6 ways to improve your organization’s security posture

It’s October, which means Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here. Cybersecurity Awareness Month has been around since 2004 and aims to raise awareness about the growing threats and to promote best practices for businesses to improve their security posture. This month provides organizations with a perfect opportunity to reassess security strategies, educate employees, and implement measures that can prevent costly breaches.

One area that is frequently overlooked but critical is backup and recovery. With ransomware attacks, data breaches, and system failures on the rise, having a robust backup and recovery plan is key to mitigating potential damages and ensuring business continuity.

Why backup and recovery is vital for cybersecurity

Data is the lifeblood of modern businesses. From customer information and financial records to intellectual property and operational systems, data loss can be catastrophic. In 2024, cybercrime is expected to cost the world over $8 trillion, with businesses of all sizes facing risks ranging from phishing attacks to ransomware. While companies may have some defenses in place, evolving cyber threats make security posture improvements critical. Having a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy means having end-to-end data protection so that you can not only identify vulnerabilities but also mitigate potential financial and reputational damages.

Cyber risks such as ransomware, where attackers disrupt business operations and demand payment for its release, have made it clear that no company is immune. Even when strong security measures are in place, incidents can happen, making it essential to plan for recovery. A well-executed backup and recovery strategy ensures your security teams can respond and recover quickly from an attack, data corruption, or system failure, minimizing downtime and avoiding the high costs of lost productivity and revenue.

How to improve your organization’s security posture

A strong security posture involves more than installing antivirus software or conducting an annual training session. It requires ongoing security posture assessment, adaptation, and education to reduce the attack surface. Below are several key areas your teams should focus on to strengthen your security posture.

1. Prioritize a risk-based approach

A risk-based approach to evolving threats involves identifying attack vectors, assessing IT assets, and prioritizing security procedures specific to your industry and operations. This ongoing process ensures resources are focused where they are needed most.

• Conduct a risk assessment: Review your systems, networks, and data to identify critical vulnerabilities. Assess how an attack could impact business continuity and what steps are necessary to mitigate these risks.
• Implement multifactor authentication (MFA): MFA can drastically reduce the attack surface and the likelihood of unauthorized access to sensitive data by requiring more than just a password to gain entry.
• Enforce separation of duties: At Cohesity, we call it Quorum, which is a cybersecurity principle that aims to prevent a single person from having too much power to misuse a system. It’s a best practice and audit standard that’s used to help protect data and information systems.

2. Update and patch software regularly:

Patch. Patch. Patch. Patch. The #1 way cybercriminals are getting into companies in 2024 is to exploit known vulnerabilities in outdated software. Ensuring that your systems, applications, and security tools are up to date is a crucial component of a strong cybersecurity posture.

• Use backups to test patches: Deploying patches without testing can be risky. By recovering a system in an isolated, clean room environment, you can test the patches without worrying about impacting production.
• Automate updates: Implement automated patching where you can ensure systems stay current without manual intervention.
• Regularly review software vulnerabilities: A mature vulnerability management program helps find potential security risks and work with your security teams to apply relevant updates as soon as possible. This is another way you can use your backup data. Our integration with Tenable allows you to scan for vulnerabilities without having an impact on production.

3. Prioritize regular and automated backups

Backing up your data should be a routine process that happens frequently and consistently. Relying on manual backups is risky, as human error can result in missed updates or incomplete copies.

• Automate backups: Automating the backup process ensures that critical assets and data are saved regularly without human intervention. Depending on your business needs, backups can be scheduled daily, weekly, or in real time.
• Test your backups regularly: Ensure that your backup data is not only being stored but can also be restored accurately. Regular testing of backups should be part of the overall security testing plans to identify any potential security risks before disaster strikes.
• Use the 3-2-1 backup rule: Data suggests many organizations aren’t following this best practice, so one more time for the folks in the back. You need three copies of your data on two different types of media, with at least one copy stored offsite.
• Maintain immutable backups: Immutable backups are backups that cannot be altered or deleted once created. This ensures that even if ransomware infiltrates your systems, attackers cannot erase or tamper with your backups.

4. Use cloud backups for resilience

Cloud technology offers a secure, scalable, and cost-effective way to manage backups. Cloud storage solutions allow you to save copies of your data offsite and provide rapid scalability as your data grows.

• Real-time backup capabilities: Many cloud providers offer continuous backup services, so every change to your data is mirrored in real time.
• Quick disaster recovery: In the event of a breach, cloud-based backups enable faster recovery since data can be restored from anywhere with an internet connection.

5. Implement a strong incident response plan

No company is immune to cyberattacks, but how you respond to security attacks can make all the difference. A well-documented and rehearsed incident response plan is essential for maintaining robust security.

• Create an incident response team: Designate an internal team to lead your incident management plan when an attack occurs.
• Test your plan regularly: Conduct tabletop exercises or full-scale simulations to ensure everyone knows their role in case of a breach. The faster you respond, the less damage your organization will endure.
• Remove all assumptions from your plans: During your tabletop exercises, pay attention to people using phrases like “I think” or “It should” and validate that the way someone thinks a process should work is actually the case. It sounds simple, but this can have a large impact on improving your security posture.

6. Invest in cybersecurity tools and resources

While employee training is crucial, having the right security controls is essential to defend against increasingly complex cyberattacks.

• Deploy firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS): Ensure your network defenses are configured correctly to detect and prevent malicious activity.
• Leverage artificial intelligence (AI): AI can identify anomalies and suspicious behavior faster than human teams, helping you stay ahead of attackers.
• Monitor systems continuously: Continuous monitoring ensures threats are identified in real time, minimizing the potential for damage.

Protect, respond, and recover with a strong backup strategy

As Cybersecurity Awareness Month reminds us, the fight against cyber threats requires a proactive approach that goes beyond just prevention. While investing in security tools and training is critical, businesses must also prioritize the ability to recover quickly and effectively when security incidents occur. A robust backup and recovery plan plays a pivotal role in this strategy.

By focusing on regular, automated backups, strong encryption, and cloud-based resilience, businesses can protect critical data from both internal failures and external threats like ransomware. But protection is only one piece of the puzzle—having a tested and comprehensive disaster recovery plan ensures that your organization can respond swiftly, minimize downtime, and restore operations efficiently.

Aligning your efforts with the month’s core themes of “protect, respond, and recover” strengthens your company’s overall security posture. You protect your data with reliable backups, respond with a solid recovery plan in case of a breach, and recover quickly to reduce the impact on your business.

This October, let Cybersecurity Awareness Month serve as a reminder that a resilient backup and recovery strategy is the foundation of effective cybersecurity. Investing in these areas ensures your business is not only prepared to fend off threats but also capable of bouncing back stronger than ever when disaster strikes.

Learn more

• Sign up for a ransomware resilience workshop
• Get the Moor Insights & Strategy report: “Cohesity creates a new data security powerhouse through Veritas deal”
• Read the blog: Protecting the world’s data from cyberattacks: The Cohesity cyber event response team (CERT)