How to withstand the onslaught of cybersecurity threats

“We brought a shovel to fight an avalanche.”

That’s the sentiment shared by many business leaders, especially CISOs, CIOs and IT leaders as they face the current cybersecurity threat landscape. Like an avalanche, it’s constantly shifting and changing, moving quickly and unpredictably. With the prevalence of remote and hybrid work models, leaders are having an even harder time protecting all their IT assets. That’s because – to extend this metaphor – the IT assets that need protection are scattered all over the mountain.

The security tools that felt comfortable and just adequate in the past are no longer cutting it. Today’s workforce is dispersed and highly reliant on mobile devices. They’re trusting public networks and letting their kids play Minecraft on their work tablets. They don’t want to be forced to use specific tools and devices. They’re not afraid to go rogue and deploy shadow IT if it helps them do their jobs more efficiently.

In other words, they’re vulnerable.

Having the right tools is a step in the right direction. But that’s not enough. Mapping, managing, and protecting IT assets has never been more important—or more challenging.

It doesn’t have to be challenging, though, because today’s advanced cybersecurity and IT asset management solutions are built for an avalanche-prone landscape.

Why—and how—to manage threat exposure

According to Gartner, the number one strategic trend for cybersecurity in 2023 is threat exposure management. Gartner describes this as: “A pragmatic, effective and systemic approach to continuously refine cybersecurity optimization priorities. Practices evolve in order to better understand their combined exposure to threats and address gaps in their posture.”

It’s clear that reactive tactics aren’t enough. Today’s IT and security leaders are under a world of pressure to be as proactive as possible to avoid the costly, damaging and time-consuming process of reacting to a breach.

When security is paramount to your business strategy (as it should be), it’s critical to deploy solutions that address the realities of your current needs and your future needs.

One of the best, if not only, ways to achieve this is to adopt a dynamic, scalable solution that is fully integrated with your UEM solution and has been built with security in mind from the ground up.

Why does built-in security matter? When done right, it allows you to “shift left”—saving resources and overhead costs so you can preserve your IT resources for strategic tasks rather than chasing and remediating issues. Shifting left allows you to detect vulnerabilities earlier so you can get ahead of the problem. It’s just like having the ability to see around corners to drive proactive action. If you can leverage automation and risk-based vulnerability intelligence, all the better.

Why you should consolidate your cybersecurity platform

Another key cybersecurity trend for 2023 and beyond, according to Gartner: cybersecurity platform consolidation. Gartner asserts that consolidation:

“Decreases complexity, simplifies operations and makes employees more efficient. Organizations are using fewer vendors and are benefiting from improved staff efficiency and integration, and more features from fewer products.”

Fewer vendors means significantly fewer administration headaches, streamlined onboarding, potentially lower overhead and a reduced risk of problematic gaps. Gone are the days of needing to assemble patchwork cybersecurity support from various vendors. Today’s offerings include vendors that provide end-to-end support with a single pane of glass view.

Dispersed IT assets theoretically make management more complicated, but vendor consolidation can counteract that and move things in the right direction.

Consolidation can also help eliminate the need for third-party connections. Big-name cybersecurity vendors like Microsoft rely on third-party integrations (especially for non-Windows environments), which exponentially increases risk. More external parties in an ecosystem means more avenues for potential attacks, as well as a larger and more complicated attack surface.

If the avalanche is looming, do you want a patchwork of communication and protection strategies? Or is it easier if everyone is on the same page, you know where everyone is, and you all have the same level of protection?

How to identify the right cybersecurity tools for 2023 and beyond

The right cybersecurity platform is scalable, user-friendly, easy to deploy and manage, and highly secure. That applies whether you’re an SMB or a major global conglomerate. If you’re considering adopting a comprehensive cybersecurity platform, look for one that allows you to:

• Make informed decisions to get the most out of your IT investments.
• Minimize downtime and extend IT asset lifespan.
• Reduces your cost and resources required to fix failed audits and security breaches.
• Shrink attack surface and lower the risk of major data breaches.
• Quickly and efficiently mitigate security risks.
• Enable streamlined operations that maximize protection while minimizing manual tasks.
• Strategically prioritize key vulnerabilities.
• Preserve IT resource for the most critical tasks.
• Improve IT responsiveness to issues by ensuring security threats are handled before they become a problem.

If that seems like too much to ask from your cybersecurity platform, you might be looking in the wrong place.

When facing unpredictable forces, whether those forces are on a mountain or in the cyber threat landscape, having the right tools is crucial. (Just ask anyone who has taken a shovel to an avalanche.) Prevent, manage, mitigate and respond wisely. Your security depends on it.