Your Digital Canary: The Power of Threat Detection

Even the best preventative tools have a weakness; if the attack breaks through your defenses, the tools you rely on are unable to help. Through the use of threat detection, you can identify, eliminate, and recover from cyberattacks on your network and continue working without issue. But what is threat detection at its core and how does it make a difference in your small business? 

​Defining Threat Detection

Let's start with a brief overview. Threat detection is a crucial part of your cybersecurity strategy because it allows you to identify when your network is compromised by intruders. Without threat detection, cybercriminals could access your network and stay there for unknown amounts of time.

Similar to how canaries were used to detect gas leaks in mineshafts, your threat detection software acts as a means of alerting you to the dangers of a cyber threat before it has a tangible effect on your business.

Unfortunately, you can't block every cyberattack on your business. Cyber threats are constantly adapting. They're smart, ruthless, and adaptable. Maybe the first few fail, but eventually, you'll be faced with a digital Terminator whose eyes are fixed on your sensitive data. Skynet may not be real, but malicious activity online certainly is.

It's critical that businesses spend as much time considering what happens after an attack occurs as they do trying to prevent them. Without threat detection and a recovery plan to back it up, you are at the mercy of your attackers. Attackers then have full access to your network because you don't know they're in and have no plan of action to stop them because of this. Then, they rip your defenses apart and grab the sweet nectar of your business fight from under your nose; your data. 

​Identify Threats With Specialized Tools

Keeping your data under wrap starts with strategy. Threat detection tools give you the means to track different types and vectors of attacks, with different tools providing differing benefits. Some of these detection techniques include:

• Algorithm-Based Detection: This method uses machine learning and AI to predict and detect threats based on data collected within a system and callsigns of an attack that should be identified beforehand. An algorithm sorts the data and sees attack possibilities based on the information collected.
• Behavior-Based Detection: This detection technique uses behavioral trends tracked over time to help identify abnormalities. It tracks digital patterns in behavior such as user activity or network behavior to determine good and bad behavior which correlates to finding potential threats. This is used more commonly to find insider threats, although it can be used to find external ones as well.
• Signature-Based Detection: A signature-based detection method looks for attributes of well-known malicious attacks like malware or ransomware to identify those that aren't blocked or filtered out by firewalls or antivirus software.
• Statistics-Based Detection: This technique measures numbers to detect a baseline, variations across that baseline, and outliers to find anomalies and potential attacks. This is essential to weeding out machine-lead attacks like brute force breaches. 

​Where Your Security Teams Stand Without Threat Intelligence

A lack of effective threat detection tools in place can lead to business problems, some obvious and others not so much. Obviously letting cybercriminals roam freely across your network isn't exactly a positive for your business, but this can lead to more than lost data. Your data security could be compromised, threat response could be prevented or blocked long enough for them to make off with the vital information, or it could result in privacy invasion. The list goes on and on.
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Undetected malware can sit dormant for a long time, gathering data and analyzing your network. Cybercriminals use this time to gain a greater understanding of your defenses and prepare for a larger or future attack. Additionally, long-term data theft harms your business, customers, and employees. Not only can the loss of data cause lasting damage to you and your clients, but it can also result in large fines if your security solutions are found to be non-compliant with certain security regulations. 

​Threat Detection and Response Options

Implementing advanced threat detection tools into your business gives you a security boost, especially if you have a small or nonexistent IT or cybersecurity team. Threat detection technologies give you an edge over attackers by giving you the heads up before disaster strikes, with many also providing you with disaster recovery solutions to combat any damage done.

Relying on cybersecurity solutions like IntegriTel gives you an edge over potential attackers, as our cybersecurity solutions encompass threat detection, disaster recovery, zero trust, and more. If you want flexible, all-encompassing security solutions for your small business, contact the experts at IntegriTel today.