective of the scale, there are lots of cybersecurity risks you’ll encounter:

  1. 1. Malware Attack: This can come into the system in any form, like using free software or from any downloads. 
  2. 2. Data Breach: Hackers gain access to the storage, usually by brute force attack or through network hacks, to find the password.
  3. 3. Phishing Attacks: Malware or virus gets downloaded into the system when users click on a link and gain access to compromise the system.
  4. 4. Ransomware: This is one of the most recent and fast-growing cyberattacks where hackers will lock access to the information until the ransom is paid.
  5. 5. IoT Attacks: Hackers use the IoT devices and networks to crack the password and enter the network as one of the usual users

These are just some of the common cybersecurity risks that any business can face. You never know when these attacks will happen or if you’ve been targeted. So, you need a strong cybersecurity team to continually monitor your security measures, identify data breaches and attack attempts and enforce higher security to avoid these issues in the future.

Why Do You Need SECaaS?

Why Do You Need SECaaS?

If you are using a cloud network for your business operations, then you most definitely need SECaaS. But apart from that, if you’re thinking about managing cybersecurity in-house, we strongly advise you to consider the advantages of outsourcing SECaaS from an experienced provider. Here’s why you need an external SECaaS provider.

  • Expertise at Minimum Security Costs

This is one of the top reasons why you need an external SECaaS. 

We all know that with the rise in cybersecurity, no mundane security measures will make the cut. You need uncompromised, top-notch cybersecurity that protects your information to the maximum.

When you outsource to a good cybersecurity provider, you can save so much money and at the same time, get experts to work on your security details.

  • Quick Response Time

Generally, SMBs don’t have the resources to hire a complete in-house team for cybersecurity. This blows them wide open for cyberattacks from outside and no one to battle it from their side.

Instead, SMBs can opt to outsource it to SECaaS who will run regular maintenance checks and be there for the business when an attack hits. Time is of the essence in cyberattacks. The more time we take to respond, the more the attackers will gain access. 

A SECaaS provider will have a standby team ready to manage and tackle any attacks, put a stop to it and salvage as much as possible.

  • Keep Your Security Details Updated

If you think installing malware management software and an antivirus application is enough to protect your sensitive data, then you’re in for a shock.

Hackers are regularly working on cracking the best of the best security technologies, which is why the security software companies release regular updates to keep ourselves one step ahead of them. So, you need a team to update, monitor, analyze and improve your cybersecurity details. This is where the help of a SECaaS provider comes in.

  • Easy Scalability

When you’re planning to expand your organization or include new applications, you also should extend the shield of cybersecurity to the new inclusions. This can require lots of new resources, manpower and technology equipment if you plan to do it alone.

Instead, with a SECaaS provider, you can easily scale up or scale down your security measures as and when you need without any vast expenditure. This cybersecurity will be one thing less on your checklist when focussing on expansions.

How Can You Hire a Good SECaaS Provider?

There are so many companies offering managed IT security services in the market. So, then how can you find the best one for you. Here are a few things to look at:

  • Expertise
  • The size of the team
  • The technologies they use
  • The cost of the services
  • The previous and current client experience
  • Security strategies
  • Risk management strategies
  • Backup strategies

Based on this information, you can make an informed decision to choose the best company for SECaaS.

If you’re looking for a trusted company offering security service in Corpus Christi, talk to one of our security experts at 361-653-6800 and get an idea of our expertise and services.

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brute force attacks
Security

How to Prevent Brute Force Attacks with 8 Easy Tactics

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Are you using an obvious, weak password?

If so, you must be wary of the brute force attack!

Unlike many other cybercrimes, brute force attacks don’t consider the vulnerability of the system. Instead, it relies on repetitively using a combination of passwords to gain access.

It’s one of the simplest ways of hacking. The basic concept of the brute force attack is that you’re bound to figure out the right password when you keep trying a combination of words, numbers, and symbols.

For example, if you are using a four-digit pin, then there are 10,000 possible combinations from 0000 to 9999. In the brute force attack, a bot will keep trying out these numerous combinations until it can log in.

