Cyber security incidents are on the rise. With over 68% of businesses reportedly being affected by ransomware attacks in 2020, up from 55% in just 2018, the chances of your business being targeted are high - and successful data breaches and cyber security incidents can spell disaster for businesses of all sizes. In fact, the average cost of a data breach was measured at 3.86m USD in a recent report from IBM security. Together with the increasing sophistication of cyber security attacks thanks to advents in AI technology, which you can read more about in our recent whitepaper on weaponized AI published on Gartner, these statistics clearly show a growing problem. But, above all else, they should serve as a reminder to businesses that proper cyber security measures need to be taken in order to prepare your business for the worst-case scenario.
The onset of a global pandemic posed many challenges for businesses around the world. Many of the changes we learned to live have had deep-rooted effects on how we work. Remote working, for example, meant that businesses had no centralized network and a hard to control number of endpoints accessing your business data. The result being that remote workers are easy targets for hackers who want to crack your business’s defenses.
But for businesses with a team of security experts behind their backs, there is little to worry about. The difficulty is knowing what type of cyber security services you need for your business. Businesses can opt for a wide range of solutions like firewalls and regular security assessments to make the chances of a data breach incredibly low. However, cyber security incidents do happen - even to companies who are prepared, which is why having an information security incident response team comes in especially handy. This article will go into detail about the role and benefit of having an ISIRT within your core business operations.
What exactly is an Information Security Incident Response Team (ISIRT)?
An Information Security Incident Response Team (ISIRT, or sometimes referred to as simply an Incident Response Team) is a group of specialists who respond to cyber security incidents in order to minimize their impact on an organization’s operations. ISIRTs are usually composed of security professionals, including information technology staff, network administrators, and other professionals.
One of the biggest and most crucial misconceptions of an ISIRT is that they only help during the data breach itself. While this might be the case for cheaper and more budget ISIRT vendors, those that offer a truly professional service help in all stages of a cyber security incident.
How can an ISIRT help prevent cyber security incidents?
Fundamentally, incident response teams’ function on the basis that preventing a cyber security incident is always better than rectifying it after the fact.
With this in mind, ISIRTs help protect all corners of a business from potential threats. This includes planning and preparing all members of the company for the eventuality of an attempted security breach, the steps taken by these teams themselves to contain and nullify an ongoing security breach, as well as analyzing what can be learned from the situation to heighten future defenses. Here is a detailed breakdown of each sector:
Prior to a cyber security incident
Before any incident has taken place, it is the role of an ISIRT to analyze and review a business’s existing cyber security defenses. Weak spots will be identified by the team, and advice will be given on how to rectify them and create a holistic defense system which makes the likelihood of a successful breach minimal.
However, cyber security incidents happen to even the most protected of businesses. It is also the role of incident response teams to devise and implement a risk mitigation plan that not only further reduces the chances of being attacked but helps keep any associated risks to a bare minimum.
During a cyber security incident
During the incident itself, your ISIRT team will be immediately involved in containing the malware attack. They will contain any affected endpoints, perform a forensic investigation, and collect any evidence necessary to pinpoint the source and nature of the attack to allow for more effective security measures in the future.
After a cyber security incident
After the incident, the job of your incident response team is to again review your cyber security capabilities and offer advice and suggestions where necessary to improve it. This step is one of the most crucial, which many budget ISIRTs neglect, as at this stage, your business will have already returned to normal operation. However, proper analysis and security assessments using any data and evidence collected during the incident can help protect your business from similar and easily avoidable malware incidents in the future.
How Sangfor can help
Sangfor is a leading cyber security and IT infrastructure solutions vendor. We specialize in all things cyber security, including next-generation firewalls, network detection and response, and more.
Our incident response teams are industry-leading and help pioneer a new era of cloud security for businesses across the globe. While many other security vendors purely focus on containing a cyber security incident during the breach, Sangfor goes above and beyond in both pre-empting potential breaches and helping you recover afterwards. We do this with attentive, multilingual support, and offer an appealing by-incident pricing model, meaning you spend nothing more than absolutely necessary.
Get in touch with us today
All businesses, especially larger, multi-national enterprises, can benefit from a range of cyber security solutions, including an incident response team.
To learn more about how our services, in particular, can benefit your business or for a quote, please get in touch with us today.
