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How Fibre Connectivity Can Strengthen Your Business’ Cybersecurity

We are living in a digital era, where anyone can run a business, work, and play online. With great advancements in software, hardware, and broadband enabling us to be more connected than ever, it is also more important to protect ourselves online.

Cybersecurity is a critical function of any business’ operations. It is defined as “the state of being protected against the criminal or unauthorised use of electronic data, or the measures taken to achieve this.”

During the first wave of the pandemic, Ireland became acutely aware of the significance of cybersecurity and what can occur when there is a breach in an organisation’s network. In May 2020, the HSE (Health Service Executive) fell victim to what is now known as one of the largest ransomware attacks in the history of the Irish state. Critical services were forced offline and large volumes of personal data were breached.

The three pillars of cybersecurity are: protection, detection, and response. Protecting the network, detecting the breach, and responding to the breach in a timely matter.”

Ransomware attacks are a class of malicious software that prevents the end-user from accessing a system or data. Attackers typically request a payment, often in the form of bitcoins, to decrypt files or restore access. These types of attacks can be triggered by clicking on “phishing” links or opening an infected attachment in an email.

These types of attacks are becoming more common in small and medium businesses. In fact, 90% of Irish businesses over the last two years have seen a rise in cybersecurity attacks, according to a report from EY Global Information Security Survey in 2021.

Meanwhile, new research conducted by PwC indicates a focus on financial cybercrime and fraud. In its report, PwC states that 70% of the organisations that experienced new incidents of fraud said it was as a result of Covid-19 disruptions.

Cybersecurity attacks are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, with hackers using timed emails and texts to target employees accounts, and in many cases replicating emails to appear legitimate to trick employees. How a business prepares their network and employees is how they protect themselves.

So how can a business protect themselves? The three pillars of cybersecurity are: protection, detection, and response. Protecting the network, detecting the breach, and responding to the breach in a timely matter. The stronger the network, the more protected your business can be.

Fibre connectivity is one of the most secure network connections a business can have. Fibre enables you to reach speeds exceeding a gigabit, which can help protect you against attacks. The faster your upload speed, the faster your business can react to a threat, and shut it out.

As well as that, fibre broadband has a faster upload throughput, allowing for a business to control their environment, and act on problems within its network faster.

If security is one of your concerns, fibre beats copper in every way. Fibre is much more secure and less easy to tap into than a standard copper cable

With gigabit download speeds, patches and updates are installed faster, securing your business’s software, and allowing you to notice cloud issues in a timely fashion.

Comparing to outdated copper connections, which have a lower latency and speed rate, your business is safer with a fibre connection, as the slower your connection, the slower your response time.

With SIRO’s fibre-to-the-premises, gigabit connection, you have a dedicated line into your business’s premises. Not only does this guarantee reliable speed, but it provides security from cyber-crime too.

This is because hackers can only penetrate your connection by physically cutting the cables, which causes the signal to disappear, making it impossible for the intruder to access any confidential information and data. When the signal disappears, you are alerted, enabling you to act on time in case of any eventuality.

If security is one of your concerns, fibre beats copper in every way. Fibre is much more secure and less easy to tap into than a standard copper cable. As fibre cables do not need to be grounded in the same way that copper cables do, it means that there is much less chance for other digital interferences or bugging/tapping concerns.

Fibre networks also enable you to put all your electronics and hardware in one secure central location, instead of having wiring closets with equipment throughout the building.

Therefore, the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of your data is vastly improved.

Data is now one of our most valuable commodities. Protecting your customers and employee’s data should be a key driver in strengthening your business’s network.

As businesses become more tech-savvy and integrate digital services, like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, into their daily practices, on the flip side, hackers and phishers are also becoming more sophisticated in targeting SMEs. According to CWSI, an international workplace security and compliance specialist phishing is perceived to be the highest cybersecurity threat in Ireland (76%), followed by human error (58%) and ransomware (46%).

Pleading ignorance is no longer credible. This makes keeping up to date on the latest cybersecurity trends to safeguard your practices essential. While any cyberattack or hack of a business brings with it huge costs, financial loss, down time and enormous amounts of disruption, the most significant and often most incalculable effect can be long-lasting reputation damage to your business.

At SIRO, we believe that connectivity matters. Yet, protecting the huge benefits of living and working online must be a proactive, rather than a passive, exercise. With a solid foundation to your network, through SIRO’s business and enterprise products, you can be guaranteed a reliable, resilient and safer connection.

To find out if your business can avail of SIRO for Business, search your business eircode today.

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