Category: Lansweeper

By Karen Lambrechts, Lansweeper

IT security breaches are becoming more frequent and costly. According to IBM Security’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 UK organisations shell out an average of £3.4m for data breach incidents. There isn’t a CISO around that doesn’t wish they had that kind of budget to spend on IT security. The tools to help security teams do their job more effectively are out there, but getting them approved in the annual budget is not guaranteed and investment can sometimes be too late.

So what can IT leaders do to make sure they continue to improve their IT security without blowing their budget? Here are eight ways to bolster cybersecurity resources:

1.   Recruit More Staff

Hiring experienced IT security specialists can be expensive and the job market is fiercely competitive. However, there is a benefit to hiring less experienced staff. Cybersecurity is a team sport after all and there are plenty of cybersecurity team roles that don’t require years of experience. Adding ambitious junior staff to support the day-to-day tasks will ease some of the pressure on the rest of your team.

On top of that, it gives you a pool of fresh talent you can train to fit the needs of your team. More people means more room for everyone to focus on their dedicated tasks. A full cybersecurity team, where every role is filled will make operations run more smoothly – and it never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes looking out for security risks.

2.  Upskill Your Team

The playing field of IT is always changing so cybersecurity learning is a constant and ever-evolving need. A solid progression plan for your cybersecurity staff will help you determine which skills and knowledge your team needs.

There is an abundance of cybersecurity education programs, therefore it’s up to you to choose the cybersecurity education resources that would be worth investing in.

As well as training in core areas of IT security, organisations should look at developing their team’s soft skills – how to work under pressure, think on their feet, and resolve problems quickly. The team needs to know how to respond in emergency situations, maintain a professional demeanour, and stay calm when a security breach or disaster strikes.

3.  Incentivise and Monitor the Performance of Your Cybersecurity Resources

A skilled and hard-working team won’t cut it if their efforts are being wasted in the wrong places. The right KPIs and a robust performance management program will help keep your team focused and motivated.

Meaningful meetings, effective deadlines, clear objectives, and thorough evaluations with each member all serve to keep your team on track. Consider incentivising staff members who are doing a great job. This can boost morale and encourage others to follow their lead, giving your team greater motivation to maintain a top-notch performance.

4.  Investing in Smart Systems and Software shouldn’t cost the earth

The more IT teams know about the dangers their business is facing, the better equipped they will be to defend against them. The right software will help you to monitor and protect everything from individual computers to mobile devices, to the entire network infrastructure.

An ideal solution for enhancing your cybersecurity stance is a comprehensive tool that provides a thorough understanding of your IT infrastructure. Invest in a tool that enables your IT team to uncover hidden elements, establish a comprehensive inventory of your IT assets, and enhance your cybersecurity measures. Be sure it facilitates vulnerability detection, patch application, upgrades, and adherence to prominent cybersecurity frameworks as these features will contribute to a robust cybersecurity strategy.

5.  Can You Outsource Some IT Services?

If your payroll is constrained, it might be a viable option to outsource some of your IT support services. However, outsourcing IT support only really only works if you can find a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that can either do it cheaper than hiring someone yourself (often not the case) or if IT services are budgeted differently within your company than payroll.

Outsourcing to an MSP or Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) is however a good way to get expertise in the short term in the current challenging labour market as finding IT Engineers with the correct level of expertise can be difficult. By outsourcing some of your team’s day-to-day responsibilities to a trusted third party, you can save time and focus on core business activities.

6.  Evaluate Your Cybersecurity Suppliers

If you’re expanding and optimising your IT team, AND looking for new software AND investigating outsourcing opportunities it can be easy to overlook the importance of managing the existing suppliers you already have. Running a thorough review of suppliers and the services they provide might present opportunities where you can reduce your cybersecurity spending.

By doing a full cybersecurity review, you can weigh each service you have against the cost and renegotiate your agreement or look for a more worthwhile alternative. Ask your team what value they are getting from your current suppliers and compare them to other options. Alternatively, ask your existing supplier what more they could offer. You may end up with a better service, boosting your overall IT security.

7.  Get the Whole Workforce to Follow Cybersecurity Best Practices

IT security is a company-wide responsibility – and this needs to be made clear to everyone. The better your workforce is informed about cybersecurity, the easier the job will be for your IT security team. Training your entire workforce may seem like a big investment. However, knowing that the average cost of a cyber attack in 2022 was $4.35 million, it can be argued that it is worth it.

Make IT security an important part of employee onboarding and introduce regular training sessions for staff members. Focus on the essentials like strong passwords, how to spot phishing emails, keeping software updated, suspicious links, and multi-factor authentication.

Involve the whole workforce in keeping your company safe. This should help minimise damage and disruption to your business and make everyone more accountable for IT security.

