How Certified Ethical Hackers Protect Your Business

When Tom Brady transferred to the Bucs, he did more than improve Tampa’s quarterback situation. Brady brought intel about how the Patriots run offense and defense. When the Bucs prepped to play the Patriots, they capitalized on whatever Brady shared.

In the cybersecurity world, certified ethical hackers play a similar role (for a lot less money).

What Is a Certified Ethical Hacker?

A certified ethical hacker goes through training to master the same techniques cybercriminals use to:

• Break into networks
• Introduce malware
• Trick unsuspecting employees
• Steal or lock down data
• Wreak havoc in your organization

They bring these skills and intel to any organization they work with, giving that business an immediate cybersecurity edge over actual criminals.

How Certified Ethical Hackers Improve Cybersecurity for Large Corporations

Multinational businesses and large corporations employ full-time ethical hackers, splitting them into “red” and “blue” teams.

The red team simulates a hacker and actively attacks the organization

The hackers operate from the outside to penetrate the company’s systems. They’ll try different tactics like:

• Scouring the Dark Web for employee credentials
• Sending phishing emails
• Getting people to click malicious links

Blue teams work to kick out the red team

On the other side is the blue team that monitors what the red team is doing. Using tools the organization already has, they watch alerts, investigate breaches, take counter efforts and work to shut down the red team’s efforts.

Red and blue teams give large corporations a chance to prevent attacks

After breaking in, the red team explains how they were successful. The company can then create a plan to plug the gaps and prevent an actual criminal from exploiting the vulnerability.

This level of full-time cybersecurity assistance is unaffordable for most businesses

As an ethical hacker, I can attest to the daily discipline required to keep up with bad actors. Every day, I’m monitoring what hackers are doing and reading cybersecurity reports. Email lists tell me about the latest hacks and why they were successful. Professional conferences, like DEF CON in Vegas, provide valuable insights about trends and new threats. It’s not realistic to expect most businesses to devote this kind of time and attention to ethical hacking and cybersecurity.

Instead of creating your own internal red and blue teams, find the right managed IT services provider.

A Cybersecurity-Focused IT Partner Will Act as Your Blue Team

Partnering with a cybersecurity-focused IT provider gives you a “blue team.” Your provider defends your organization from the onslaught of bad guys. They constantly monitor your systems for anomalous activity. Anything suspicious or outside the norm is flagged and investigated. Countermeasures are taken, as needed, to kick cybercriminals off your network and improve your security.

A blue team is all defense, all the time.

Unfortunately, when you only have a blue team, you’re constantly reacting to situations, not preventing an incident. If someone in your organization accidentally introduces malware to the system, your provider only comes in after the fact to fix the issue. It’s like if Tom Brady only shared intel about the Patriots defense. It’s important information, but not a complete game plan.

We’re a ‘Red Team’ for Our Clients and It Makes Them More Secure

You can get a comprehensive outsourced cybersecurity team if your IT partner employs at least one certified ethical hacker. I fill this role at itSynergy. Here’s how it helps make our clients more secure.

Ethical hackers know how criminals operate and are better at being your blue team

itSynergy’s clients have a strong blue team because, as an ethical hacker, I make a daily investment to stay current on trends. I’ve been trained in the tactics your cyber enemies will deploy. We know the form an attack will take and can identify the specific tools and processes you’ll use to stay safe.

The “hacker mindset” helps you make better business decisions

When your cybersecurity team operates from a “hacker mindset,” you thoroughly think through risks and make better business decisions. For instance, if a client calls and says, “We want to use Constant Contact to send an email blast,” we don’t just enter a ticket, do it, close the ticket and move on with our day. We have a conversation first. We’ll outline how the platform could create an opening for a criminal and let the client tell us if they still want to proceed. If they find the risk tolerable, we’ll follow through with the request.

You’ll uncover and address vulnerabilities sooner

Many service providers are aware they need to do more to educate their clients to avoid falling for traps like phishing tests. This is important, but we believe more should be done to help our clients fully understand the ways they could be attacked. That’s why, earlier this year, I took a box of preloaded USB keys to the campus of one of our larger clients. I left the keys lying around where anyone could find them. The goal was to see who picked up a key and plugged it into a computer.

It wasn’t a game of “gotcha”

I was acting as their red team. I know hackers use flash drives preloaded with malware to infiltrate businesses. Instead of waiting to see if this would happen to the client, I conducted a test. Then, if people fell for the trap, I could explain:

• What would have happened if it was an actual hack
• How to avoid the threat
• What to do instead

You Should Have the Same Level of Protection as Large Corporations

The data, partnerships and relationships your business has are as valuable as those of a large corporation. You deserve an IT provider that actively prevents threats – an offensive and defensive cybersecurity team for your business. At itSynergy, we have the skills, background and experience to be your red and blue team. To get an idea of how we can work together, call us today and sign up for a rapid security assessment. It’ll quickly identify weaknesses and ways to improve your cybersecurity posture.