Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from digital attacks. It's crucial for businesses of all sizes to prevent data breaches, financial loss, and reputational damage caused by cyber threats.

Exigent offers a full suite of cybersecurity solutions, including managed firewalls, endpoint protection, email security, dark web monitoring, security awareness training, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing. We tailor our services to your organization's unique needs.

The short answer is that all organizations need cybersecurity. But if your business or nonprofit stores sensitive data such as Social Security numbers or payment information, or operates in a regulated sector such as healthcare or legal, you are especially vulnerable to cyber attacks. 

Yes. We help organizations meet compliance standards such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and others by implementing the necessary security controls, policies, and ongoing monitoring. We can also help your organization address data retention, backup and recovery requirements that are also key elements of compliance. 

Exigent combines 25+ years of IT experience with a proactive, partnership-based approach. Our team delivers personalized service, rapid response, and industry-leading customer satisfaction scores.

Contact us for a free consultation. We'll assess your needs and recommend a tailored cybersecurity plan to protect your business in any of the four regions we serve: New Jersey, New York, Denver or Los Angeles.  

There are many—lack of cybersecurity policies, no multifactor authentication, no security awareness training—but if we had to pick one, it would be the lack of security policies. Without clear guidance to your employees about access control, acceptable use, BYOD, MFA, and password usage, and other essential steps toward a true security culture, no number of tools will protect your business. Nearly all breaches start with human error, and this is the first step toward preventing those honest mistakes.

In recent years, the idea of "business resilience" has begun to overshadow a singular focus on cybersecurity, stressing the interlocking system of policies, processes, documentation, and IT solutions needed to protect information, as well as recover from a disruption. The six steps toward a resilient business are:

• ID assets and risks
• Develop policies and procedures
• Security controls, both digital and physical
• Educate and train employees
• Assess and improve systems
• Incident response planning

For a small business, working through the steps toward resiliency can provide a roadmap for improvements and allow for incremental improvements.

Statistics show that 90% of cyberattacks start with phishing emails, making employee cybersecurity training business critical. An ongoing, systematic approach to cybersecurity training helps empower employees and can reduce phishing attacks by as much as 70%. A good program should use positive reinforcement, engage your team (humor is good!), teach new habits, and be an ongoing effort, not a one-and-done. Cyber attacks are constantly evolving, and educating your team to recognize and respond appropriately to an attempted attack is an ongoing effort.

There are often small signs that can be easy to spot if you know what you're looking for:

• Be wary of every email. Don't open or click links or attachments from unknown or untrusted sources. 
• Check for common red flags. Take a few extra minutes to look for poor grammar, spelling errors, and generic greetings in emails. In particular, be skeptical of URLs and look for "reply to" emails that don't match the content or source. For example, a common email message is: "Your Microsoft Invoice is Due." But a closer look at the "reply to" email reveals an easy-to-miss inconsistency: [email protected].
• Verify websites. Rather than clicking on links, type the address of a website directly into your browser. 

Building an incident response plan that guides the entire organization through a cybersecurity attack is essential for responding quickly, correctly, and effectively in the case of a breach. Your incident response plan should be part of a comprehensive business continuity plan that addresses technology, personnel, data, and considers disruptions of all types—from cyber attacks to power outages.