There are many reasons to invest in cybersecurity. One is that not having adequate protection can be much more expensive, for example during a ransomware attack where the attacker locks or encrypts data until a ransom is paid. But there are also several other motives for investing in cybersecurity – such as the organisation having to due to legal requirements, or simply realising that it needs more than just a firewall. What matters is that you know what level of security your particular organisation or part of the organisation needs!
Cyberattacks are on the rise – protect your sensitive information
Lack of, and even ignorance of, cybersecurity is a major risk for today’s companies and organisations. We constantly read about companies and organisations that have been attacked and that the attack has resulted in large costs for both companies, organisations, suppliers, citizens and customers. All organisations have sensitive information that is vulnerable to cyberattacks. That is why it is important for everyone to take steps to improve the way they work and reduce the risk of being the victim of a cyberattack.
Cybersecurity is above all about preventing information from being leaked, made unavailable, tampered with and destroyed. It is also about the right information being available to the right people, and at the right time. Information must not be able to fall into the wrong hands and be misused.
There are several different solutions that can protect your network and your information. For example, there are data diodes, security gateways and firewalls. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but it depends on what kind of information you want to protect and how you use the information.
When do you need to invest in cybersecurity?
There are a few different reasons why you need to invest in higher security than what your organisation has today. In our guide “Are you sure you’re secure?“ we show you when you need our solutions and we also explain them below.
You must according to law and regulations
Maybe you have to follow a law that says you have to use approved encryption products? One such law is the Security Protection Ordinance. According to chapter 3 § 5 of the Security Regulation (2018:658), all businesses, public and private, that handle security-classified data that must be communicated to an information system outside the operator’s control, must protect the data using cryptographic functions that have been approved by the Swedish Armed Forces. It is important that this applies to both the person who sends and the person who receives secret information.
You may also have requirements for component insurance at security protection class level N3 or lower. Then you might need an N3 diode, a powerful solution for efficient, risk-free and assured unidirectional data flow between security domains.
You should according to the standard or the NIS directive
There are also standards and directives, such as the NIS directive, which can be a reason why you should invest in cybersecurity.
The NIS Directive is intended to raise the EU member states’ level of protection with regard to critical infrastructure. The NIS directive tightens the requirements for information security in terms of integrity and availability. If you have to follow this type of directive, it is a good idea to use datadiodes or Security Gateways.
You need to ensure unidirectional information flow
If you need to ensure unidirectional information flow, a data diode is recommended. When sensitive systems, such as e.g. ICS systems, are connected to other networks, a major security threat arises and security measures need to be taken to prevent intrusions and to maintain the integrity of the network.
Data diodes prevent intrusions and leaks, increase network security and ensure that no malicious information can enter, and are therefore the best way to protect sensitive systems and confidential data. Advenica’s data diodes are network devices for one-way communication that interconnect two security domains or networks of the same or different security levels.
You use a firewall today, but is it secure enough?
Do you need stronger protection than a firewall?
If you need to transfer information to or from a security-sensitive network, a firewall should not be the only solution you use to increase your cyber security. Even if the purpose of a firewall is to protect the network, an addition with significantly higher assurance is needed.
More ways to find out what security solution is needed
Before finding the solution, you need to find out what the problem is, what the risks are, and how a potential solution would fit into your environment. Here are some other steps you need to take to find the right solution for your particular needs.
Carry out a risk analysis
In order to know which direction to go in your cybersecurity work, you have to evaluate the business as it looks today – by making an analysis of the risks that currently exist in the business’s systems. Based on the calculated risks, you can create an architecture with zones, and data flows between the zones.
Start working on zoning
Zoning of an IT system is done for both security and functional reasons. Generally speaking, the underlying driving force is to reduce the risk of various types of disturbances in the system. In terms of security, zoning is about grouping assets with the same type of protection needs with regard to privacy, integrity, availability and access. The higher the demands placed on the protection of a system, the more it costs to build and maintain the system and protection mechanisms, which means that for economic reasons one wants to strive to minimise the size of systems with high demands on protection.
Read more about risk-based zoning.
Once you’ve taken these steps and asked yourself the questions above, it’s time to contact a cybersecurity expert who can help you choose the right cybersecurity products for your needs. Advenica’s products can often be used as they are, or with minor adaptations.
Data diodes – a smart choice
Data diodes are the fail-safe way to protect sensitive systems and confidential data. A data diode is a security product that is placed between two networks and acts as a check valve whose function only allows data to be sent in one direction while blocking all data in the opposite direction. Since the data diode’s security features are based on hardware and optical fiber, it can be shown that it is physically impossible for data to be transported in the opposite direction. The hardware-based solution provides physical security, which means that you can easily show that data diodes have high assurance.
Thanks to its high assurance, a data diode protects the assets of actors active in critical infrastructure, ICS/SCADA and the defense industry. Digitalisation and the increase in sophisticated cyberattacks means that every organisation that works with sensitive information uses a data diode to be able to protect its valuable information and to be able to exchange data in a secure way.
To be able to communicate with bidirectional protocols, proxy services are needed. By using a proxy service, Advenica’s data diode can handle the most common communication protocols. These services translate the protocols into unidirectional protocols and offer data communication with the impenetrable security of the unidirectional hardware. The consequence is that even if, despite all countermeasures, the software has vulnerabilities or is configured incorrectly, data cannot be sent in the wrong direction through the data diode.
Do you need higher security? Contact us and we will help you!
