Cybersecurity has been given a bad reputation. This is largely because how cybersecurity companies operate is misunderstood for the services they provide. This is because many individuals believe that by having a cybersecurity partner by their side, they are completely safe from potential breaches and compromises – including their own actions or mistakes online.

However, it’s not a matter of if you will be attacked, but when you will be attacked, and this is where your cybersecurity partner steps in to mitigate the damage caused by a cyber-attack. Most cyber-attacks and breaches happen when individuals or employees entertain suspicious links or use sensitive company information poorly – which is totally out of the control of a cybersecurity company.

“Many companies only reinforce the digital balustrades after they’ve experienced a compromise or a breach,” noted Stephen Osler, Co-Founder and Business Development Director at Nclose. “This is largely because most companies approach security from the point of view that they’ve never had a breach so why invest into the technology? The board won’t spend until the company is compromised, and then things get rough.”

The reality is that security teams are doing the best they can with the tools they have at their disposal, battening down the proverbial hatches with whatever they have at their disposal. Keeping an eye on the digital behaviours of hundreds of employees is often well beyond what they can manage. Yet, as these teams juggle the challenges and the boards refuse spend based on a lack of a hack, cybercriminals are often already inside the systems.

“The biggest defence and value offered by any cybersecurity investment is early detection,” continued Osler. “Dwell time – the amount of time that passes from when someone is hacked until they realise that they’ve been compromised – is anything from days to weeks to months.  In some instances, almost half a year of a criminal sitting inside the system, creating hooks, and making themselves sticky, pervasive, and increasingly difficult to find until they want to be found. Repairing this kind of damage, and rebuilding the security, is a monumental task.”

The best line of defence is to have one. To invest into a cybersecurity system that provides you with early detection and mitigates down time and reduces dwell time. A platform designed to fit in around your business, supporting security teams and reducing the amount of time a business spends offline, dealing with an attack, from weeks to hours.

“If you look at industry maturity, most companies have low margins and feel they can’t justify buying expensive cybersecurity products,” he added. “However, the cost of a breach can be so catastrophic, that it could close the business doors for good. There are cybersecurity solutions that can be customised to fit budgets and expectations without putting the bottom line under pressure. Investing into a long-term and sustainable security solution is far better than spending expensive time fighting fires that this system could have put out.”

Osler’s main message to organisations is that over the next year, it is anticipated that cybercrime statistics will only increase. The past two years have seen significant hacks and breaches to large organisations that play critical roles in providing infrastructure or services, and this trend is set to continue.

With this in mind, he concluded by urging companies to shore up their defences and put early detection systems in place to ensure that they are not the ones splashed across the headlines.