Cyber attackers are constantly looking for vulnerabilities to destabilize their targets' businesses and gain illegal benefits. These risks to businesses manifest themselves in different forms, such as attacks that can paralyze operations or malicious software that can cause serious damage to systems.
The US government warns the private sector
Globally, according to the available data, the USA is the country that is most often exposed to cyber attacks, followed by the United Kingdom, India, Germany and South Korea in terms of the number of attacks, with companies and government institutions being attacked. This worrisome situation is further supported by the announcement of the US government in March 2022, which emphasizes the expected increase in cyber attacks and the need to better protect the private sector.
Prema the report of the Ponemon Institute on the state of cyber security, small businesses often feel vulnerable in the digital world, 45% believe that their security solutions are not at an adequate level, and almost 70% believe that attacks are becoming more precise and targeted.
Changes in Serbia due to the new Law
Recognizing the seriousness of these threats, Serbia will soon receive an improved Law on Information Security and better data protection of citizens and the business sector. One of the key aspects of the new law will be the identification of operators of information and communication technologies of priority importance. This category will include all medium and large companies that operate in areas of essential importance for citizens and the functioning of the state, such as energy, transport, banking, healthcare and water supply. Among the priorities are those that provide telecommunication and trust services, government bodies and operators of critical infrastructure.
All of them will be obliged to check the compliance of their systems with the intended protection measures against cyber attacks at least twice a year, while the so-called important operators have this obligation at least once a year.
In practice, this will mean stricter obligations for a large number of small and medium-sized companies, such as security procedures and reports, hiring experts, constant control of cyber security, etc.
Hire experts or find a cyber protection service?
Often, in practice, when solving security issues, companies resort to purchasing only technological solutions, but in the absence of adequate human capacity that can constantly monitor, and technological expertise, such solutions do not bring the expected results. Small businesses often cannot afford their own IT staff. That's why finding a suitable managed service is often the most effective approach that can reduce potential costs while reducing security risks.
In response to these challenges, A1 Serbia enables users A1 Cyber Protect – a fully managed portfolio composed of multiple cyber services. The services are offered in a "modular way" - customers can either combine certain services that are really needed by their business or choose them all.
Each package provides access to the Security Operations Center (SOC), guaranteeing 24/7 monitoring and support. With this innovative approach to cyber security, A1 provides users with not only advanced protection services, but also continuous support in incident detection and response.
Initial security steps
In the meantime, we bring you some mandatory steps to properly approach the topic of cyber security in your company:
- Updating software and hardware to minimize risks
- Adopting a user authentication system with clear guidelines for creating passwords and additional layers of security
- Employee education is necessary; employees should be trained to spot potential cyber threats and suspicious activity
- Implementation of internal security protocols that strengthen the company's defense systems
- Backing up your data regularly is key to protecting against information loss, just like keeping backups of important documents
- Developing a cyber incident response strategy that anticipates potential scenarios and offers solutions to preserve business integrity
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