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Cybersecurity is still an emerging field, especially for IT professionals who wear many hats. To help your business and IT teams respond to emerging cyberthreats, you should invest in training your technical IT and security staff.

Weve seen even well-staffed teams struggle with responding to ransomware incidents in the past year, despite those same teams excelling when responding to everything else. There must be a more concentrated and directed effort to ransomware remediation in general, emphasizing tabletop exercises and hands-on training that put these skills to the test.

Imagine how overwhelming tasks like contacting authorities, preserving forensic evidence, managing internal expectations and restoring backups (in the many instances that a decryption key may not work) can be for teams not trained to manage a ransomware incident. These skills and processes are far too complicated and high risk for even seasoned IT professionals to learn as they go. Oftentimes, not having an established plan or training results in extended downtime, team burnout and the need for high-cost consulting services at the last minute. This scenario is just one example, but one that has often happened this year.

Managed security service providers (MSSPs) can be a valuable resource for SMBs, providing the expertise needed to secure infrastructure when they cannot dedicate a full-time staff member to security. If you dont or cant have this expertise in-house, take time now to form adequate partnerships with external experts before you need to utilize them. In 2021, many organizations that found themselves looking for a partner at the last minute paid much more than those with an ongoing partner who could help them every step of the way.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to measuring and establishing the correct level of security coverage, testing for vulnerabilities is an effective method to understand what coverage is needed. Penetration testing allows organizations to evaluate their security and IT infrastructure. At the same time, simulated phishing tests, cybersecurity assessments and culture surveys measure how prepared your employees are for the cyberthreats they face and how likely they are to adopt behaviors that keep your organization secure. By identifying vulnerabilities, organizations can plan to address their most significant weaknesses and set themselves up for a secure 2022.

Excerpt from:
3 Steps To Get Your Business Cybersecurity-Ready In 2022 - Forbes