Wednesday 19th April 2023

BLOG: Beyond Firewalls and Antivirus Software – Why Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings are Stronger for Small Businesses

Firewalls and antivirus software are essential tools for protecting against cyber-attacks, but they are not enough in today’s current cyber threat landscape.

Cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities, and businesses need to take a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. As we continue to witness new developments in threat actor tactics, small businesses grow increasingly vulnerable to these attacks.

Many small businesses rely on firewalls and antivirus software as their primary defence mechanism against cyber attacks, but these precautions are inadequate in defending against advanced threat actors.

Cybercriminals are aware of small businesses being an easier entry point to larger networks or stealing sensitive information due to most small businesses lacking the resources and expertise to implement robust cybersecurity measures. Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings offer a stronger solution to cyber security for small businesses. These ratings provide a comprehensive and accurate assessment of a business’s cyber risk posture.

Comprehensive Assessment

Traditional firewalls and antivirus software provide basic protection against known threats. However, they do not offer a comprehensive assessment of a business’s cyber risk posture. Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings provide a detailed analysis of a company’s cyber security posture. This includes assessing the strength of a company’s security infrastructure, identifying vulnerabilities, and providing guidance on how to mitigate those risks.

Real-Time Monitoring

Traditional security measures are reactive, meaning they can only respond to threats that they are aware of. Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings provide real-time monitoring of a company’s cyber risk posture. This means that if a new threat emerges, the rating system will detect it and provide guidance on how to mitigate the risk.

Industry-Specific Assessment

Small businesses operate in different industries, and each industry has its unique cyber risks. Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings offer industry-specific assessments that help small businesses understand the specific cyber risks they face. This means that businesses can take proactive measures to mitigate those risks and protect their assets.

Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings offer a superior solution to traditional security measures for small businesses. They provide a comprehensive assessment of a company’s cyber risk posture, real-time monitoring, industry-specific assessment, and third-party validation. As cyber threats continue to increase, small businesses need to take proactive measures to protect their assets. Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings provide the necessary tools to do just that.

Orpheus Cyber is an accredited threat intelligence business that has taken a threat-led approach to cyber risk ratings. This approach has been popular with insurance firms and was highlighted by Forrester as an essential factor needed for accurate risk ratings. Orpheus’ Cyber Risk Ratings indicate the level of cyber risk associated with an organisation. The higher the score, the higher the risk a company faces of being the victim of a successful attack.

The Cyber Risk Ratings provide not only an overall risk rating but also a threat score and a vulnerability score. The threat score is based on who might want to attack the organisation and how likely the intelligence suggests that is. The vulnerability score is based on the visible attack surface for the company and their defences.

How do we calculate our scores?

The Orpheus score uses many data points, combined with machine learning. The information includes threat intelligence on sectors and countries in which the organisation operates, deep and dark web mentions of the organisation, technologies being used, vulnerabilities the organisation may have, unpatched vulnerabilities, evidence of weak email security processes, and failures in cyber hygiene.

At Orpheus Cyber, we pride ourselves on the accuracy of our Cyber Risk Ratings. Our tools and approach follow the processes used by threat actors, allowing us to accurately assess a company’s cyber risk posture. With our extensive threat intelligence experience, we’re able to pinpoint what threat actors are looking for and what they will try to exploit. Additionally, our machine learning is at least 94% accurate when predicting future threats.

We also use a thorough process of manual review to identify false positives that may create an artificially high score for an organisation. We have a process for organisations to remove any results that they can validate as incorrect, although this is rare. Unlike some risk rating companies, we only allow organisations to update their scores with additional validation, ensuring the accuracy of our results.

Small businesses need to be aware that firewalls and antivirus software are not enough to protect them from cyber threats. Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings provide a comprehensive and accurate assessment of an organisation’s cyber risk. With their threat-led approach and extensive threat intelligence experience, Orpheus Cyber Risk Ratings are a stronger option for small businesses looking to protect themselves from cyber threats. View our platform here

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