Understanding the Escalating Cybersecurity Threats for SMBs
In an era where cybersecurity breaches dominate headlines, the visibility of these risks extends beyond large enterprises to encompass small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and the public at large. This growing awareness among SMBs highlights the pressing need to bolster their security measures. However, many of these businesses find themselves struggling to source effective, user-friendly, and affordable security tools.
As we assess the cybersecurity landscape for SMBs, it is critical to emphasize the importance of robust threat intelligence. This intelligence is vital for recognizing and understanding the risks that these businesses face. NTT Security Holdings (NTTSH) brings over two decades of expertise in curating threat intelligence and developing protective solutions. After years of catering primarily to larger organizations, NTTSH is now shifting its focus to democratize cybersecurity, ensuring smaller businesses can access necessary protections.
Central to these efforts is NTTSH’s Global Threat Intelligence Center (GTIC), which merges in-depth threat research with proprietary detection technology, generating actionable threat intelligence. The GTIC’s objective is to safeguard clients by providing cutting-edge threat research, allowing NTTSH to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats. Leveraging its significant position in the global Internet backbone, NTTSH obtains unparalleled visibility into Internet activity, giving it crucial insights into various threat actors and their methodologies. GTIC collaborates with important players in the cybersecurity sector, such as Microsoft and the Cyber Threat Alliance, to enhance its threat intelligence.
NTTSH’s annual Global Threat Intelligence Report (GTIR) serves as a crucial resource, summarizing the key security challenges facing organizations of all sizes and offering actionable insights to navigate the constant evolution of threats. The most recent report gives special attention to various industry sectors, revealing unique threats they encounter.
The healthcare sector, in particular, is grappling with significant cybersecurity challenges. With the increasing adoption of technology, many healthcare providers—especially smaller entities—struggle with cybersecurity awareness and resources. Ransomware attacks in this sector remain a formidable concern, with the USA, Australia, and the UK accounting for nearly 80% of these incidents. A similar pattern emerges in telecommunications, where ransomware has affected approximately 52% of vulnerabilities in these regions.
Lockbit 3.0 has emerged as a prevalent threat actor across multiple sectors. Some adversaries, such as the Bl00dy ransomware group, have even targeted specific industries like education. These geographic and sectoral trends highlight a pressing need for SMBs to optimize their cybersecurity postures.
In light of the rapid adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS), the GTIC has identified new challenges. With a projected annual growth of around 20% in SaaS utilization, the risk landscape shifts, as 99% of cloud security breaches are attributed to user misconfigurations. Although larger enterprises have adapted to the shared responsibility model of cloud services, many SMBs are still adjusting. Threat actors are increasingly targeting user identities using techniques like credential stuffing and phishing.
As SMBs transition to hybrid IT environments, relying on cloud services rather than merely on-premises security measures, they face multiple challenges. The attack surface continues to expand, causing an influx of security alerts from disparate sources. Unlike larger organizations with dedicated security operations teams, SMBs often lack the resources to invest in comprehensive security infrastructures.
To address these needs, NTTSH has developed its Samurai XDR product, which aims to streamline security operations for SMBs. By consolidating alerts from various IT assets and applications into an intuitive interface, Samurai XDR provides organizations with a streamlined solution to manage threat detection and response. The user-friendly design allows a broader range of IT staff, beyond just security analysts, to engage with the system effectively.
Samurai XDR also features integrations with various platforms commonly used in SMB environments, ensuring seamless ingestion of telemetry from both cloud and on-premises services. Key examples of available integrations include Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and various next-generation firewalls.
The focus on usability extends to Samurai XDR’s pricing model, which is based solely on the number of endpoints. With costs structured to facilitate access for even smaller businesses, NTTSH also offers a 30-day risk-free trial, affording organizations the opportunity to trial advanced security capabilities without commitment.
In conclusion, as the cybersecurity landscape becomes increasingly complex, it is imperative for SMBs to adapt and bolster their defenses through tools that enhance visibility and response capabilities. By harnessing advanced threat intelligence and user-friendly tools like Samurai XDR, these businesses can navigate the evolving threat landscape more effectively while safeguarding their critical assets.