8.   Give Your Team More Time to Do What Matters

It’s important to focus your IT team’s time and effort on the tasks that really matter. Find the tasks that take up the most time and investigate whether these processes can be automated. You might think that cybersecurity automation is expensive, however, once you compare the cost of automated cybersecurity tasks with that of the labor required to do everything manually, it should be a no-brainer.

For example, automating the identification and inventory process for your complete IT infrastructure is entirely possible through the use of IT Asset Management software. a key feature of this solution. The effective management of IT assets plays a vital role in bolstering IT security efforts since safeguarding the unknown is challenging. Through routine automated scans, you can consistently maintain an accurate and current record of all devices linked to your network, thereby providing a more robust IT environment support for your various IT endeavours.

In an ever-evolving landscape of IT security challenges, the imperative to safeguard sensitive data and digital assets is undeniable. Navigating this landscape calls for strategic resource allocation, by smartly recruiting, upskilling, outsourcing, and making judicious technology investments, companies can fortify their defences without financial strain. These strategies pave the way for enhanced cybersecurity, marked by resilience and security without having to blow your IT budget.

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The post Eight Ways to Bolster Your Cybersecurity Resources Without Blowing Your Budget appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

By Karen Lambrechts, Lansweeper

So much software, so little oversight!

That may be how many IT departments are feeling lately. According to MarketsAndMarkets, the global Software Asset Management (SAM) market size is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.1% to $4.8 billion by 2026, up from $2 billion in 2021. Gartner also reported that enterprise spending on software is projected to increase by 9.3% in 2023.

The rapid growth of software in the enterprise has been spurred on by several factors:

  • the need for cost optimization
  • the rising demand for effective software license management
  • the increasing risk of software non-compliance.

The problem is, it’s getting tough to manage.

SAM is the process of managing and optimizing the use of software assets within an organization – including the management of software licensing, installations, and usage throughout the entire lifecycle, from acquisition to retirement.

SAM is an important practice for organizations because it helps to ensure compliance with licensing agreements and improve risk management, eliminating legal and financial penalties for non-compliance.

It also helps with decision-making, enabling organizations to realize cost savings by eliminating redundant software licensing, optimizing software usage, and negotiating better licensing agreements with software vendors.

Challenges in Software Asset Management

SAM can be a complex and challenging task for organizations. Some may lack visibility into their software usage, making it difficult to track and manage licenses effectively. Software licenses can be complex and difficult to understand as well, making compliance challenging. Often, organizations – especially smaller ones – lack sufficient staff, expertise and tools for an effective SAM program.

Additionally, the technology landscape is constantly evolving and new software applications are released regularly. This can make it difficult for organizations to perform software usage monitoring and keep up with licensing models and agreements. “Shadow IT” adds to the complexity. Employees may use unauthorized software applications, which can lead to non-compliance with license agreements.

Fortunately, there are best practices to follow to simplify software asset management, as well as a variety of tools that address these challenges and automate the process.

Best Practices for Software Asset Management

Effective Software Asset Management can help organizations to reduce costs, minimize legal risks, and improve operational efficiency. Here are some best practices for SAM:

  • Establish SAM policies and procedures. Develop and communicate clear policies for SAM that define roles and responsibilities, and establish processes for software procurement, deployment, and retirement. The policies should also outline procedures for tracking and managing licenses.
  • Educate employees. Educate employees about SAM policies and procedures, including the importance of complying with license agreements and the risks associated with using unauthorized software.
  • Conduct regular software audits. Regularly audit software usage and licenses to identify instances of over-licensing or under-licensing, and take corrective action as necessary. Additionally, monitor vendors to ensure that they comply with license agreements and provide the necessary support and maintenance.
  • Use SAM tools. Use software tools to automate the SAM process, including software discovery, license tracking and compliance reporting.

Following these best practices for SAM will help to reduce risk and costs, and optimize the use and availability of software across the organization.

Effective SAM is a huge undertaking for most organizations, but having the correct tools that can automate and streamline the process helps to reduce the cost, hassle and risk associated with the process. With these in place, you can reap the benefits of software compliance and optimization. Benefits such as:

  1. Cost savings: SAM helps organizations avoid over and under-licensing, and eliminates unnecessary software purchases. It helps to minimize software costs and reduce overall IT expenditures. Gartner states that an organization can save up to 30% of its software spend in the first year of implementing a SAM program.
  2. Risk management: Optimizing software usage and managing it properly helps to reduce the risk of incurring fines for non-compliance. Vendor audits are faster and easier, because the information vendors need is readily available.
  3. Improved security: SAM helps to identify and manage security risks associated with unlicensed or unauthorized software, reducing the risk of security breaches and data loss.
  4. Better software inventory management: SAM provides a centralized view of an organization’s software assets, making software usage monitoring and management easy, and ensuring that software is up-to-date and secure.
  5. Improved vendor management: SAM improves vendor relationship management, reducing the risk of overpayment and ensuring vendors provide the expected level of service and support.

