In this present age, the need for every business to have effective cybersecurity tools and services working for them is germane. This would prevent loss of funds and information to hackers. Therefore, we have compiled a list of tools and services that would make cybercriminals lose the grip on your business.

1. Antivirus Software:

Many consider antivirus as a synonym of Firewall. Though they work hand in hand, but they are quite different. Antivirus software is an example of cybersecurity tools, and its basic function is to scan anything entering the computer and in turn detect and prevent any virus or malware. The program – antivirus, is also referred to as an anti-malware. Using an updated antivirus is very important as it keeps malware (worms, viruses, ransomware, and many more) out of place, but an outdated antivirus might be ineffective and could allow the free flow of viruses. While there is a free anti-virus that could be used on your system, it’s paramount for organizations or businesses to have the best premium and update antivirus programs. According to Norton Antivirus, you don’t need to wait for a threat, get a copy.

2. Firewall:

According to the book titled ‘The secured CEO’, Mike Foster illustrates firewall as a technology cybersecurity tools (software or devices) that either allows or rejects incoming and outgoing traffic connections to and from any program or the internet. Though the firewall prevents unauthorized passages, there are numerous cybercriminals who have advanced in bypassing firewalls. It is done by the creation of programs and data that could bypass firewalls. This has led a lot of companies to imbibe the use of two or more firewalls for their organization or workstations.

Forms of firewalls:

Network Perimeter Firewall:

This firewall is arguably the simplest form and appropriate cybersecurity for small businesses. Based on the administrator settings and rules, it runs scans on network packets, allows or blocks network packets that do not align with the rules.?

Also, a ‘logging’ feature is included for network firewalls as this also shows a record of previous and present malicious activities on the firewall. Network perimeter firewall is divided further into two, namely:

• Stateless
• Stateful firewall

While stateless firewall runs scans on packet headers and measures their values against the laid down rules, stateful firewalls does more. Apart from scanning the pocket headers, the state of each connection is monitored for the stateful firewall.

Endpoint Firewall:

This has additional features such as:

• The administrator has control over the applications accepted or rejected before the traffic exchange.
• A local machine handles packet filtering.

Other school of thought😕

There are five types of firewalls namely:

• Packet filtering firewall
• Circuit level gateway firewall
• Stateful inspection firewall
• Proxy or application firewall
• Next generation firewall

While the first three acts similarly to network perimeter firewall, the latter two acts similarly to endpoint firewall. There are also many firewall softwares available depending on your need.

3. Threat Detection Management Services:

With the rate of threats from hackers, obtaining the services of a threat management organization is a good means of combating the cyber threat. An example of a threat detection management organization is the AWS cloud security.?

They offer services such as continuous detection and monitoring of threats and protection of data. It also manages identities and accesses, protection of infrastructures, and shows level of compliance with guidelines. This among many cybersecurity services is proactive.

4. Pen Testing:

Also known as penetration testing, is one of the professional cybersecurity services. This service allows a professional in the field of cybersecurity to perform various forms of hack practices on your computer applications, networks, and system. This is done to discover the vulnerability and also address it. This practice gives businesses and organizations the chance to tighten and reinforce their security systems against a potential cyber attack. The professional personnel gives a breakdown of the weakness of the security system and also, what to do in tightening your security.?

An example of a professional body that offers this service of pen testing is an award winner for cybersecurity pen testing services – Redscan. These professional bodies do not use the breach for criminal means, rather, they use it to show you the weakness. This service is cheaper compared to what is lost during a real hack or data breach. However, it is advisable to be sure of the body to hire for such a service. Similar free testing for security rating service for an organization could also be done here.

5. Staff Training and Awareness Programs:

Staff being unaware of the dangers posed when they lose guard on some of the little things they do, add them to your threat list. Therefore, it is paramount to hold periodic training and awareness of most of the cybersecurity tools and practices. This helps in safeguarding the organization as the staff know just what not to do.

The teaching ranges from common forms of cyberattacks to technical ways of handling them. The services of a professional body could also be required to take this training. Some bodies could be found here.

6. Public key Infrastructure Services:

Apart from the security of the transport layers in computer networks and also making the hyper-text transfer protocol (http) secured, it also performs numerous functions. It can be used for two-step verification and encryption of email communication until it gets to the appropriate identity. The creation of digital signatures that can be trusted is also possible through this key infrastructure.?

These cybersecurity services and tools will help secure small and large scale businesses and organizations from successful cyber attacks. Do you have observations? Why not let’s hear your thoughts through the comment box.