Here’s Why Digital Enterprises Need Network Penetration Testing

Pen tests or penetration tests are commonly confused with vulnerability assessments; however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Penetration tests involve simulation attacks that are conducted by trained cybersecurity professionals and are used to test environments and systems for security flaws, weaknesses, and risks.

If you run a digital enterprise, here are three reasons why it can benefit from network penetration testing:

Get You To The Vulnerabilities Before The Criminals Do

What is the best way to secure a building? If you answered placing guards and hyper-advanced security systems at all entrances and exits, you’re in the right ballpark. However, to effectively carry out this step, it is important to know where these entrances and exits are located before the criminals get to them.

These areas are easier to figure out in a physical building because you can physically follow the blueprint and send your team for a complete inspection.

However, it’s harder to achieve when the building in question is a software program—and this is where network penetration testing comes in. Penetration testing effectively uncovers loopholes in the code and brings any security flaws to notice so that the development team can fix them before the criminals get to them.

Saves Your Company Remediation Costs and Network Downtime

According to a 2018 study, the average global cost of a data breach is $3.86 million—and the costs have only grown since that year. This means that preventing a data breach can potentially save your company millions of dollars.

Professional security companies like Lean Security can advise you on the optimum frequency of penetration tests needed to keep your digital empire safe from the robbers and criminals of the cyber world. In addition, they can also advise you on other processes and procedures that will help further secure your online presence.

Promotes Security Regulations and Compliance With Them

Regular penetration tests can help you prove compliance with the security standards advised by PCI, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. Not only will this help your organization gain trust, but it will also help you avoid being fined heavily for non-compliance.

If you are looking for a reputable penetration testing provider, feel free to contact us, the team behind Lean Security, to discuss your project.

We provide different types of penetration testing services to make sure that your business is never vulnerable to online threats and attacks. Email us at info@leansecurity.com.au.

Understanding Security As An Investment: Importance Of Penetration Testing For Start-Ups

Penetration testing is a form of ethical hacking, where a cybersecurity firm attempts to infiltrate an organization's network to test their cybersecurity systems. Testers usually search for vulnerabilities that a cybercriminal could exploit.

Penetration testing has become increasingly vital as digitization rates increase across the global commercial landscape. This is especially true for start-ups and smaller firms, who are more likely to face a cyberattack and also less capable of dealing with it effectively. We’ll break down why penetration testing is so important: 

Find Potential Vulnerabilities

Most companies, while working on a network or system, become desensitized to it—including its flaws and vulnerabilities. There have been many cases of apps and websites going online and then crashing because of an attack—2020 alone has seen over 50 different major cyberattacks that targeted political and financial institutions. 

A penetration test brings in fresh eyes to the company. With an impartial and unfamiliar point of view, a penetration tester can find bugs and vulnerabilities that internal teams won’t.

Penetration testers are also familiar with the tactics used by cybercriminals to exploit organizations. They can use their prior experience and knowledge to protect a network better.

Develop Effective Security Procedures And Protocols

Conducting a penetration test is essential for a company to determine where it’s current network stands. A penetration system can provide valuable insights into potential vulnerabilities, and gaps cyber criminals may try to exploit.  Using these insights, a company can update their security measures to ensure operational continuity and protect their employees and customers.

Penetration testers can also provide a start-up with a detailed list of recommendations for effective and prompt remediation. Additionally, a penetration test will offer the necessary facts and data to prepare long-term cybersecurity measures.

Maintain Company Image

In addition to massive data breaches and financial losses, cyber-attacks can also cause brand and image issues. Start-ups are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks, as they make up about 58% of cybersecurity data breaches.

A timely and premediated penetration test prevent a destructive data breach and preserve your company's image. This will also preserve your customer loyalty, which is a further bonus of penetration testing.

Penetration testing can make or break a start-up’s future and long-term viability. Lean Security is an online security systems company based in Gordon, NSW. We’re a highly qualified and experienced penetration testing provider, and we've got extensive experience with start-ups.  Contact us at +61-2-8078-6952 for more information.

3 Common Cloud Vulnerabilities You Should Be Wary Of

Cloud computing is widely being adopted across many industry sectors. According to statistics, around 85% of businesses around the world use cloud computing for various organizational purposes.

By utilising cloud computing, most firms have reduced total cost of ownership, enhanced organizational abilities through SaaS, PaaS, and server virtualization, to become more competitive.

