Cybersecurity threats and concerns are real. Businesses have to take adequate and necessary steps to mitigate these risks. Many reports, including one from SIA in association with Wall Street Journal, have pointed out the risk for businesses with regards to cyberattacks and security breaches. So, what exactly is a vulnerability? How can your business manage cyber vulnerabilities? In this post, we are sharing the basics.
What exactly is a vulnerability?
In simple words, a vulnerability is basically a flaw or weakness in a product, which can be used to cause a security breach, or data theft. A vulnerability could be used against a company in many ways. Sometimes, companies will hire ethical hackers to test for such vulnerabilities, so that real hackers cannot exploit the same. Exploiting a vulnerability is typically done with a malicious intent. Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly looking for such vulnerabilities in existing software products, firmware, operating systems and apps, and the aftermath of a security incident can be devastating to say the least.
How to deal with cyber vulnerabilities?
- First and foremost, update everything. There’s a reason why top companies, including Google, Microsoft, and other software makers, come up with updates from time to time, for different products, including operating systems. The same holds true for many vendors who make firmware, software, and apps. These updates and security patches fix vulnerabilities that can otherwise be exploited.
- Ensure that default details are changed. It doesn’t take a lot of effort on part of a hacker to hack into an account, resource, or networked device when the default details, including usernames and passwords, are not changed. To avoid this, ensure that passwords are strong, long and unique, and where needed, use multifactor authentication.
- Rely on the security community. Make the most of security community by running a bug bounty program or hiring ethical hackers. These ethical hackers can help you find vulnerabilities in an effective and planned manner, with a list of dos and don’ts that they would adhere to. Many companies already have bounty programs, and this doesn’t have to be expensive.
Other measures like using the lockout feature, reporting vulnerabilities to vendors, and training employees on reporting cyber incidents, are other steps to consider. You have to be a step ahead of hackers to minimize your risks. Fix each vulnerability by taking appropriate action, and all it takes are a few basic steps.
