Avoid cutting cyber security investment when times are tough

Economists predict a 45% chance of recession in South Africa in 2023. In an effort to ensure business performance in tough times, many organisations are looking at where to reduce spending.

Interesting though, South African companies are allocating more to cyber security amidst the pressure to stay ahead of cyber crime. Around two thirds of South African organisations are increasing their security budgets in the 2023 financial year. As times get tougher, it’s important to maintain this focus on cyber security.

Increased digitisation has meant that more South African organisations are impacted by the increased prevalence of cyber attacks. IT leaders expect third-party breaches and attacks on operational technology and IoT to dramatically increase in 2023 compared to previous years.

Revenue generated from cyber security is expected to grow by around 10% in response to pervasive cyber security threats. Now is not the time to cut back on cyber security investments. The World Economic Forum warns that Africa must urgently take action to address cyber security challenges in the region.

Maximising ROI on cyber security investment

The first prize would be, of course, to spend more on cyber security, but for many organisations, there is pressure to tighten the purse strings. As such, businesses need to look at how to maximise existing cyber security solutions. Boosting the return on investment (ROI) on existing security tools can help drive down costs with improved performance and cyber resilience.

The first step is to conduct an audit of current resources, attempting to understand how security tools can be better utilised. Security teams should be asking themselves how existing resources can be optimised to ensure that they respond to threats quickly and effectively.

For organisations with cloud based security, this may mean fine-tuning the machine learning algorithms to make your security solution more effective. Cloud security technology, such as SIEM, can be configured to a businesses’ unique digital environment. Monitoring threats in real-time, cloud security can be automated in a variety of ways.

Tech teams can train the software to automatically detect and contain certain types of threats. Automated triggers and alerts can let the relevant stakeholders know when a security breach has taken place. With advanced cyber security solutions such as SIEM, it is essential that businesses look at whether they're getting the most out of their security solution.

Take a holistic approach to cyber defence

Businesses with the highest level of cyber resilience take a holistic approach to cyber security. It requires strategic thinking to understand the complexities of the thread landscape. Each stage of the value chain, from ideation to delivery, should be afforded with the same level of cyber protection. Data, systems, networks and the users and devices that use them all need robust protection. Cyber threats can come from external sources, or may occur simply because of human error on the part of an employee.

By taking this holistic view, IT leaders can start to notice the weak points or gaps in security. With large enterprise networks, much of this work can be done through next generation cyber security software. DDoS protection, for example, automatically scans the business network to identify any suspicious or unusual behaviour.

Drawing on global threat intelligence, advanced security systems such as this are able to identify so-called zero-day threats. Unlike traditional security software which can only detect known threats, advanced security solutions use artificial intelligence to detect new or previously unknown cyber security threats.

Seacom Business works with South African organisations to boost their existing cyber security solutions and offer upgrades where needed. Our team of dedicated experts provide industry-leading technical know-how and support. Our various cyber security solutions can be tailored to meet your business needs. For more information or to get a quote for our SIEM, DDoS or other cyber security solutions, email us at marketing@seacom.com or leave us a message.

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