Softline Armenia and Check Point Software Technologies managers talks cybersecurity trends

Sargis Harutyunan, Director of Softline Armenia, and Alexander Savushkin, Regional Business Development Director for Check Point Software Technologies in Ukraine, Georgia, and the CIS, spoke about cybersecurity trends and Check Point Software solutions.

Alexander Savushkin

At Check Point, we distinguish six generations of threats - they have been constantly improving and evolving since their inception for about 40 years. Cybercriminals are constantly working on them - and if organizations want to be protected, then they cannot be left behind. When we conducted a survey on this topic - this was about three years ago, we found out that only 3% of companies around the world were using the latest protection methods. On average, the level of protection lags behind that of cybercriminals by 10 years. In other words, the protection of most organizations is at a level that could have helped in the 2010s.

The latest generation of attacks are long-lasting, multi-stage, and can attack a wide variety of device types around the world. As we increasingly use mobile devices in our daily and work lives, attackers are increasingly trying to exploit their vulnerabilities. It is important for organizations to implement a mobile security system that can seamlessly protect both corporate and personal devices from advanced cyber attacks, as well as ensure the security of the OS of devices, applications and networks to which they are connected. In addition, the new security measures should not affect the user experience, battery life, data loading, and other indicators.

2020 was a challenge for a huge number of organizations: everyone needed to transfer a huge number of people to remote work in a short period. If we talk about digitalization of work, then in a few months the companies have done what they planned to do in the next few years. But how much security they were concerned with, is a question.

Most likely, cybercriminals were well aware of this – according to our data, every second organization reported an increase in cyber-attacks during the pandemic. We conducted a survey among more than 600 IT and information security specialists around the world – and 58% of respondents confirmed this.

I expect that in 2021, many organizations will allow their employees to work from home or adopt a hybrid model, which means that securing remote work will remain a top priority and a challenge for the coming months and years.

At the same time, the business is developing-now in many offices you can find IoT devices that also require protection. Many people (and even businesses) don't take the security of smart devices seriously – and that's a big mistake. It seems obvious to protect smartphones, computers, laptops – but IoT devices also have access to the Internet, and often their manufacturers save on security. As a result, it turns out that both manufacturers and end users do not always think about protection – and through such unprotected smart devices, the risk of intruders entering the corporate network increases.

In the past few months, the main threats to business have been and will continue to be data leaks and penetration into corporate networks. More specific risks are the use of personal gadgets by employees for work, shadow software, unsecured Wi-Fi networks, and a low level of cyber-hygiene in general.

The protection of public clouds remains a serious problem-this was noted by 75% of respondents. At the same time, 80% of respondents admitted that the existing security tools either do not work at all, or have limited capabilities in the cloud.

All this is fraught with serious problems. Companies will need to fix any gaps in their distributed networks-from employees ' personal devices to the data center; take a comprehensive approach to protecting the infrastructure. It is important to remember that if an attacker has penetrated the network and the company has discovered it – this is not a success, but a loss. It is difficult to say with certainty how long he was there and what exactly he did. Therefore, the best strategy is prevention.

As a vendor, we close all attack vectors. And a very important nuance for small and medium-sized businesses – everything is managed by a single console, no large staff of information security specialists is required.

Sargis Harutyunyan

Today cyberattacks are happening more and more often: just last year, their number has almost doubled. This is due to the fact that cybercriminals are constantly looking for new ways to get confidential data. New threats and new forms of malicious activity are emerging. Such attacks are successful mainly for two reasons: due to a lack of knowledge among employees in the field of information security, and, more importantly, because of vulnerabilities in IT systems. Last year's facts showed that today in Armenia, medium and small businesses are the most vulnerable. According to our expert assessment, this is due to the fact that small businesses do not pay enough attention to security, their IT systems are weak and vulnerable.  

The rapid growth of malware, the increasing sophistication of attackers, and the growing number of new unknown threats require a modern approach to ensuring the security of corporate networks and data. Of course, there are many solutions that help solve this problem, but for now, I would highlight the next generation Quantum Spark firewalls from Check Point.

A firewall is a protective shield between the global Internet and the local computer network of an organization. It performs the function of checking and filtering data coming from the Internet. Depending on the settings, the firewall may skip them or block them, for example, if it detects viruses or a hacker attack.

Small and medium-sized business offices require the same level of protection against complex cyber-attacks and threats that is available to large organizations. Ensuring network security is a difficult task for small and medium-sized enterprises. Not everyone can afford several experienced information security specialists, and not everyone is ready to teach ordinary employees the rules of cyber hygiene. Check Point security gateways for small businesses provide the same protection as for large organizations. At the same time, they are quite easy to deploy and manage.

Check Point Software solutions provide comprehensive threat prevention while improving operational efficiency.

When it comes to Quantum Spark next-generation firewalls, they are designed for small and midsize businesses and provide best-in-class threat protection. They are easy to deploy and manage, and integrate communications and security into a single security gateway solution. What's more, Quantum Spark Security Gateways protect businesses with 1 to 500 employees.

Check Point Software recently released a new version of Quantum Spark firewalls: Quantum Spark 1600 and Quantum Spark 1800. With simple, affordable, universal security solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, these firewall security gateways protect corporate networks, data from cyber attacks and theft. These firewalls are also ideal for larger branch offices and small to medium business networks due to their high threat prevention bandwidth and high capacity ports with network interfaces. Note that the Quantum Spark 1600 and 1800 provide full protection in just 60 seconds and, importantly, there is no need for on-site maintenance.

In addition, these firewalls are managed locally, using a simplified web user interface, and there is also the option to manage through a mobile application. You can monitor the network status in real time and eliminate any threats immediately.

To sum up, it is very important for companies to know their vulnerabilities before installing a security system. To do this, there are many solutions that conduct testing. At the moment, I would like to highlight the Check Up solution, again from the company Check Point Software. This solution allows you to perform network analysis and collect comprehensive data on active threats for the entire environment, including networks, endpoints, and mobile devices. At the end of the analysis period, the client receives a comprehensive report on the number of malware infections, the use of high-risk web applications, intrusion attempts and bot attacks, loss of confidential data, threats to endpoints and mobile devices. Such a check is currently free of charge and our company is ready to conduct such an analysis.

Please note that this offer applies to a limited number of companies. For more information, you can fill out the form and our specialists will contact you.