A Trusted Cybersecurity Service Provider for Modern Protection

Cybersecurity threats in our current landscape are changing at such a rapid pace that it can feel almost impossible for professionals to keep up. Fending off ransomware attacks alone can feel like a full-time job sometimes. In 2022, organizations detected 493.33 million ransomware attacks across the globe—and these ransomware attacks are growing in complexity and severity. This is why it’s becoming increasingly important that you have a reliable cybersecurity service provider.

But it’s not just ransomware attacks that organizations have to stay ahead of. More people are working remotely, an increasing number of organizations are incorporating smart devices as part of the Internet of Things (IoT) transformation, cloud computing is powering more of our operations, and social engineering attacks and cyber espionage are all more prevalent than before. 

How can organizations even begin to keep up with it all? That’s where a cybersecurity service provider comes in. 

How a Cybersecurity Service Provider Can Help

As these cybersecurity threats evolve and expand, it’s more important than ever to implement modern protections. Cybersecurity will only continue to change, and it’s challenging to keep up with everything. Partnering with an IT service provider is a smart solution to balancing it all. Here’s what you need to know.

The State of the IT Threat Landscape: Where We Are Now

Just as well-intentioned developers and engineers are continuously driving innovation in the world of IT, bad actors are just as busy developing new ways to take advantage of these technologies. The landscape of cyber threats is ever-evolving and expanding, which means new threats emerge every day, and existing threats become more sophisticated daily.

Some of the most significant cybersecurity risks today include the following:

• Ransomware Attacks
  
  
• Social Engineering Attacks
  
  
• Data Breaches
  
  
• AI-Powered Attacks
  
  
• IoT Attacks (including wearable and medical devices)
  
  
• Phishing Attacks

As organizations rely on more business-critical applications, both the scope for a prospective attack and the potential damage they can wreak continue to grow. The systems organizations use to power their businesses run between data centers, private and public clouds, and devices at the edge. It all makes for a massive attack surface that can be a significant challenge for organizations to secure. 

Professionals today struggle to balance the demands of their work with the need to defend against these evolving threats. With a cybersecurity landscape that’s in a constant state of flux, it’s more important than ever to adapt and meet these threats head-on.

Industry-Specific Cybersecurity Threats

Cybersecurity threats vary across different industries, targeting specific vulnerabilities and valuable assets. Here are some industry-specific cybersecurity threats:

The Risk of Attack in the World of Healthcare

Healthcare organizations have experienced a significant rise in the total number of threats over the past few years—especially when it comes to ransomware, AI, and IoT-related attacks, but also as the result of the vulnerabilities of third-party vendors, social engineering attacks, and even internal data breaches. Just how pronounced is this increase in the number of attacks? In 2019, there were 21.1 million compromised healthcare records, but by 2022, this figure had climbed to 28.5 million compromised records. 

The reason comes down to the sensitive nature of personal health information (PHI), which, when compromised, can cause major financial damage to healthcare providers and insurers, but also can be a matter of life or death in some cases. The average cost of a healthcare data breach is $10.1 million, more than double the overall average of $4.4 million per breach. Because of the potential for financial gain, bad actors are continuously searching for new methodologies to exploit the healthcare industry. 

Threats Within the CPA and Finance Industries

CPA and financial firms are constantly under the threat of attack—all thanks to the large volumes of confidential client data they store and interact with as part of their work. Especially with the movement to cloud-based applications and data storage within the cloud, remote work, and more service offerings that require third-party vendors and more data from clients, there are countless entry points for bad actors. 

Cyberattacks geared toward accounting firms and financial services include the following:

• Malware, often injected via phishing emails
  
  
• Fraudulent wire transfers engineered by cyber criminals
  
  
• Ransomware for data recovery

Personal data protection is non-negotiable for today’s financial consumers. In one survey, consumers rated the security of personal data as one of the main factors in where they choose to do business. What’s more, the average cost of a data breach within the financial industry is almost $6 million, far surpassing the overall average of $4.4 million. 

Threats Targeting the Legal Sector

Since 2020, over 750,000 Americans have been forced to deal with the repercussions of compromised personal information caused by cyber attacks on law firms. The biggest cybersecurity threat to law firms has everything to do with the confidential nature of much of the data these firms handle—and how they can span industries to cover all kinds of information, including medical histories and patient data to financial records, classified trade secrets, and more. 

Firms of all sizes are at risk, and cybercriminals often choose to target non-lawyer professionals like administrative assistants and paralegals with access to knowledge libraries, case files, client documents, and other records brimming with sensitive data. Legal professionals and the organizations they work with need cybersecurity support to defend against these attacks firm-wide.

How a Managed Cybersecurity Service Provider Can Help

Navigating this complicated, ever-changing threat landscape can feel like an insurmountable challenge when paired with the everyday tasks of running a business. Organizations have to consider the following:

• Proactive Threat Intelligence: Searching for emerging threats, seeking out possible exposure points, and staying ahead of risks before they enter your network.
  
  
• Continuous Monitoring: Prioritizing early detection of malware, breaches, and other threats through intuitive tools that detect and mitigate attacks in real time.
  
  
• Data Security and Protection: Authorizing and authenticating access to data to protect sensitive information—and also focusing on data backup strategies for recovery and restoration after an attack.
  
  

Additional Cybersecurity Service Provider Services & Strategies

Busy professionals shouldn’t have to tackle all of this while also handling their own operations. That’s where a cybersecurity service provider comes into play. Managed cybersecurity services are there to take the lead on protecting your network and your data so you can put your work first, staying at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation. This includes implementing vital, modern cybersecurity protections like:

• Developing a custom cybersecurity plan to manage your entire infrastructure from end to end.
  
  
• Creating a disaster recovery plan and incident response plan to help recover after an attack.
  
  
• Educating your team on best cybersecurity practices, like writing strong passwords and fending off phishing attempts.
  
  
• Fortifying your network and data storage security practices to ward off bad actors.
  
  
• Building a cybersecurity strategy to meet industry-specific compliance requirements.
  
  
• Keeping your team informed about emerging cybersecurity risks like social engineering attacks.
  
  
• Heading up endpoint detection and response strategies.
  
  
• Managing network and data access controls and authentication authorizations.
  
  
• Handling outages, threats, and other IT-based disaster recovery efforts.
  
  
• Leading the charge on sharing and implementing internet security best practices.

World-Class Managed Cybersecurity Services Right Here in Philadelphia

At Christo IT, we’ve made it our mission to support busy professionals with comprehensive managed IT services—and that includes cybersecurity. As a leader in your field, your time is best spent zeroing in on your area of expertise. We’ve got the cybersecurity efforts covered.

When you work with us, you gain access to a full roster of cybersecurity professionals, the best in the business, who focus their efforts on your IT infrastructure 24/7. We know you can’t afford to wait while a cybersecurity issue gets resolved—so we’ll work hard to deliver a smooth, efficient process that’s backed by a custom security strategy that meets industry requirements and your unique needs. 

Our team is well-versed in providing managed IT services within the healthcare, finance, accounting, and legal sectors, which means we’re always up-to-date regarding emerging threats, and we know how to help you navigate the intricacies of cybersecurity in your field as things evolve. Ready to learn more? Contact us today!