Big data refers to large amounts of data and information that you can analyze to identify patterns and correlations for business decision-making. As more businesses continue to digitize their operation and incorporate more technology use, cybersecurity threats continue to increase.
With technological advancements, cybercrime also evolves. Since big data utilizes advanced technologies such as machine learning, data mining and AI, it is an excellent candidate for fighting cybercrime. Here are a few ways that big cloud data can help you avoid cybersecurity threats and protect your business from the adverse effects of a cyber-attack.
1. Threat Visualization
One of the first steps of dealing with cybersecurity threats is understanding the nature of the threat. You also need to know its impact on your business. Using data programs, you can foresee the types of cyber threats that could affect your company, as well as their intensity. With data, you can evaluate both current and historical data to establish the trends of cyber threats in your company and ascertain their complexity.
Threat visualization enables you to put in place appropriate measures to protect your business from attacks as you know what to expect. For businesses that have never experienced cyber-attacks, you can use past data to understand the strategies attackers use when attacking other companies. After visualizing an attack, you can design a solution depending on the results.
2. Predictive Models
Solutions that use big cyber data allow you to predict events and stay alert. Big cloud data can help prevent cybersecurity threats by creating predictive models that provide notifications whenever there is a cybersecurity loophole or weakness. Experts can use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to develop predictive mechanisms for cybersecurity.
Big data also combines historical and real-time analysis to establish new events that could be related to previous cyber threats. A large amount of historical data also increases the chance to spot any data anomalies by calibrating it to the normal network activity patterns. Lastly, external security intelligence sources provide updates on the latest risks.
3. Workflow Automation
Most of the biggest data breaches and cyber-attacks occur due to employee activities. Some data breaches may be due to malicious intent where employees collaborate with attackers to gain unauthorized access. However, they may also be due to employee ignorance, making them attacker’s targets. Big data in cybersecurity helps monitor employee activity to keep away threats.
For example, as part of automation strategies, companies may include security features that can cut off devices downloading suspicious data. Others have alerts that go off when employees are suspiciously using data. Besides preventing potential attacks, big data can also help in the automation of recovery processes to quicken the process.
4. Penetration Testing
Penetration testing is a simulation of a cyber-attack to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the system to strengthen cybersecurity. A large percentage of data and security breaches occur due to hacking. With this in mind, penetration testing has become an integral part of protecting IT infrastructures and staying ahead of hackers.
Usually, penetration testing involves five steps; planning, scanning, gaining access, maintaining access, and analysis and WAF configuration (web application firewall). Note that vulnerabilities usually reside in operation systems, improper configurations, and end-user behavior, making them undetectable to analysts.
5. Detection of Intrusions in Real-Time
Intrusion detection services utilize big data to gather the information it needs for monitoring a company’s network. Intrusion prevents cybersecurity threats by monitoring and identifying cyberattacks and malicious traffic in a company’s network or systems. With big data and the right technologies, the system can detect any threats or attacks that may be happening in the system or network in real-time. As such, it gets to block cyber attackers before they gain access to your systems or data.
6. Risk Management Reporting
Your cybersecurity tools need smart and intelligent risk management support to facilitate easy interpretation of your big data. Big cyber data analytics can assist with the security insights you need to maintain the strength of your cyber defenses. It does this by collecting actionable insights from various systems and data sources that you can use during root cause analysis.
Some of the valuable metrics that big cyber data can help with include authentication-related exceptions, cyber threat incidents, and user handling. Smart risk management tools are, therefore, necessary in ensuring easy and quick availability of data to your analysts. They also make it easy to source, categorize, and deal with cyber threats, promptly.
While big cyber data can help you avoid cybersecurity threats, it requires a proper application to get the results you want. Knowing technology works can go a long way in helping you utilize big cyber data analytics effectively. If you would like to learn more about technology, consider taking advantage of programs like GI Bill benefits to enroll in classes.