The importance of Two-Factor Authentication

The Importance of two-factor authentication

The rapid growth of targeted ransomware attacks on state and local governments and educational institutions call for security teams to adopt a new mindset in order to protect vital information and assets. No longer can technology and information security teams (InfoSec) solely rely on erecting defensive walls around their perimeter networks to keep out the bad guys, as the bad guys are likely already in their networks.

Recent research indicates cyber criminals and hackers stealthily move through networks about 190 days before detection. Cyber security teams must go on the hunt to track them down and prevent them from doing damage. Moving from a defensive mindset to a more aggressive, hunter approach is a radical change of thinking for many government, non-profit, and education professionals, but must be adopted to stem the tide of targeted ransomware and other cyber threats. Symantec Endpoint Protection helps with this.

What can organizations do?                      

As the Symantec ransomware report points out, “attackers behind the ransomware are skilled and knowledgeable enough to penetrate the victim’s network. They deploy a range of tools to move across and map the network while using a variety of techniques to evade detection, before simultaneously encrypting as many machines as possible.”

There are some options state and local government organizations and educational institutions should consider, however, including:

Two-factor authentication: Increasingly, in order to secure access to devices and systems where data resides, deploying two-factor authentication, which adds a second level of authentication to account log-ins, is a must.

Managed security services: To address resource and workforce constraints more organizations are turning to managed security services, offering a subscription-based cost structure to provide continual, real-time monitoring across an organization’s security environment.

Data loss prevention (DLP): Stop unauthorized data exfiltration by insiders, while providing visibility into external threats. DLP tools can become threat-aware to safeguard data from both insider and outsider threats.

Defense-in-depth: A defense-in-depth security approach in which multiple layers of security controls are placed throughout an IT infrastructure to defend against emerging, sophisticated threats and to protect data irrespective of where it is and how it is accessed is important.

Threat hunting: Organizations either internally or via their managed security services provider should deploy threat hunting tools and techniques to actively detect threats that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Where can organizations purchase Swivl?

Here at Genesis Technologies, we’re an authorized Symantec reseller, meaning we have access to all Symantec products. Whether you want to pick up a single Symantec license or outfit your entire organization, Genesis Technologies has you covered.

Ready to get started? Looking for a price quote? Head over to our Symantec page to view all our Symantec products or call our office at 800-433-6326.