Where to place the physical foundation of an SOC is an important but underrated decision.
By Nicola Hartland, Senior Vice President, Falanx Cyber
The current financial landscape is where everyone is money conscious, but many companies are still vulnerable to paying big payouts to cyber crooks. Cybercriminals earn three times the average FTSE 100 CEO salary. recent report. Even rookies are raking in taking home around £15,000 a month. The report states that if it is a country, global fraud industry It will become the third largest economy in the world after the US and China.
A cheater’s win is, by definition, a (financial) loss for the company. The average cost of an attack in England is Doubles to £23,000 in 2022.
The motive of massive financial gain means that businesses are at greater risk from cyberattacks than ever before. UK businesses are among the most vulnerable, with one in three experiencing a breach or cyberattack at least once a week. of course, british government It is now urging businesses to invest in stronger cybersecurity. And investing in cyber is now firmly on the agenda of most boards.
An enterprise’s response to growing threats often comes in the form of a Security Operations Center (SOC). The SOC is a centralized, manned focal point that aims to monitor, detect and respond to cyber threats around the clock. Its role is to protect an organization’s assets, including intellectual property, personnel data, and business systems. Having a SOC gives business leaders peace of mind. Human analysts spy on networks 24/7, providing an extra layer of protection against artificial intelligence or machine learning, which most businesses rely solely on pickup. and combat threats.
However, there is an important piece of the puzzle that many companies often forget while investing in their SOC setup. It’s the right location.
Where to place the physical foundation of an SOC is an important but underrated decision. It’s either helping or hindering the success of your cyber defense.
Simply put, a locally based SOC is the best step to protecting your business from the global problem of cyberattacks.
UK-based operations may require more long-term investments. However, the benefits far outweigh the short-term costs.
Hire a UK-based team to visit the SOC in person. Given the value of the data the SOC protects, this should happen on a regular basis. A business is only as strong as its weakest link. Face-to-face time with your cybersecurity team is an important factor in knowing your data is safe. Like storing in countries with strong data privacy regulations like GDPR.
Another thing many companies fail to consider when choosing a location for their cybersecurity team is that cyber intrusion simulations, known as red teaming, are multi-faceted. This includes testing both the physical and digital security of an organization, which includes pretending to make phone calls, follow-ups, or deliver parcels.
A UK-based cybersecurity company can take ‘social engineering’ – simulated physical intrusion – an important step that exposes vulnerabilities more easily than an overseas company can actually deliver without incurring significant costs.
Perhaps most importantly, investing in the UK reduces the level of risk foreign actors pose to their operations. For example, fears of Russian cyberattacks have led companies to NHS vaccine rollout moved permanently to UK.
The American company found itself at the mercy of Russian cyberattacks when its Kremlin-sponsored operators targeted fiber optic cables lying under the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, having data across the pond was considered an unnecessary risk. Inevitably costly relocations ensued.
As companies better understand the extent of their digital exposure, there will be an increasing trend to move cybersecurity operations in-country. But with investing in UK-based cybersecurity more important than ever, writing the paper has been on the wall for some time. Otherwise, hackers will continue to outsmart us all as British companies pick the tap.
About the author
Nicola Hartland is Senior Vice President at Falanx Cyber. She is a market disruptor with a proven, award-winning track record of identifying the next key issue in data technology and turning sharp ideas into monetizing, industry standards. She founded iCaas and was previously its CEO. She currently leads the innovation and growth team within Falanx Cyber, part of the Falanx Group, which is listed on the AIM Stock Exchange in London. Falanx Cyber provides enterprise-grade cybersecurity services to any organization, providing complete end-to-end managed cybersecurity services to identify areas of cyber risk that threaten the integrity of the business and mitigate those risks.
Nicola can be reached online at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolahartland/?originalSubdomain=uk and on our website https://falanx.com/