In this blog, we’ll go through different ways of preventing such brute force attacks.

8 Simple Tactics to Prevent Brute Force Attacks

Ever since people started working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been an increase in the brute force attack of Microsoft’s proprietary protocol, RDP.

brute force attacks

You can notice that the attacks have increased by 12x in just a month!

While you can use many antivirus, cybersecurity software to prevent many online threats, there is no such tool to avoid brute force attacks.

As one of the top companies offering security service for Corpus Christi, our IT security experts at LayerOne Networks have listed out some of the best and simple brute force attack prevention techniques to keep the hackers out.

  • 1. Encourage User to Create Strong and Long Passwords

brute force attacks

There’s a type of brute force attack called the dictionary attack that uses a list of commonly-used passwords to gain access to your account. This can speed up the time taken for finding the right password and can make users vulnerable. It’s important to encourage the users to create a password that doesn’t come under the common ones. The next important step is to have a long password.

Did you know that it takes an average of 555 hours to break a four-digit passcode?

If the hacker tries the dictionary attack and fails, the next is to go for the usual combination of characters, letters and numbers. As the password length increases, it takes a long time for the hacker to figure out the right password and can help you prevent it, if possible.

  • 2. Keep the Allowed Login Attempts to a Bare Minimum

Many services are now restricting the number of login attempts to 10 or lesser. This way, the hackers wouldn’t have enough opportunity to try out multiple password combinations.

You can lock the account after a certain number of failed login attempts, which can then be unlocked after a specific time. This way, the users won’t have to go through a long process of changing the password and the hackers’ attempt will also be interrupted by locking the account from any more password combinations.

  • 3. Use Captcha After a Certain Failed Login Attempts

Yes, captchas are annoying but are one of the most straightforward ways for brute force attack prevention. Captchas prevent automated bots from testing out multiple passwords since it requires manual entry. Captchas can either be audio-based or visual-based.

Sometimes, captchas can negatively impact user experience. So, you can include the captcha only after a certain number of failed login attempts to reinforce the security.

  • 4. Include Security Questions

Similar to the usage of captcha after some failed login attempts, you can instead include security questions. This is an extremely effective second layer of defence if the hacker finds the password through brute force attack.

  • 5. Encourage Users to Enable 2FA

brute force attacks

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the best ways to create an extra line of defence. It’s important to encourage users to enable 2FA to protect their accounts from hackers.

Usually, in 2FA, the contact number or the user’s email ID will be included to verify access after logging in with the right password. There is very little that hackers can do to gain access with 2FA.

Do you want to create a 2FA provision for your web services? Book a consultation session for security service with one of our experts at Corpus Christi.

  • 6. Prevent Attacks Through SSH

SSH (Secure Shell) Protocol is one of the common protocols found in IT infrastructure. Hackers mostly use SSH to gain access to the servers by finding out the credentials using brute force.

To prevent such hacks into the server, you have to make the root inaccessible through SSH and use a non-standard port to make it harder for the hackers.

  • 7. Restrict Access from New IP Addresses

To make things difficult for the hackers, you can set up an additional security layer that prevents users from logging in from IP addresses that aren’t the regular ones. Of course, you can let the user authenticate their identity if they are accessing from new IP addresses.

  • 8. Regularly Monitor the Logs

You can use any tool to monitor the server logs and alert the user in case of multiple attempts to access in a short time. You can warn the user to change the password and include stronger security measures like 2FA and unique security answers to reinforce their account.

Conclusion

Since brute force attack is one of the primary hacking techniques, many hackers out there are leveraging it. Any web service provider needs to use a combination of these security techniques to prevent brute force attacks and protect the user accounts.

At LayerOne Networks, we help organizations implement robust IT security against brute force attacks and many other cybersecurity threats. We have been working with many businesses providing security service in Corpus Christi, Texas. Speak with one of our IT security experts to determine how to protect yourself and your users from such cyberattacks.

 

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