Cybercriminals aren’t stupid. They time and engineer their attacks for maximum effectiveness. According to the Malwarebytes 2024 State of Ransomware Report, most ransomware attacks occur between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the victim’s local time. What’s more, ransomware attacks that once took weeks to execute can now be completed in a matter of hours. Attackers have also improved techniques for evading detection by traditional security tools. This strategy helps ensure that the attacker can get into the network and execute the attack during a time when the IT team is unavailable to respond.
That’s why experts say that every security strategy should include continuous monitoring. Around-the-clock security monitoring constantly looks for vulnerabilities, threats and indicators of compromise that may have gotten past security controls. If a threat is identified, the monitoring system issues an alert so the IT team can respond.
Benefits of Continuous Security Monitoring
After-hours attacks aren’t the only reason why continuous monitoring is essential. By monitoring their environment 24x7, organizations gain a number of business and IT benefits.
Rapid threat detection. Studies show that 81 percent of cyberattacks use weak or stolen passwords to gain access to systems, circumventing traditional security controls. Continuous monitoring enables IT teams to identify these threats along with zero-day exploits. The faster they can identify an attack, the more quickly they can contain it to minimize the damage.
More effective incident response. Best-in-class monitoring tools provide information about the type of attack and the systems that may have been affected. These tools can also provide the context needed to trace the attack to its source. This information allows IT teams to respond to the attack more effectively.
Improved risk management. By identifying vulnerabilities, continuous monitoring helps IT teams gain a better understanding of the organization’s security posture. They can prioritize threats and allocate resources to address those that pose the greatest risk to the business.
Greater visibility. Continuous monitoring gives IT teams visibility into system logs and alerts, user activity, network traffic, and more. In addition to helping IT staff identify suspicious behavior and potential threats, it enables them to be more proactive by blocking threats before they can cause damage.
Continuous compliance. Organizations face a growing array of increasingly strict regulatory requirements. Compliance can no longer be a once-a-year exercise. Continuous monitoring enables continuous compliance with regulations and security standards. It can also help organizations meet the requirements of cyber insurance carriers.
More informed decision-making. With so many threats and so many tools available to combat them, many organizations struggle to identify the right security investments. Continuous monitoring provides insight into the organization’s security posture, enabling decision-makers to assess the effectiveness of existing controls and make targeted investments to reduce risk.
Continuous Monitoring Challenges
Continuous monitoring requires a suite of tools that collect and analyze log data, monitor and analyze network traffic, perform vulnerability scans, and more. Although these processes can be automated, tuning the tools to provide accurate results can be challenging. Organizations must also adjust configurations whenever the IT environment changes, and have trained staff available around the clock to respond to alerts. That’s a tall order for most organizations.
A better approach is to outsource continuous monitoring to a managed services provider (MSP). Qualified providers have invested in advanced tools, and have a deep bench of engineers with expertise in cybersecurity. The best MSPs have a security operations center (SOC) where teams of experts investigate alerts and respond to threats and incidents.
Verteks provides around-the-clock monitoring as part of our comprehensive suite of managed services. Let us help you utilize this vital tool to reduce the risk and damage of a cyberattack.
