Essential Cybersecurity and IT Managed Services Insights for 2024

Staying current on cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and trends is critical for all businesses, whether large multinationals or small to medium-sized businesses.

IT managers and decision-makers must know the top threats to their operations and how they can partner with an IT Managed Services Provider (MSP) or MSSP to eliminate these risks.

As you explore this resource, you will uncover some of the most relevant insights for cybersecurity in 2024, the importance of backups, cybersecurity best practices, and the role IT MSPs play in keeping your operations secure and online!

Table of Contents

1. Common Cybersecurity Threats and How MSPs Mitigate Threats in 2024
2. The Importance of Backup & Disaster Recovery
3. Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small to Medium-Sized Businesses
4. Understanding Ransomware and How to Protect Your Business

1- Common Cybersecurity Threats and How MSPs Mitigate Them

Top Cybersecurity Threats in 2024

Cyber security threats are constantly evolving and adapting. Look at some of the most significant risks for 2024:

• Ransomware Attacks: Cybercriminals have found a way to retrieve sensitive data and are now demanding payment, or else they may risk publishing this data publicly.
• AI-Powered Attacks: Using AI tools and machine learning, hackers use chatbots and deepfakes to gain access to business data.
• IoT Attacks: IoT devices are most often installed without proper cyber protection. Remain vigilant for these in the near term.
• Nation-State Attacks: State-sponsored attacks are not new. Keep a look out for these, especially during politically sensitive events such as elections.

Uncover more details on the top cybersecurity threats in 2024 by grasping the information in our blog post on the most significant cyber risks for 2024.

Role of IT MSPs

IT MSPs are very useful to businesses trying to implement modern and more complex cyber security measures such as:

• Intrusion Detection: Tools that monitor network traffic.
• Firewalls: Cybersecurity devices that prevent unauthorized access into or out of an IT network.
• Security Information and Event Management Systems (SIEM): Security solutions that provide you with security alerts via network hardware and apps.
• Endpoint protection: Secure your network devices (computers, smartphones, printers, etc.) from cyber threats. you can learn more about endpoint protection by reading our blog post on how to protect your business devices through endpoint protection.

Proactive Threat Detection & Response

When it comes to your security posture, you need LIVE threat intelligence. MSPs will do just that and offer you:

• Continuous Monitoring: 24/7 monitoring of your IT infrastructure to detect and eliminate threats before they become a menace.
• Threat Intelligence: Live insights and recommendations to identify and deploy defensive measures.

Employee Awareness Training

Cybersecurity wouldn’t be effective unless we resolve the most dangerous threat: human error.

Educating and training your employees is one of the most critical prevention strategies for recognizing and avoiding cyber threats. You can do this by providing your team with the latest information on threats and vulnerabilities relevant to their roles.

2- The Importance of Backup & Disaster Recovery

Data Loss Scenarios:

Data can be lost in various ways. Here are a few data loss scenarios:

• Hardware failures: Computers and every part of your IT infrastructure can fail without any warnings. MSSPs ensure that your systems are taken care of before problems arise.
• Cyber-attacks: Ransomware, malware, and other cyber threats can compromise data.
• Natural disasters: Floods, earthquakes, and fires, among many other unpredictable events, can cause damage to your IT hardware.

MSP Data Backups

IT MSPs and MSSPs offer full-service backup solutions that ensure your business remains online. Look at various types of backups used to assure security and redundancy:

• Cloud-Based Backups: Cloud data storage for more security and accessibility of data.
• Offsite Backups: Remote backups that shelter your business data from disasters and unexpected physical events.

Disaster Recovery

Every recovery plan needs the following components:

• Regular data backups to avoid major data loss
• Data encryption that prevents unauthorized access
• Recovery time objectives (RTOs) define the acceptable time frame for the MSP to bring your business back online.

For a more detailed look at what you can do to recover from unexpected events, read our post that discusses What Is A Disaster Recovery Plan.

