Cisco announced on Thursday that it has launched a cybersecurity assessment tool for small and medium enterprises (SMBs) in Asia Pacific region to help them better understand their security posture.
According to Cisco, the new online tool examines each organization’s “cybersecurity readiness” via the lens of “Zero Trust,” the concept that all efforts to access an organization’s network architecture are denied unless trust can be verified.
When a user uses a device to access an application, both the user and the device are confirmed, and that trust is continually checked. This helps protect the organization’s applications and environments from unauthorized access from any person, device, or location.
The tool evaluates an organization’s readiness in six areas of zero trust – user and identity, device, networks, workload (applications), data, and security operations – and compares the results to industry standards.
The paper also includes personalised suggestions on technologies and solutions that can help boost an organization’s overall security posture and preparedness in a hybrid work environment, where applicable.
“Going forward, SMBs must ensure end-to-end protection across their workforce, workloads, and the workplace and adopt a zero-trust strategy to manage and strengthen their cybersecurity posture in a cloud-first world,” said Anand Patil, Senior Director, Systems Engineering, Cisco India & SAARC.
According to a Cisco report, moreover half (62%) of SMBs in India suffered cyber incidents in 2021, with cyber-attacks costing more than Rs 3.5 crore to their businesses.
During the same period, three out of four (74%) SMBs in India had cyber incidents, with 85% of customer information being lost to bad actors and a tangible impact on the company. According to the survey, the most common reason for these mishaps is that cybersecurity solutions aren’t up to the task of detecting or preventing the attack.
