Data breaches can be disastrous for any small business. According to a recent study featured in Security Intelligence, the average cost of a data breach rose to an all-time high of $4.24 million in 2021, up ten percent from 2020¹. Most tellingly, breaches involving remote workers cost a staggering $4.96 million on average¹. Unfortunately, unless you have proper security measures in place, breaches can spell disaster for your business. Indeed, Inc. outlines that 60 percent of small and midsized businesses close within six months if they are attacked². Perhaps you might ask yourself, “How can I keep my business networks secure?’
Enter the Cisco Umbrella security system. Just as an umbrella keeps you dry during a rainstorm, Cisco Umbrella keeps your users, apps, devices, and data safe twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Here’s why Cisco Umbrella should be your top-of-mind enterprise security solution.
One advantage of Cisco Umbrella is that it offers state-of-the-art DNS-layer security³. When you deploy Umbrella across your business networks, the system will not only enhance your security visibility, but also detect compromised systems and protect on- and off-network users by stopping threats in their tracks before they reach your network³. You will save yourself and your team plenty of headaches, as well as sleepless nights.
Keep in mind, however, that Cisco Umbrella’s DNS-layer security provides two distinct tiers of protection. In addition to filtering out harmful sites across the Internet, Umbrella lets you block content that may be inappropriate for your employees. For instance, you can use Umbrella’s DNS filtering capabilities to block websites highlighting illicit substances. You can also filter out inappropriate content depending on specific users within your organization. For example, you can block access to social media sites for your customer support staff, while allowing marketing team members to access company accounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Another key benefit is that Cisco Umbrella users can closely monitor current and future threats using Umbrella Investigate³. Available via console and API (application program interface), this handy tool provides context in real time on a variety of threats, including phishing, malware, botnets, and trojans³. By investigating and responding to incidents more quickly, Umbrella will give you and everyone across your networks much-needed peace of mind³.
Still another benefit of Cisco Umbrella is that it is designed for seamless scalability⁴. Using the security-as-a-service (SECaaS) model, your security team can access resources in the cloud as needed, scaling up every time the team grows⁴. Whether you are looking to expand from fifty to a hundred employees by year’s end or from 100 to 200 in six months, Umbrella will grow with your business every step of the way.
While Umbrella is useful in and of itself, SD-WAN integration makes it an even more essential tool for you and your business⁵. This combination of SD-WAN and Umbrella technology lets you weave “effective cloud security throughout your SD-WAN fabric,” better protecting your branch offices and remote users, no matter where they are⁵. With enhanced protection across devices, remote users, and distributed locations worldwide, Umbrella helps you maintain a secure network anywhere.
If you are looking to install Cisco Umbrella across your devices, Navitend can help. In addition to our standard malicious site filtering, we also offer web filtering based on specific sites or genres of websites. Although advanced filtering with Navitend requires a one-time setup fee and a monthly user fee, this small investment can yield substantial financial returns while also keeping your business networks secure 24/7.
We can talk all day about the benefits of Cisco Umbrella, particularly when integrated with SD-WAN. We have the comprehensive, all-in-one security solutions you need to keep your business users, apps, devices, and data safe in any scenario.
Navitend can help you. Call 973.448.0070 or setup an appointment today.
Sources:
¹Security Intelligence – “What’s New in the 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report” by John Zorabedian. Retrieved from https://securityintelligence.com/posts/whats-new-2021-cost-of-a-data-breach-report/
²Inc. – “60 Percent of Small Businesses Fold Within 6 Months of a Cyber Attack. Here’s How to Protect Yourself” by Joe Galvin. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/joe-galvin/60-percent-of-small-businesses-fold-within-6-months-of-a-cyber-attack-heres-how-to-protect-yourself.html.
³Cisco Umbrella – “Comprehensive Cloud Security Systems for any business – Cisco Umbrella.” Retrieved from https://umbrella.cisco.com/products/cloud-security-service.
⁴Cisco Umbrella – “3 Benefits of Cloud Security for Companies with Remote Workers” by Chloe Whitaker. Retrieved from https://umbrella.cisco.com/blog/cloud-security-benefits-for-remote-workers.
⁵Cisco Umbrella – “Simple Effective SD-WAN Security.” Retrieved from https://umbrella.cisco.com/solutions/sd-wan-security.
Contact us at 973.448.0070