The cyber landscape is constantly evolving. Organizations have begun to move their resources excessively to the cloud to scale their performance. Hybrid work culture and BYOD policies are making an organization’s network increasingly perimeterless. As organizations adopt various policies to increase operational efficiency, SOCs are trying to ensure network security. For attackers, who are opportunists by nature, the hybrid work model offers many opportunities.
To make matters worse, most organizations fail to detect old devices and accounts in their network during the migration to the cloud. If these old accounts are not addressed, they can be misused by attackers to gain unauthorized access to an organization’s network.
What is cyber pollution?
Cyber contamination occurs when an organization’s network accumulates unused accounts or devices that can lead to a vulnerability. Like garbage dumps that attract scavenging birds, old accounts and old devices in a network can tempt attackers to launch a cyber attack on your infrastructure.
- Unused identities
Many organizations follow a proper process for decommissioning an employee’s device and account. However, according to Varonis, 58% of organizations have more than 1,000 inactive user accounts. Although inactive, these accounts still pose a risk. If an attacker manages to get their hands on one of these accounts, which are typically not monitored much, if at all, a cyber attack could result. - Unused devices
Like user accounts, unused devices in a network can attract cyber attackers. For example, an attacker can use unused network devices, such as routers, firewalls, etc., to launch a DoS attack or to monitor network activity.
Cleaning up the cyber mess
It is vital for any organization to regularly clean up its cyberspace to avoid being compromised. For example, every organization must have a proper offboarding process when an employee leaves. Their systems must be properly decommissioned and their accounts removed from the organization. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that any permissions or privileges associated with the account have been revoked.
Maintaining cyber hygiene is also essential to ensuring the security of an organization’s network. Here are some best practices to help an organization keep its environment secure.
- Constantly monitor the network: One of the fundamentals of securing an organization’s network is to continually monitor the network and identify security incidents. However, doing this manually can be an exhausting task. Deploying a SIEM solution with the right features can help automate the process of detecting and responding to security incidents.
- Cleaning up unused and inactive accounts: Identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities is key to reducing the number of access points for attackers. This is critical, especially when an organization’s network has an increasing number of unused devices and user accounts.
- Establish a strong authentication mechanism: Authentication is essential to verify the identity of users. Implementing 2FA or MFA can ensure that attackers cannot gain access to the organization’s network with compromised user credentials. A “zero trust” architecture can help limit the potential for unauthenticated access.
- Conduct regular security audits: Conducting security audits can help gain better visibility into an organization’s network security gaps. Regular audits help organizations understand their current security posture and develop security strategies accordingly.
- Monitor related party interactions: Every organization does business with third parties at some point. This expands an organization’s perimeter to some extent. Monitoring interactions with related parties ensures that an organization remains vigilant to third-party activities.
- Ensuring compliance: Compliance with legal standards requires organizations to meet certain basic security requirements. By meeting these security standards, organizations can avoid fines and ensure that their network is secure from attackers.
- Have a backup plan: No matter how strong an organization’s security is, it is important to have a backup plan for if and when an attack occurs. It is advisable to have multiple backups for critical and business-sensitive data.
In short, cyber contamination can lead to unwanted attention to an organization’s network. It is important to practice cyber hygiene and regularly clean up the network to prevent intrusions from cyber polluters.
