Why Continuous Monitoring is a Cybersecurity Must | Simple IT Blog

Imagine this: you leave your house for vacation, which is usually a blur of bags, tight timelines and probably an unwritten list of things not to forget to do before you shut the door. You live in a nice neighborhood of Kenton County, KY, maybe Fort Mitchell, Crestview Hills, Fort Wright or maybe just down the road in Boone County. You feel confident your locks are secure. But you also weren’t the last to leave and passed that responsibility to your teenager, with head down for the latest Cloud Backup of their playlist favorites. So, as you rush to the airport it crosses your mind… is your place locked and safe? A tiny crack or hidden weakness may have occurred which could be an incident waiting to happen.

That's similar to the risk of neglecting continuous cybersecurity monitoring. Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and traditional security measures are no longer enough. Continuous monitoring acts as your vigilant digital guard and IT consulting to provide a documented
cybersecurity plan with accountability measures acts as your roadmap. It’s a process constantly checking for weaknesses through virtualization services. It sounds the alarm before attackers find those weaknesses in your firewall management or cybersecurity
solutions to help you avoid expensive incident response services and cybersecurity remediation.

Why Continuous Monitoring Matters

There are several reasons you need to watch your network management. It’s not just a
“good to have.” Here’s why continuous monitoring is a cybersecurity must for businesses of all sizes whether they run a dedicated in-house IT staff or count on outsourced IT services with remote monitoring and management.

Breaches Happen Fast

Cyberattacks can happen in seconds and at any time of any day or night. They exploit weak vulnerability management points before you even know they exist. Continuous business security monitoring provides real-time insights. It allows you to identify and remediate
cybersecurity threats swiftly, minimizing potential damage and confirming continuity of endpoint security and management.

Advanced Threats Need Advanced Defenses

Hackers are constantly developing sophisticated techniques that thrive upon weaknesses in IT infrastructure support. Some can bypass traditional perimeter defenses of your on-premises security. Continuous monitoring delves deeper into your network management and
cloud backup services. It analyzes network traffic, user behavior, and system logs. It uncovers hidden threats lurking within your network and provides IT support services like Privileged Access Management to develop rules and permissions to secure your employees and data while allowing the access they need to perform assigned responsibilities.

Compliance Requirements Often Mandate It

Many industry regulations and data privacy laws require organizations to have continuous monitoring to confirm their IT compliance structure. Additionally, insurance providers as well as outside vendors may require cybersecurity coverage with your premium priced on IT compliance measures in place. The better you’re protected, the lower your premium and exposure to hefty fines, lost business and reputational damage.

Peace of Mind and Reduced Costs

Continuous monitoring helps prevent costly breaches and downtime. It also reduces the workload for security teams, onsite tech support and remote IT service providers near you. It automates routine tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives and IT project
management.

What Does Continuous Monitoring Look Like?

Continuous monitoring isn't a single tool. It’s a holistic approach that combines different elements. These include:

**Log Management: **Security logs are collected and analyzed for suspicious activity. Logs come from firewall management, mobile device management, IT asset management and applications not unlike those in Microsoft 365 for Business and Google Suite.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM systems collect security data. They tap into various sources. They provide a centralized view of your security posture and identify potential threats through virtual assessment and vulnerability management.

Vulnerability Scanning: Regular scans and network penetration tests identify weaknesses in your systems and applications. This allows you to patch them before attackers exploit them and expose you to what could be costly threat remediation and incident response.

User Activity Monitoring: Monitoring user behavior can identify suspicious activity. For example, unauthorized access attempts or data exfiltration. Finding the balance of access and trust for your employees to do their jobs with the measures of security, rules and regulating access is best achieved by a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution monitored by Onsite IT support or your IT Managed Service Provider.

Network Traffic Analysis: Monitoring network traffic can reveal several risks:

Malware

Suspicious communication patterns

Attempts to breach your network defenses

Benefits Beyond Threat Detection

Continuous monitoring offers advantages beyond just identifying threats. Here are some extra benefits.

Improved Threat Detection Accuracy

Continuous monitoring reduces false positives. It does this by analyzing vast amounts of data, often by way of a third party staffed Security Operations Center (SOC) with remote remediation measures. This allows your in-house IT, virtual CIO, or outsourced IT consultant to focus on genuine threats and business continuity.

Faster Incident Response

Continuous monitoring provides real-time alerts. This enables a quicker response to security incidents, minimizing potential damage.

Enhanced Security Posture

Continuous monitoring aids in identifying vulnerabilities. It helps you rank patching and remediation efforts. This proactively strengthens your security posture.

Compliance Reporting

Continuous monitoring systems can generate reports. This helps you prove compliance with relevant regulations. It also saves you time and resources during IT security audits, disaster recovery planning, and IT compliance check-ups.

Getting Started with Continuous Monitoring

Implementing continuous monitoring doesn't have to be overwhelming. You can begin with a few commonsense steps, many of which can be put into place by a Managed IT Service Provider or IT consultant with cybersecurity solutions experience.

Assess Your Needs

Identify your organization's specific security needs and compliance requirements. Have a cybersecurity assessment done, also known as a network assessment or penetration test (pen test). This is the best way to identify vulnerabilities you should address, similar to a
whole home inspection. Simple IT provides penetration testing and vulnerability management for small businesses and enterprises in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to help identify weaknesses in cybersecurity compliance and IT infrastructure, construct incident response planning services and to provide swift threat remediation if a cybersecurity incident has already occurred.

Choose the Right Tools

Select remote monitoring tools, endpoint security solutions, and managed detection and response solutions that align with your needs and budget. Consider managed security service providers (MSSPs) and outsourced IT services or IT consulting support for a comprehensive solution tailored to your business. Simple IT has provided these services and solutions for small and medium businesses and can help ensure your holistic cybersecurity strategy. Plus, we can tailor these solutions for your budget and have them ready to scale for your evolving business growth.

Develop a Monitoring Plan

Define what your monitoring plan will look like. This helps ensure that things don’t get missed. Here are some things to include in your plan:

How you will track data

How you will handle alerts

Who handles responding to incidents

Invest in Training

Train your security team on how to use the monitoring tools as well as how to effectively respond to security alerts. Include training on reporting from monitoring systems. Ensure your team knows how to understand the insights they offer. For your non-IT staff, invest in regularly scheduled cybersecurity awareness training to help them identify and act on possible threats they see when online, or working through email and network data.

Continuous Monitoring: Your Cybersecurity Lifeline

In today's threat landscape, continuous monitoring is not a luxury and it’s “not just for the big guys”. It’s a security necessity for big business and small businesses alike. Proactive
monitoring of your systems and data has many benefits. You’ll identify threats early, respond
swiftly and reduce the impact of cyberattacks while keeping your business continuity protected.

Don't wait for a security breach to be your wake-up call. Embrace continuous monitoring and take control of your cybersecurity posture proactively. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, especially in the digital world.

Need Help with Your Cybersecurity Strategy?

Monitoring is one part of a holistic approach to cybersecurity. Simple IT is ready to protect your business. We look forward to serving you with a customized plan tailored and ready to scale to continuously meet your needs and budget.

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This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.