Despite its efficiency contributions, cloud computing gives rise to several vulnerabilities. However, some methods deal with these vulnerabilities and make cloud computing more effective. We’ll help break them down for you:

Data Residency & Security

Data residency and data security are vital concerns when moving to the cloud. The main concern with data residency is who manages and has access to the data.  Additional issues include where the data is stored and what laws apply.

The critical solutions to overcoming data residency concerns are data encryption and tokenization. Data encryption is the process that converts clear text data into ciphertext, unreadable to unauthorized users.

Tokenization involves converting sensitive data into random strings that only serve as a reference to original values—these strings can’t be used to identify the data itself. The only way to figure out which token refers to relevant data is through a token vault—a database that uses these tokens as references to data values. The token vault itself is often secured through encryption.

Downtime

Downtime is a common concern for businesses when they move to cloud computing. Often, substandard server hosting services experience technical difficulties that bring down entire servers—along with the client organization’s server cloud. Server downtime and the resulting operational disruptions can cost as much as $1 million depending on how deeply integrated the organization is with the cloud.

Many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, cannot afford regular interruptions without incurring significant financial losses.  For instance, in 2017, an outage on Amazon Web Services cost the stock market around $150 million. 

It's vital to be proactive when protecting your organization from downtime. Make sure your hosting providers are readily available and have planned for all contingencies. If your business can't afford frequent outages, use multi-region deployments to ensure operational continuity.

Cyberattacks

In cloud computing, all aspects of the organization's information are stored and processed online. That means the information is continuously vulnerable to malign influences who can use cyberattack strategies like DDoS attacks, SQL injections, Cross-site scripting, DNS Tunneling etc. to get access to sensitive data.

The only solution to this problem is implementing strict cybersecurity measures and preparing contingency plans. Make sure that your cloud-hosting provider or your internal IT teams use the strictest security protocols to restrict unauthorized access and data breaches. Common methods to avoid data breaches through the cloud include routine backups, implementing user access controls, encrypting in-flight and at-rest data, as well as working with network security specialists.

Cloud computing has many vulnerabilities that only an expert can diagnose and resolve.  Lean Security is a managed services provider in Gordon, NSW. We’re highly qualified and experienced in cloud computing and its potential vulnerabilities.  Contact us at +61-2-8078-6952 for more information.

4 Steps To Safeguard Against Your Malware

Malware attacks are issues for all business regardless of their operational scales. For example, the cost of cybercrime soared to over $600 billion worldwide. As criminals continue searching for new opportunities, cybercrime will evolve in ways business still aren’t sure of—and we can only guess at what will come our way next.

Therefore, keeping your company safe from malware attacks is vital in preventing data breaches. Here are a few tips on how to do that:

Encrypt Your Data

Encryption is a process that involves encoding data into an unintelligible format, making it impossible for a cybercriminal to exploit. The only way to decode encrypted data, and making it intelligible, is through an encryption key that only you or your cybersecurity provider possess. If the hacker can’t decrypt the data, it’s essentially useless for them.

By encrypting your data and keeping a backup of it on another hard drive or the cloud, you are assured that your data won’t be compromised, damaged or lost.

Network Security Upgrades

Hackers can easily infiltrate your network and system without robust network security. A firewall blocks out potential malware and detects potential threats that come from all types of connections. This provides an active layer of security for your network.

A VPN can also allow your company to use the internet without worrying about cyberattacks. This is because VPNs establish a private internet connection that encrypts all transmitted data.

Install Cybersecurity Software

Having anti-virus, anti-ransomware, and anti-malware software is the best line of defence against cybercriminals. But installing only one anti-virus software isn't enough. Your organization requires different software that prevents attacks from all types of malware. Likewise, don't forget to keep it updated. This ensures that the software can sufficiently detect and eliminate any potential threats.

Educate Employees

Generally, employees are unaware of how to detect malware attacks. This makes them ideal targets for cybercriminals, and employee negligence is one of the leading causes of cybersecurity breaches.

The most effective method to educate your employees is to hold cybersecurity training sessions. These workshops should teach your employees how to identify websites, links and phishing scams that contain malware.

It’s essential to have proper measures implemented in your business to stay safe from malware. Lean Security is an online security service provider that provides managed security services and IT solutions in Gordon, NSW. We’re highly qualified and well-equipped to deal with all types of firms and industries. Contact us at +61-2-8078-6952 for more information.

Why Your Customer Data Should Be Encrypted (Infographic)