Learning Center
Related content
Protect your Business with DNS layered Cybersecurity
Protect your Business with DNS layered Cybersecurity
Cybercrimes have increased across industries. With the global awareness of cybercrimes, large organizations and government bodies have beefed up their cybersecurity measures through a host of protective systems. Several high-profile cyber crimes have been taking place over the past few years and dominating the news headlines. Now that would make the small business enterprises complacent, thinking that they are not on the radar.
Cybercriminals are always one step ahead. They know that instead of sweating over large organizations that have covered their IT systems through multilayer cyber protection, it is better to target smaller businesses. It is an open secret that most small businesses do not have a proper cyber security system despite having extensive data and being cash-rich.
Many SMEs are not even aware that DNS-layer security solutions exist to protect their business and money.
Cybercriminals have shifted focus from the large whales to the smaller fish – they are an easy target, and returns are equally good.
Cybers Security firms provide cyber security solutions such as CISO for small and medium-sized businesses that lack resources to staff internally, monitor cybersecurity threats, and run a full-scale security program. Many of the solutions are intended and designed for enterprise-level security, which is cost-effective and scalable.
Cybersecurity solutions are best customized to how small businesses operate and adopt a strategy that meets their requirements. Some of the solutions include DNS-layer security while giving protection on a broad scale does away with the need for labor-intensive rollout in small businesses.
Cybersecurity solutions for SMEs
Small businesses collectively account for a substantial portion of the economy. They account for 99% of the total companies in the US alone. The general perception that small businesses with modest operations are spared from cyber-attacks, the data during the covid pandemic suggests otherwise. More businesses got targeted by the attackers during the lockdown.
Collectively, the SMEs look formidable but individually, they come off vulnerable when it comes to cybersecurity. Phishing scams were one of the biggest threats faced by small businesses. Ransomware was also a significant threat. With no proper cyber security training for employees, even a trivial mistake such as unintentionally sharing credentials by an employee can expose an entire system to external threats.
The covid crisis put many small businesses at risk as they closed down their official operations and hastily set up work from home for their employees. The security took a back seat. The line between personal and business devices got blurred, resulting in the attackers leveraging these vulnerabilities.
Small business cybersecurity statistics
Here are some figures that highlight the insufficient preventive and combative security measures adopted by small businesses.
- Data breaches in SMEs accounted for 43 %
- 61 % of SMEs reported being cyber attacked at least once in the past year.
- 40% of small businesses face an average of 8-hour downtime as a result of cyber-attacks, which affected the overall cost to the business
- Phishing is the biggest threat to 30% of small businesses.
- 83 % of the SMEs are not financially strong to recover after a cyber attack
- 43% of SMEs do not have a cybersecurity plan in place.
- 52% of the SMEs did not have an in-house IT security team.
- 91% of small businesses are not covered under cyber liability insurance. It shows how unaware and unprepared SMEs are in dealing with security breaches.
The above statistics highlight how small businesses can be a soft target for cyber attackers. Ranging from ransomware, phishing, and crypto mining, these businesses experienced everything. With around 8 hours of average downtime reported by 61% of the companies after a cyber-attack, the total losses accounted for $1.56 million on average.
With factors like lack of resources, expertise, time, and training being the reasons for small businesses not putting comprehensive cyber security in place, there are solutions like DNS-layer security that can address the shortcomings.
DNS -Layer Security for small businesses
Small businesses tend to become efficient when they can manage resources better. Thus, they require a cybersecurity solution that is cost-effective and protects broadly. One way to prevent cyber-attacks is to install a DNS -layer security system.
DNS stands for the Domain name system. They play a vital role in internet architecture, where users can connect to websites or other applications without remembering IP addresses. Due to the indifferent approach by organizations to secure networks with DNS layers, malicious actors attack and infiltrate systems using the DNS. 91 % of malware is injected into systems using DNS. The attackers use this method to gain command and control over the system, extract data, and redirect web traffic. Thus, if these vital activities are protected, a small business should understand the importance of DNS -Layer security.
How does DNS work?
To have a broad understanding of how to secure the system with DNS- layer security, here are a few of its features.
- The internet is the starting point of infiltration. DNS- layer security works from this point and stops any malware, phishing, botnets, or ransomware here before the attackers can establish a connection with the network.
- DNS security allows protection to devices on-premises and employees who are mobile and using laptops and mobiles.
- Cloud service providers provide cloud-native DNS security. It can be installed for a business quickly as it does not require any software maintenance and hardware installation.
- The DNS-layer security is a single solution that covers the entire network and streamlines cybersecurity management. It allows small businesses to avoid multiple complicated products and helps one to manage one IT budget.
Conclusion
The existing network and its security architecture need refreshment as businesses are working in hybrid platforms nowadays and, as such, needs Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). Vendors are looking to integrate DNS-layer security products with other cybersecurity packages to provide additional security. Some DNS packages include Secure web gateway (SWG) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB). This combined security allows one to use its threat investigation features, enhancing overall web security. Businesses can have more visibility to indicators pointing towards malicious activities and hence get blocked before accessing the network.