Make sure you have the right tools that allow you to build a comprehensive IT asset inventory that includes all the software used throughout your organization – along with all hardware, operational technology, IoT, and cloud assets in your environment.

Added Software License Compliance capabilities enable you to track software license keys automatically and create an overview of your software license purchases.

By adopting this approach and following these processes, you will be more confident that you’ll always have the most accurate and complete information for managing your software estate.

The post What is Software Asset Management? And why you should care appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

Roel Decneut, Chief Strategy Officer at Lansweeper

Do you know what IT devices are in your business or on your network right now? If not, it’s not just cybercriminals that might be knocking on your door very soon, but the White House.

Binding Operational Directive 23-01, or BOD 23-01, is a new directive from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a Binding Operational Directive (BOD) that orders federal agencies in the country to keep track of their IT assets and any vulnerabilities on their networks.

The guidance aims to shake up the way devices are tracked, managed, and protected against unauthorized access and attacks like Ransomware. Because if IT teams and organizations don’t know what devices are under their roof, then what chance do they stand in protecting them?

What is the new directive?

The wide-ranging cybersecurity directive orders all U.S. Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to create a complete and accurate inventory of all of their software assets.

The new directive is trying to prevent situations such as the 2020 SolarWinds scandal, where several government agencies and organizations were compromised by malicious code injected into the software system.

But it also wants to put more accountability on federal civilian agencies for their own devices and what resides on their networks, as well as hold more responsibility in the case that a cyber breach or attack takes place.

And although the directive only covers federal civilian agencies in the U.S., the CISA also urged the private sector and state governments to review and implement similar asset and vulnerability practices. It’s hard to think of a reason why it shouldn’t also be rolled out to all businesses, not just those in the U.S.

For several years, the CISA has been working to gain greater visibility into risks facing federal civilian networks. It may now finally have made some progress.

What issues is it trying to address?

Threat actors continue to target critical infrastructure, networks, and devices to exploit weaknesses within unknown, unprotected, or under-protected assets. Previous and even current methods to prevent this from happening have provided varying levels of success, hence the need for another layer of protection.

At a basic level, businesses still aren’t tracking the devices and software underneath their own roof, with around one in three IT teams saying they don’t actively track the software used by employees within the business.

The hope with the new directive is that, at a minimum, agencies and government departments have access to an up-to-date inventory of assets. You can’t protect what you can’t see, so by providing this visibility we’re already one step ahead of the game.

But that alone won’t solve the issue altogether, as there’s no point seeing what’s under threat if you can’t prevent an attack from happening in the first place or at least stop it from becoming mission-critical.

93% of companies are vulnerable to external attackers breaching their network perimeters and gaining access to sensitive data. By improving on current IT asset management strategies to be able to identify vulnerabilities, track vulnerability signatures, and share that information with the relevant parties, we can help protect information from getting into the wrong hands.

What does it mean for IT teams?

The attack surface – the points of entry and vulnerabilities that serve as attack vectors – is expanding rapidly. New technologies, recent changes to implement remote and hybrid workplaces, and bring your own device (BYOD) gaining momentum again is threatening to overpower IT teams.

The attack surface is becoming uncontrollable, which is why new methods of Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) are becoming vital in managing and protecting organizations.

For agencies looking to become compliant with the new directive, creating a software asset inventory will be seen as a significant administrative challenge. We’re talking about having to locate, identify, record, and report on potentially hundreds or thousands of pieces of hardware and software.

Agentless scanning technology should help here. If done manually, creating an up-to-date inventory of all of these assets would take hundreds of hours, cost a significant amount of money, and potentially impact operations with IT resources diverted from other business-critical tasks.

Asset visibility and vulnerability detection 101

There are two key areas IT teams need to focus on – asset inventory and vulnerability scans. Together, these are seen as vital in gaining the visibility needed to protect federal organizations against outside threats.

By April 3, 2023, asset discovery scans will need to be run every seven days, while vulnerability assessments across those assets every 14 days. Agencies will also have to prove that they have the capabilities to run such tests on-demand, with the CISA requesting proof within 72 hours of receiving a written request.

If IT teams don’t have one already, they will need to create and maintain an up-to-date inventory of IT assets on their network, as well as identify vulnerabilities, and share relevant information with the CISA at regular intervals.

IT teams are already under pressure, and the only realistic and cost-effective way organizations can become compliant is to automate IT inventory. With new devices added on an almost daily basis and current tech needing to be constantly updated, it’s virtually impossible to handle this manually.

Knowing what’s on your network is necessary for any organization to reduce risk. In today’s digital-first world, with more attack surfaces than ever before, taking stock of what you have is the first step in protecting and preventing the worst from taking place.

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