Data is one of your most valuable commodities, and Bad Actors (hackers) around the world can strike at any hour. This has become more evident as hackers continue to capitalise off our vulnerabilities during the global COVID-19 pandemic with our unsecured home offices becoming our temporary work places and our thirst for information leading us to links pretending to be from authorities. Therefore, real-time cyber security monitoring has quickly become an essential function of every business continuity plan.

Large and small businesses alike recognise the risks posed to their bottom line by data breaches, network intrusion, and malware, which is why so many are investing in 24/7 security monitoring. Real-time cyber security offers both you and your clientele greater peace of mind. Knowledge of your business information system’s most vulnerable touchpoints helps you take more effective preventative measures and develop more relevant recovery plans, reducing your overall risk, as well as your response time.

What is real-time cyber security?

Real-time cyber security is a strategy that implements automated security monitoring of your business systems around the clock. Networks and endpoints, which tend to be the access points most vulnerable to hackers, are monitored consistently by outsourced security orchestration software systems and hardware that allow them to operate outside standard business hours. Network security monitoring and endpoint security monitoring are the two most prominent forms of real-time cyber security.

What is network security monitoring?

Network security typically involves the use of Security Information & Event Management (SIEM) systems. These systems provide a detailed portrait of a business’s level of security, helping identify the weakest touch-points. This involves compliance and security incident management, detection and prevention through the collection and analysis of security events.

What is endpoint security monitoring?

Endpoint security monitoring focuses more on the devices within your business network, ranging from laptop computers and mobile devices to servers and other hardware. Endpoints are vulnerable as they act as a physical means of access for Bad Actors. Monitoring these touch-points 24/7 is crucial to understanding who is accessing your network, where, and when.

Why is real-time security monitoring important?

In today’s fast-paced business world, employees need fast and convenient access to their network without compromising its security. This is a rapidly escalating challenge, as the need for greater ease of access grows alongside the sophistication of hackers and malware around the globe. Continuous security monitoring helps businesses recognise the most imminent threats, minimise response times, assess threat management and disaster response protocols.

Above all, real-time cyber security is a commitment to gaining the appropriate level of visibility of your network. With greater insight into your business network and endpoint security, you can act with greater foresight and hindsight alike, modernising your security procedures to better safeguard against the vulnerabilities you recognise through employee training and system upgrades, and develop disaster response and recovery procedures relevant to your business.