Don’t let your security posture slouch. In 2024, ransomware attacks affected 44% of US companies, with 43% of those paying a ransom. You don’t want to be next.
Posture matters—whether that means sitting up straight at the dinner table when grandma tells you to or lifting with your knees instead of your back while moving boxes. Security posture is like that, except that more than your back is at stake if it fails to be up to snuff.
Having good security posture means your IT system is in its best form to fight off attackers and defend sensitive data. It’s a big-picture view of your cybersecurity defense and a measure of how prepared you are to respond to cyber threats. The collective status of your organization’s security mechanisms, policies, and procedures also ties into your security posture.
Cybersecurity posture continues to evolve as cloud adoption increases and bad actors adopt faster, more lethal methods in their attacks with the aid of AI-driven automation.
How the rise of cloud computing impacts security posture
The ever-increasing number of organizations transitioning to cloud and hybrid environments also heightens the importance of endpoint protection management and building an ironclad security posture that can withstand any threat, anywhere, anytime.
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is a key aspect of ensuring such environments have the best protection available.
Having strong data security posture management is no longer a choice—that is, if you want to avoid losing access to your data, having your reputation damaged, and experiencing extended downtime.
Implementing strong cybersecurity by creating a solid security posture isn’t a choice. It’s a necessity.
That’s why tools such as ezAutomate exist: to help you prepare to fight the battles you can’t even see, and to stay ahead of bad actors.
Why security posture is life-or-death for company success
According to a report released by Enterprise Strategy Group, 70% of the security and IT professionals surveyed said security hygiene and posture management have become more difficult as their attack surfaces have grown.
Engaging a process that automatically reduces your attack surface—and as a result reduces risk—is critical for achieving a healthy security posture. Automation excels at reducing an attack surface because it expedites vulnerability detection, analysis, and remediation.
Even the US government recognizes the importance of cybersecurity posture. The White House released a first-of-its-kind Report on the Cybersecurity Posture of the United States in 2024.
“New cyber defense tools that integrate AI could eventually enable cyber defenders to more efficiently detect anomalous network traffic and other adversary activity, coordinate the defense of complex systems and networks, and augment a cybersecurity workforce that is already stretched thin,” the White House reports.
Security posture is not only life-or-death for company success. It’s also life-or-death for an entire country’s security, which protects some of the most sensitive data there is.
But don’t get us wrong. It’s not only high-level organizations prioritizing this—from small businesses to enterprise-level corporations, everyone is investing in improving their security posture.
If you’re one of the few who still feel that an attack could never happen to you, think again. No one is exempt from being targeted. If you store data, you’re a potential victim.
It might even be best to assume you’re being targeted right now.
How does that make you feel? Did all of your systems’ vulnerabilities just jump to the front of your mind?
Good. You’re in the right place to do something about them. Equip your team to fight bad actors with the tools and software that can withstand today’s attack methods.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
Security automation can decrease the likelihood that you’ll lose access to personal data because of ransomware.
For example, the WannaCry ransomware worm demonstrated the damaging potential of unpatched vulnerabilities. Even though Windows released a patch to fix this specific vulnerability, many targeted systems could not update quickly enough to halt the attack.
Automation can stay ahead of such threats and allow for a quicker response time.
Linux-based systems are no less vulnerable than Windows, so don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet if you fall into the Linux camp. The same goes for IBM i and AIX. While these operating systems are secure by design, they still can be vulnerable to cyber attacks.
In fact, Helldown’s ransomware variant recently expanded its attack radius to include Linux and VMware systems. Helldown is known as a vicious ransomware group that exploits security vulnerabilities, targeting IT services, telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare, and more.
Every organization that relies on IT must invest in a strong security posture, no matter their size or industry.
You don’t want to scramble to secure your systems in the midst of an attack and risk losing access to your data, or rush to do damage control after you’ve suffered a breach.
You want to have the proper preventive measures in place—tools like IBM Power Automation and ezAutomate—to strengthen your security posture before you’re in desperate straits.
Don’t let your system fall into digital fragility. Invest in digital resilience through application security posture management and cybersecurity for IBM i.
An example of poor security posture on a large scale
Shockingly enough, even giants like Amazon can struggle with their security posture.
Will Evans reports for WIRED that “across Amazon, some low-level employees were using their data privileges to snoop on the purchases of celebrities, while others were taking bribes to help shady sellers sabotage competitors’ businesses, doctor Amazon’s review system, and sell knock-off products to unsuspecting customers.”
Further, millions of credit card numbers were sitting in the wrong place on Amazon’s internal network for years, with the security team unable to determine with 100% certainty whether they’d been improperly accessed or not.
From employees looking up exes and viewing their purchase history to perpetually scattered and vulnerable data storage practices, Amazon’s security posture was abhorrent.
Regular security posture assessments are critical. No matter what tools and software you have in place, training your employees to use security best practices in their day-to-day can boost your security posture to the next level.
Do not discount the importance of cybersecurity training and enforcement, even for non-security personnel.
How security automation improves your security posture (on the cloud and on-prem)
So we know what security posture is, why it’s important, and that security automation can help. Now let’s touch on exactly how automation improves security posture:
- On the cloud
- On-prem
- In hybrid environments
As Forbes Councils Member Anshu Bansal says, “When we automate cloud security, it’s like giving our organization a robust suit of armor.”
That suit of armor includes support in scalability, a farewell to compliance headaches, and an overall increase in operational efficiency by reducing time spent on task from hours to seconds. Cloud security automation minimizes the opportunity for human error by automating routine tasks.
Of course, these supports are not without their challenges. To properly leverage cloud security automation, you must provide the right training for your team and hire strategically. Build a team that knows how to handle the tools and software in play to achieve the best possible cybersecurity.
The other key is to take flexibility into account when choosing which vendor to partner with. Make sure their integrations and services meet your needs before risking vendor lock-in.
It’s also important to find a cloud service provider with an agreeable shared responsibility policy to successfully integrate cloud security automation.
On-prem environments benefit from automation in a similar way on most counts. The main deviation is that on-prem solutions require manual intervention, and security teams must initiate security assessments and testing.
Hybrid cloud environments can come with complex security problems. The combination of cloud security requirements, the shared responsibility model, and a constantly evolving threat landscape contribute to such challenges and require a special set of tools to help boost the security posture of hybrid environments.
Security automation can reduce the stress of managing a hybrid cloud environment by implementing realtime response and lifting the burden of constant manual monitoring and auditing, thus achieving a healthier security posture.
How CloudFirst helps improve security posture with security automation and security management services
Here at CloudFirst we have a cloud-first mentality—surprise, surprise—but that does not exclude hybrid environments. With our ezAutomate and IBM i Security solutions, we have your back in any circumstance.
These two solutions complement one another with ransomware defense and access control, incident response and reports for management, automated server and endpoint security, cloud gateway protection, and more, including an all-star security operations center with around-the-clock monitoring.
With CloudFirst’s support, you can reinforce your security posture to withstand any siege.
Ready to level up your security posture? Reach out today and let us help you get there.
