Cisco introduces online tools to strengthen cybersecurity for SMBs

Cisco, a world leader in IT and networking solutions, has recently introduced a cybersecurity assessment tool that helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the Asia Pacific region to deeply understand their overall cybersecurity landscape.

With the increasing adoption of hybrid and work from anywhere models, organizations are extensively focusing on cybersecurity to facilitate remote jobs. This has augmented cybersecurity threats and attacks beyond perimeters that companies have conventionally built to protect their confidential information.

The new online assessment tools launched by Cisco assesses the cybersecurity readiness of each company via lens of “Zero Trust”. In this concept, no access to the organization’s network architecture is granted until the trust can be verified.

When a user analyses any application or company’s network, both user and the device being used are verified, with that trust simultaneously monitored. This helps in securing the company’s applications and networks from any user, location, and device.

The online tool evaluates a company’s maturity level in 6 areas of Zero Trust which includes Networks, Data, Workload (application), Device, Security Options, and User Identity. Once the company submits details of its policies and security capabilities, the tool analyzes the overall security posture of the company based on industry standards.

Anand Patil, Senior Director of Systems Engineering at SAARC & Cisco India, said that with small enterprises increasingly digitizing, the threat of cyberattacks is proliferating, therefore securing these businesses is the top priority for the company.

Going forward, SMB must be integrated with end-to-end protection across their workplace, workforce, and workload and must adopt the lens of zero trust to manage, protect, and strengthen their cybersecurity in the cloud world.

A study by Cisco claims that more than half (62 percent) of SMBs in India have gone through cyber incidents in 2021 that have cost their business more than $450,000.

Source Credit: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/cisco-launches-tool-to-help-smbs-gauge-cybersecurity-preparedness/articleshow/91808225.cms