It’s a no-brainer that every organization wants to be at the top of its game, especially when it comes to data assurance and data security.
So, how does one explain the rising trends in cyber threats across industries? Are they not well-prepared?
They mostly are. However, given the dynamically evolving nature of cyber threats, companies need to be more than just “prepared.” Businesses also realized this in 2020, when the US IT giant, Cognizant, was hit by the Maze ransomware attack. They understood that safeguarding data security in this hyper-connected digital age requires a holistic approach.
For any approach to be successful, identifying the challenges is a start. So, to begin with, enterprises should identify the modern data security challenges pertaining to their industry.
Here are some of the most common challenges along with their respective solutions:
In cybersecurity, social engineering refers to a wide range of deception mechanisms used to exploit human errors and eventually gain access to sensitive information.
Challenge
Social engineers are experts in manipulating human behavior. They gather ample information on their potential victims and use this information to manipulate their victims into giving out confidential, business-critical information. This is why merely using technology to counter such attacks can prove ineffective.
Solution
For information attackers, extracting the user credentials is the most crucial stage. Therefore, by using multifactor authentication, enterprises can delay as well as hinder this process.
However, the above solution might still not provide a complete guarantee in preventing these attacks. To get overarching protection, businesses must test this feature regularly, using suitable software testing frameworks.
Additionally, businesses should invest in educating and training their employees on the latest social engineering attacks to help prevent such attacks to a considerable extent.
Customers want their service providers to offer them with tailor-made service offerings and support on a real-time basis. Unfortunately, not every organization can provide 360-degree service-cum-support to every customer single-handedly. As a result, businesses tie-up with multiple third-party partners to customize their software solutions and support.
Challenge
Being reliant on third-party relations means a good amount of data is also shared with the third-party partner. Usually, most third-party partners deal only with the organizations’ pre-approved vendors, but this is not always the case. As a result, the business-critical data is not just spread wider than it ought to be, but the probability of potential data breaches also increases.
Solution
To avoid getting into such a risky situation, businesses should perform periodic cybersecurity testing on all third-party integrations. Performing security testing highlights the potentially vulnerable areas, thereby helping enterprises rectify them before it is too late.
Companies from across the world are shifting their operations from traditional data centers to cloud servers. However, security controls used in these data centers are not suitable for the cloud. Therefore, companies adopting cloud services without proper security tools result in misconfigured cloud servers.
Challenge
Usually, cloud-based security systems are robust enough to thwart most types of cyberattacks. However, misconfigured cloud servers do not stand a chance against the modern data breaches such as Maze attacks or replay attacks.
Solution
To start with, businesses need to automate their cloud security solution so that they can intervene on a real-time basis in the event of a misconfiguration-related breach. In addition, enterprises must also conduct cloud testing at regular intervals to evaluate the functioning of cloud security solutions.
As organizations grow, they also look for opportunities for expansion in their related domain. As a result, businesses design their systems to be scalable with multi-tier systems so that they can accommodate an increased user base at any given point in time.
Challenge
From a security point of view, managing large user bases is always a challenge. However, this load is further increased when there is a multi-tier system in place. To meet the scalability challenges in security systems, businesses tend to centralize security systems to efficiently manage users and their respective privileges, even in a multi-tier system.
However, centralizing a system increases its security risks. A minor security loophole in the system can result in the whole multi-system operation getting compromised.
Solution
To successfully insulate a centralized system, businesses need to run a VAPT audit periodically through their systems. There are numerous VAPT tools available online, which can be used in this process.
Another solution that organizations can opt for is to adopt blockchain technology. This technology proves very useful because it provides advanced encryption levels and can manage a large user base under one platform seamlessly. However, blockchain technology is in its nascent stage, so implementing it without properly verifying it can be risky. So, the best way forward is to implement a functional and non-functional blockchain testing process and validate the entire system.
To overcome most of the challenges, quality engineering plays a significant role.
However, it is essential to point out that not all businesses can implement these quality engineering and business assurance frameworks with inhouse capabilities. In fact, the cost and resources required in the process dissuade organizations from taking up this process independently.
It is in this context that proficient businesses assurance service providers come into the picture. Whether it’s setting up a testing environment or bringing about a complete digital transformation through test automation, quality engineering companies are the ones you should outsource your QE needs to.
