BLOG: The Importance of Continuous Risk Monitoring – Maintaining Cybersecurity for Small Businesses

In today’s digital age, small businesses are increasingly reliant on technology to manage their operations. However, with this, increased reliance comes the heightened risk of cyber attacks, which can have devastating consequences on the business’s operations and reputation. One of the most effective ways to mitigate these risks is through continuous monitoring of the organization’s cybersecurity.

Continuous monitoring refers to the process of repeatedly assessing and analyzing an organization’s security posture. This approach involves using various security tools and techniques to detect and prevent potential threats and vulnerabilities, as well as responding to any incidents in real time.

For small businesses, continuous monitoring is critical because they are often targeted by cybercriminals due to their perceived lack of resources and cybersecurity expertise. Moreover, small businesses often rely on third-party vendors and service providers for their IT infrastructure, which can introduce additional vulnerabilities and risks.

Continuous monitoring allows small businesses to stay ahead of these threats by providing real-time visibility into their cybersecurity posture. By monitoring their networks and systems on an ongoing basis, small businesses can quickly identify and respond to potential threats, including malware, phishing attacks, and other forms of cybercrime.

In addition to identifying threats, continuous monitoring also helps small businesses to maintain compliance with various regulatory frameworks and standards. Many industries, such as healthcare and finance, are subject to strict data privacy and security regulations, and continuous monitoring is often a requirement to ensure compliance.

Implementing continuous monitoring can also be cost-effective for small businesses. By identifying and resolving potential security issues before they become major incidents, small businesses can save on costly remediation efforts and avoid reputational damage.

However, implementing continuous monitoring requires a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Small businesses must invest in the right tools and technologies and ensure that their staff is trained on best practices for cybersecurity. They should also conduct regular security assessments and vulnerability scans to identify any potential weaknesses in their IT infrastructure.

Continuous monitoring is a critical component of maintaining cybersecurity for small businesses. It provides real-time visibility into the organization’s security posture, enabling small businesses to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. By investing in continuous monitoring, small businesses can improve their security posture, maintain compliance with regulatory frameworks, and save on costly remediation efforts.

How can Orpheus Cyber help?

Our unique approach to third-party cyber risk management is designed to help businesses identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

Our platform leverages our expertise as a cyber threat intelligence company to assess the attack surface of third-party organizations. By combining this assessment with our threat intelligence, we can provide businesses with a comprehensive understanding of the cyber risk posed by their third-party suppliers. This enables continuous monitoring of these suppliers, ensuring that businesses can respond to any potential threats in real time.

Our platform also provides clients with a heat map that displays all of the organizations they are monitoring, highlighting those that pose the highest level of risk. The most critical vulnerabilities of these third-party organizations are displayed, along with our intelligence reports and Orpheus’ CVE scoring, providing a comprehensive view of the risks that need to be addressed.

By providing this risk context, we make it easy for businesses to work with their suppliers to improve their security posture. This not only reduces the risk to the organization but also improves the overall security of the supply chain.

Our approach requires no input from third-party organizations, making it quick and easy to set up. Within hours, clients can review the cyber risk of those they are working with. Our ratings are comprised of both a threat score and a vulnerability score, providing clients with a comprehensive understanding of the cyber risk posed by their third-party suppliers. The higher the score, the higher likelihood a company faces of being victim to a successful attack.

Our approach follows the processes and tools used by threat actors, ensuring that we can identify potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Our machine learning has been peer-reviewed to be at least 94% accurate when predicting future threats, providing businesses with the confidence they need to stay ahead of potential cyber threats.

Orpheus Cyber’s unique, threat-led approach to third-party cyber risk management can help small businesses with continuous monitoring by providing a comprehensive understanding of the cyber risk posed by their third-party suppliers, we enable businesses to respond to potential threats in real time, reducing the risk to the organization and improving the overall security of the supply chain. To see the platform in action, click here.