Find your next cybersecurity tool from this advanced toolbox

This paid piece is sponsored by IT Outlet.

The need for cybersecurity tools and safeguarding strategies by financial institutions or organizations dealing with private financial information has never been greater. Without providing endless pages of data and instances showing how frequent cyberattacks happen at the small, medium or large business level, think of it this way: If a digital shadow exists — from an online purchase, an app password, a network or even an employee’s email chain with a customer — it’s not a matter of if an attack will happen but when and how bad. 

Apart from the standard virus protection software updates, multistage verification password strategies and the tried-and-true approach of not opening any links from nontrusted parties, there are several effective and advanced technologies used and available today for entities operating with financial information. 

Artificial intelligence at work

For ransomware attacks — cyberattacks that use hacked personal or business information for ransom until a fee is paid to the hacker — companies like Fortinent provide a range of advanced threat detection products that identify ransomware campaigns.

Many of the products used to detect threats are relying on artificial intelligence. Keeping up with the amount of attacks requires the aid of AI capabilities nowadays. Fortient’s systems use AI to monitor each portion of the cyber chain.

There are numerous areas where a cyber criminal can or will try to join the chain. Using AI, machine learning and deep learning, a system like Fortinet’s will process the huge volume of event data generated by today’s digital organizations while also working to identify anomalous and high-risk activity that often mimics legitimate operations. The advanced monitoring systems also will cover the entire attack surface — remember the digital shadows we make extend a long ways — and cyber chain stages to stitch together a comprehensive picture of what is happening so that the cyber toolbox can be deployed. Traditional security controls can be used along with other advanced options meant to simplify and speed an operation’s cyber capabilities. 

Blockchain is here

By now, most of us have heard about blockchain and its ability to provide a secure ledger to show and maintain a history of transactions and the documentation needed for such transactions to be completed.

Blockchain isn’t just about Bitcoin, though. The banking and financial world is working to deploy or expand its exposure to blockchain technology. The technology is changing rapidly the way assets are transferred, stored and accounted for.

Public and private blockchains are being used by businesses and large financial firms every day to deal in crypto assets or provide a sophisticated and secure way to manage transactions and provide custody services. Like AI, this isn’t science fiction anymore; it’s reality. 

Filecoin is up next

For businesses of all sizes, a system called Filecoin provides the level of near untouchable or unchangeable security offered by blockchain but for data storage. The system is a decentralized network designed to store the world’s most important information — yours is certainly included on that list. 

AI, blockchain and Filecoin are only three of the major tools in the cybersecurity toolbox. They are new, highly advanced and increasingly becoming used and relied on to combat the constantly evolving ransomware and hacking attacks that are always watching and waiting to pounce on any digital shadow we cast. The team at IT Outlet is up to date on all three and ready to help walk your organization through the benefits and use cases of each. 

What does your cyber toolbox need? 

Through the team’s updated Cyber Threat Assessment, they also can help you understand how AI could help you, why Filecoin could be your new data best friend or how the performance of your system would benefit from something like blockchain.

Their assessment also focuses on security, productivity and performance. The security review will determine if applications are vulnerable to attacks, if malware/botnets are detected, if phishing attacks are getting through your defenses — there is more to those attacks than warranty calls or odd links — and which devices have a security breach probability. For productivity, the team will look at which peer-to-peer, social media, IM and other apps are running while also providing visibility control in addition to monitoring spam that may be bothering your email. And, for performance, who doesn’t want faster speeds? The team will help you understand session and bandwidth usage requirements during peak hours for network, email systems and critical applications. 

The report will come with recommended actions that seem simple or can include the implementation of the highest-tech, most advanced options used today like AI, blockchain or Filecoin. To make sure that when an issue happens — because we all know it will — you’ve got the best tools in your cybersecurity toolbox.