Business Continuity

IT MSPs will ensure business continuity through:

• Fast data restores: Quickly restore your data and reduce downtime and interruptions to your business operations.
• Full-Service Data Recovery: Data retrieval to system restart to help you bounce back as soon as possible.
• Prompt Data Recovery: MSPs provide business continuity by maintaining uptime
• Comprehensive Recovery Services: from data retrieval to restarting your entire infrastructure.

3-Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small to Medium-Sized Businesses

Strong Password Policies: Enforcing the use of strong, more complex passwords is the first step businesses can take to protect themselves online.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Implementing MFA gives your business another layer of protection by ensuring that there is another step involved should a password be compromised.

Regular Software Updates: Keeping your apps and systems up to date is important to reduce the number of vulnerabilities. Updating and patching helps you protect against unauthorized access or damage done through an exploit.

Network Security Measures: Network security measures help protect your personal data:

• Virtual Private Networks (VPN): Secures your remote connections.
• Secure Wi-Fi: Use strong encryption standards like WPA3.
• Network Segmentation:  Limits the spread of cyber-attacks and keeps sensitive data away from less important network areas.

Data Encryption and Secure Communication:

Encryption protects your sensitive business data from unauthorized access and use. Ensure the use of secure communications channels such as encrypted emails and secure messaging apps.

Check out our article on Cybersecurity Best Practices For Businesses for more detailed insights and best practices for keeping your business secure.

4–Understanding Ransomware and How to Protect Your Business

What Is Ransomware?

Ransomware is malicious software that infects your computer and makes it difficult to use by encrypting your files or locking you out of the system. It will then display a ransom note demanding payment in exchange to free the files or restore access.

Common Methods of Ransomware Infection:

• Phishing Emails: Malicious emails that look legitimate but contain harmful links or files and are designed to fool you.
• Malicious software downloads: Downloading from unknown sources can lead to an infection.
• Fraudulent Pop-Ups: Be on the lookout for popups that seem urgent and ask you to download a file or click on a link.
• Bundled Software: Sometimes, legitimate files can also come packed with harmful software.

Impact of Ransomware Attacks:

Ransomware attacks can cause significant and costly damage to your business and reputation. Here are a few implications:

• Data Loss: If you don’t pay the ransom, your data may get lost forever. Or worse. Sensitive and private information gets published for anyone to access, and it is impossible to scrub completely.
• Financial Loss: The ransom, downtime, loss of revenue, and accrued costs for recovery all add up quickly. The best protection is prevention!
• Reputational Harm: If data is lost or publicized for everyone to see, it may erode trust and damage your reputation, leading to long-term impacts.

How to Prevent Ransomware

There are various steps that you can take to boost your cybersecurity posture and reduce the risk of your business being affected by potential ransomware.

• Regular Backups: Frequent backups allow you to restore data points before the attack occurs, and immutable backups save data that ransomware cannot alter or delete.
• Email Filtering: Use filters that can help prevent any phishing attempts.
• Employee Training: Train your employees to recognize the symptoms of a phishing attack and train them on methods to identify suspicious links and emails.
• Updating software: Keep everything up to date so that your OS, apps, and anti-virus are operating properly.
• Using VPNs on Public Wi-Fi:  Protect your data from being intercepted on public networks.
• Anti-Virus and Firewalls: Blocks malicious software from infiltration.

Responding and Recovering from a Ransomware Attack

1. Isolation of Infected Systems: Disconnect infected devices and systems from the network to stop the spread.
2. Reaching Out to Law Enforcement: Report the attack to the proper authorities for further investigation.
3. Use of Decryption Tools: If available to you, recover files using a decryption key.
4. Communicate with cybersecurity professionals: Investigate, perform forensic analysis, and recover systems to normal.

Read our guide on how to prevent ransomware attacks to learn more about protecting your business from the consequences of a ransomware attack.

Don’t Become a Victim of a Ransomware Attack!

Understanding ransomware is important to keep your business safe from harmful impacts. Through initiatives such as employee awareness training and implementing cybersecurity best practices, you will significantly reduce the risk of becoming a victim of a ransomware campaign.

Don’t leave your business vulnerable! Take proactive steps to guard your assets. For a comprehensive cybersecurity solution tailored to your needs, visit our cybersecurity services to learn more about how we can fortify your business.