How cybersecurity experts can prevent cyber-attacks

Along with the release of the internet came the challenge for hackers to attempt to break it. As the internet evolves, so do the methods of both hackers and cybersecurity experts alike.

Hackers that were once individuals looking for a challenge or that were out for their own personal game have grown into hacking groups, including those with a nation-state affiliation, out to undermine an opposing nation’s infrastructure.

Ran Shahor, in an article for Dark Reading, shared that one hacking group even managed to publish cyber tools created by the National Security Agency (NSA), creating a host of new problems. Tools once used by top-level cybersecurity professionals were now available to anyone via the Dark Web.

“Hackers with less skill are able to up their game by easily purchasing and using these highly advanced tools against business targets of all sizes,” said Shahor.

So how do cybersecurity experts fight back against hackers with these types of tools available? Shahor says it begins with defending like an attacker. He shares four skills needed to reframe how to approach cyber attack prevention.

1. Build your team. Shahor says utilizing the knowledge of former attackers and those with intelligence experience can be greatly beneficial, when possible.
2. Create a “defender offensive” methodology. This involves learning how to prioritize vulnerabilities by having a plan of attack in place. “If your team comes up with 100 vulnerabilities and prioritizes them equally, nothing is going to be resolved in a meaningful way,” says Shahor.
3. Think holistically. Cyber security experts need to look outside of their department to ensure all risks are addressed. Communicating with departments such as HR can help to identify and reduce potential areas of concern.
4. Automate where you can. “By automating what you can, you can focus your human defenders on squashing threats from your human attackers,” says Shahor.

In short, it’s the responsibility of cybersecurity experts to stay as informed – if not better informed – than their hacker counterparts.

“As innovation explodes into every area of our lives, cybersecurity is providing the glue that can enable the good and disable the bad for implementing cutting-edge innovation as well as reducing risk from older vulnerabilities,” says Dan Lohrmann in Government Technology.

Capitol Tech students studying cybersecurity take classes in secure coding, scripting languages, secure data communications and cryptography, malware analysis/reverse engineering, and digital forensics and are prepared to protect all businesses, including e-commerce retailers.

Want to learn about cybersecurity? Capitol Tech offers bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in cyber and information security. Many courses are available both on campus and online. To learn more about Capitol Tech’s degree programs, contact admissions@captechu.edu.