The new year presents a valuable opportunity to assess and improve your organization’s technology infrastructure. Unfortunately, as we kick off 2022, new and sophisticated cybersecurity threats loom on the horizon. However, at N8 Solutions, we know that proactive preparation against these pervasive threats can help you stay secure in the year ahead. 

Here, we look at five key cybersecurity services to consider, to ensure that your organization is protected against all that may come in the new year. 

Why choose managed services?

Do you manage your cybersecurity program in-house? Many organizations are pivoting to expert managed service providers (MSPs) who can provide best-in-class, customizable cybersecurity solutions. There’s several reasons to seek such a partner, including:

• Expertise and Scale: Simply put, MSPs are experts. You’ll gain instant and seamless access to this expertise to extend the capacity of your internal team without significant cost. This is especially vital considering the projected cybersecurity skills gap in 2022: More than 75% of technology decision makers face such a gap. 

• Cost: Top-notch MSPs, like N8 Solutions, will offer a predictable and transparent cost structure. When it comes to paying for technology expenses, more and more organizations are pivoting from larger, less frequent capital expenses (CAPEX) to small, recurring operational expenses (OPEX). With an MSP, you can budget and pay for what you actually need and use, and nothing more. 

• Peace of Mind: A reliable MSP will minimize downtime, to help you boost productivity and ensure business continuity. This will free up your busy technology team to instead focus on business-critical tasks. 

Zero Trust Access Solves for the Weakest Link

The remote and hybrid workplace is here to stay, and with it, a zero trust approach has never been more advisable. Essentially, zero trust is all about solving for the “weakest link” problem at your business; it requires strict identity verification for every person and every device that attempts to access resources or data on a private network. 

When you implement zero trust network access (ZTNA), you’ll create secure boundaries around all of your applications. Users are only allowed to access resources after verifying the identity, context, and policy adherence of each specific request. By using ZTNA as a service, you can safely and quickly secure your applications, with a fittingly zero-overhead approach. For more, see this previous post on four reasons to make the move to zero trust. 

Endpoint Detection and Response, Since We Work from Everywhere These Days

With the rise of remote work, it’s also critical to protect your endpoints. (Just think of all the personal laptops, mobile phones, and tablets your staff is using right now!) In 2022, the threat of mobile malware continues to rise, and more attackers will target these precarious endpoints to access your corporate network. A recent report finds that nearly half of all connected devices are vulnerable to medium and high severity attacks!

Endpoint detection and response managed services will keep your business protected by blocking malware before it infects an endpoint. In addition, the right solution will rapidly eradicate any mobile malware that does get through. We know how important endpoint protection is right now, which is why we've partnered with Malwarebytes to offer a best-in-class solution. 

Network Monitoring and Support, to Thwart Attacks Before They Even Happen

At N8 Solutions, we embrace the philosophy that uncertainty is the only certainty in IT. As the threat of a damaging cyberattack against your business rises, it’s never been more important to know who—and what—is on your corporate network. 

With networking monitoring and support services, your team can rest assured that your network is being constantly monitored for dubious actors. You’ll also know that should an issue arise (here’s that uncertainty element we mentioned above), quick action will be taken to remediate and recover from it. (For example, with N8 Solutions, if we spot a problem, we’ll work to fix it—before you’ve even realized there’s an issue.) Using an MSP for network monitoring and support service also means that your technology team will have more time to focus on other valuable projects. (Are you picking up a theme here?)

Insider Threat Security (Because We Can’t Trust Everyone)

Another challenge with remote work in 2022 is that it’s made insider threats a major security risk. Everyone at your business—including employees, vendors, contractors, and suppliers—has access to sensitive data and proprietary information. This information may include important IP, trade secrets, customer and employee data, and more. While we wish we could trust everyone, the reality of the threat landscape just doesn’t allow it. 

Protect against insider threats with insider threat detection and data loss prevention services. At N8, we've teamed up with Teramind to bring you a single solution that delivers real-time activity monitoring, behavior analytics, IT forensics, and more, to identify and secure sensitive data and prevent threats, all in a single solution with flexible deployment options. 

Data Backup and Recovery to Beat Ransomware

In 2022, ransomware will remain a pervasive threat, and we expect to see new and emerging threats, targeted and relentless attacks, and steep ransoms. Given this troubling projection, it’s never been more important to implement a robust back-up and recovery plan to ensure you stay up and running. In 2020, more than 40% of companies experienced downtime as a result of data loss. Despite this, data backup and recovery is also one of the most ignored aspects of cybersecurity. 

Working with an MSP on a robust data backup and disaster recovery service will ensure a scalable, expertly managed solution that will allow you to quickly recover your complete IT infrastructure—in a matter of hours! For more, see this previous post on a few simple considerations in choosing a backup solution. 

We know we didn’t paint the rosiest picture for the year ahead in cybersecurity. But it’s important to know the threats you face and take steps to protect your operations. Partnering with the right MSP is often the quickest, most efficient, and affordable way to get there. Please get in touch with the friendly experts at N8 Solutions today to learn more.