[eBook] Guide to Achieving 24×7 Threat Monitoring and Response for Lean IT Security Teams

If there is one thing the past few years have taught the world,
it’s that cybercrime never sleeps. For organizations of any size
and scope, having around-the-clock protection for their endpoints,
networks, and servers is no longer optional, but it’s also not
entirely feasible for many. Attackers are better than ever at
slipping in undetected, and threats are constantly evolving.

Teams can’t afford to take a minute off, but they also can’t
manage the massive security necessary to defend most organizations.
A new eBook by XDR provider Cynet (download here^[1]) breaks down this
challenge and offers some solutions for lean security teams looking
for ways to improve their detection and response capabilities.

The guide strikes an optimistic tone for lean IT security
teams.

Though the challenges are expansive – including talent
shortages, an ever-expanding threat surface, and rising security
tool prices – organizations can still find smart and effective ways
to stay protected 24×7.

Why 24×7 monitoring is more crucial than ever

Cyber attackers today rarely adhere to normal working hours.
Indeed, they’re more apt to stick to the “off hours” for most
organizations when defenses are low, and the guard posts are
likeliest to be unmanned. For instance, some research suggests^[2]
that nearly 76% of ransomware infections studied occurred outside
of normal working hours. Nearly half of those occurred at night,
and a quarter happened on weekends.

The problem requires constant monitoring to resolve, but that’s
easier said than done. Cyber security is in the midst of a sharp
skills shortage, with some estimating as nearly as 4 million
unfilled cyber security positions in 2021. The question is how
organizations can overcome this gap to fill these needed holes.

The two pillars of 24×7 monitoring

Achieving 24×7 monitoring and response requires two key pillars,
according to the eBook: automation and outsourcing. The first of
these should be obvious. Automated systems can detect smaller, more
subtle cues in software behavior, and they can do so faster.

Digging a little deeper, however, you can see the real impact of
automation. One study shows that organizations that use fully
deployed security automation spend as much as $1.5 million less on
data breaches than their counterparts. More importantly, today’s
tools are finally starting to tap into the potential for
cybersecurity automation.

This includes the ability to scan exponentially more data and
logs, scanning multiple endpoints and devices in seconds, and
piecing together the landscape into a picture that makes sense.
However, even the best-automated tools are incomplete when teams
have to do significant work to manage them. New tools like XDR
simplify the process by putting more security tools into a single
pane of glass.

Even so, skills are necessary to manage these tools, and this is
where outsourcing comes in. While recruiting an in-house team is
always ideal, for many lean IT security teams, outsourcing offers
an equally effective and reliable solution. However, it’s all about
finding the right vendor and ensuring their offerings match an
organization’s need.

The eBook dives deeper into these concepts and more. You can download the eBook here^[3].