Cybersecurity Software

Online data can be vulnerable to cyberthefts and cyberattacks, such as ransomware, malware, and phishing. To protect your confidential business data and related IT infrastructure, you can use cybersecurity software. Upgrading your IT security framework and investing in cybersecurity solutions will minimize the risk of your business data, systems, and apps being compromised by unauthorized users or external threat agents such as viruses.

We’ve prepared this guide to help you select the right cybersecurity software for your business. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What is cybersecurity software?

• Why use cybersecurity software? 

• What are the typical features of cybersecurity software?

• What are the potential issues with cybersecurity software?

• What are the trends in cybersecurity software?

• What is the cost of cybersecurity software?

• How do small and midsize businesses use cybersecurity software?

What is cybersecurity software?

Cybersecurity software helps businesses identify potential system vulnerabilities and cyberthreats, such as viruses and ransomware, to protect company applications, networks, and IT systems.

Cybersecurity software uses network architecture and advanced technology, such as firewall protection, data encryption, incident response, and website scanning, to prevent unauthorized access and ensure real-time enterprise security.

There are different types of cybersecurity tools. Data encryption software, vulnerability scanning software, network defense software, penetration testing software, threat intelligence software, antivirus software, and firewall software are to name a few.

Why use cybersecurity software?

Keeping data safe is a priority for your business. Here’s how cybersecurity software contributes to that goal:

• Ensures secure remote working: Remote work has increased the threat to sensitive business information. With features such as endpoint protection, cybersecurity software provides your business with digital protection against potential security threats. This offers your remote employees a safe environment to work in.

• Boosts productivity: A single security breach can bring down your entire business. Cyberthreats such as viruses can slow down business systems and bring your entire operations to a standstill. Cybersecurity software will protect your business against such cyberattacks and prevent downtime, improving productivity. 

• Instills customer confidence: The software can protect your business against all kinds of cyber breaches, increasing customers’ trust that their data is safe with you. With features such as data security, firewalls, and antivirus, cybersecurity software protects customers’ sensitive data against unauthorized access or use. 

• Ensures compliance: A cybersecurity solution with cyber incident response and compliance testing capabilities will allow your IT department to comply with various data security regulations, such as the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Key questions to ask a cybersecurity software vendor before you buy: 

• How is your cybersecurity software going to benefit my IT infrastructure? 

• How will your tool add additional value to my existing IT security processes?

What are the typical features of cybersecurity software?

Here are some features you must look for in a cybersecurity solution:

• Endpoint protection: Protect devices, such as laptops and mobile devices, from cyberattacks such as ransomware and phishing.

• Vulnerability scanning: Scan your software, systems, and networks regularly to identify and report new or existing security vulnerabilities, such as viruses, ransomware, or malware.

• Activity monitoring: Monitor your business networks for malicious activity or policy violations. Use a combination of intrusion and threat detection methods to identify suspicious activity and keep logs or reports of security data.

• Threat response: Mitigate threats before they penetrate your networks by quarantining, sandboxing, or blocking the activity. Some tools also offer analytics functionality to classify cyberthreat functions and determine preventive actions.

• Antivirus: Search for, detect, and remove software viruses and other malicious agents.

• Data security: Protect sensitive data such as business, employee, and financial information from cyberattacks.

• Firewalls: Filter incoming and outgoing network traffic to detect invasive or suspicious activity, such as malware, and shut it down.

• Reporting: Generate reports that log network security incidents, system access, activity type and time, etc., for analysis, record keeping, and compliance purposes.

• Policy management: Gain centralized visibility and control of all network security policies, such as protection levels, IP address blacklisting, and compliance assessment.

• DDoS protection: Detect and mitigate the impact of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks can flood networks with malicious traffic to make the machines temporarily unavailable to users.

Key questions to ask a cybersecurity software vendor before you buy: 

• What are the key features of your security tool?

• How will these features strengthen my company’s cybersecurity framework?

What are the potential issues with cybersecurity software?

Below are some issues you may encounter when using cybersecurity software:

• System compatibility: Assess your IT setup, network specifications, software systems, and IT equipment to choose a tool that fits your security requirements and business environment. This will help ensure you select a security solution that is compatible and works well with your current devices, networks, and applications.  

• Ability to cope with emerging threats: Cybercrime is constantly evolving, and if your security software can’t detect newly evolved threats, your data will remain at risk. A cybersecurity platform that can protect against existing as well as emerging threats is essential. Check how often the software vendor releases security updates and patches to tackle evolving threats.

• Customer support: Inquire about the type of customer support offered by the vendor. Is support available 24/7, 24/5, or only during business hours? Check if support services are included in the software price or if you’ll have to pay more for them. Also, verify the support channels available—email, phone, or live chat—to ensure you can contact the support team via a channel you prefer. 

Key questions to ask a cybersecurity software vendor before you buy:

• Is your cybersecurity system compatible with my IT infrastructure?

• Does your cybersecurity tool offer features to cope with evolving cyberthreats?

• What level of customer support is available with your cybersecurity tool?

What are the trends in cybersecurity software?

Let’s discuss some trends in the cybersecurity space that you should be aware of:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help detect cyberattacks in real time. In today’s constantly evolving cyber landscape, technologies such as AI and ML are used to analyze millions of datasets, track cyberthreats, and bring the incident response time down to a few seconds. The tools are deployed on devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, to detect and stop cybersecurity threats.

• Internet of things (IoT) devices are creating opportunities for cybersecurity solutions: The expanding IoT domain is creating more opportunities for cybercrime, as most IoT devices have fewer processing and storage capabilities. This makes it harder to employ firewalls, antivirus, or other security apps to safeguard them. Cybersecurity solutions that ensure control over the entire device lifecycle can update the security of IoT devices efficiently.

Key questions to ask a cybersecurity software vendor before you buy: 

• How do you plan to use technology such as IoT, AI, and machine learning in your cybersecurity software?

• Are you planning to incorporate any new technology in your cybersecurity software?

What is the cost of cybersecurity software?

There are different types of cybersecurity software solutions. They include firewall software, endpoint security, antivirus software, endpoint detection and response (EDR) software, email protection software, or a combination of these. Pricing of these solutions depends on various factors such as the business size, total number of features and services offered, and type of devices you manage.

While some cybersecurity vendors charge a “one-time” fee and some are available for free, most products on the market are priced on a “per user, per month” and “per site, per month” basis. Based on our research on cybersecurity products, pricing can be broken down into three tiers based on the starting price*:

• $7 - $10

• $10 - $16

• $16+

These ranges summarize pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product that is priced higher may include additional features such as integrations, IoT devices protection, and real-time network alerts.

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering found on vendor websites on August 20, 2021. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentile of the pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products and exclude freemium plans.

That said, the cost of different cybersecurity solutions can vary depending upon:

• Additional features or add-ons: Cost associated with advanced features such as DDoS protection and compliance management.

• Additional customer support cost: Cost associated with advanced support such as priority support, dedicated customer service manager, administrative assistance, and 24/7 or 24/7/365 support.

• Implementation cost: Cost related to consultants, hardware installation, software customization, data migration, and integrations.

• Training cost: Cost related to online training or in-person training at the client’s site.

• Maintenance cost: Cost related to software upgrades and updates.

Be mindful of all these costs before partnering with any cybersecurity software vendor.

Key questions to ask a cybersecurity software vendor before you buy: 

• What is the pricing model of your cybersecurity product? 

• Besides the subscription fee, what other costs are associated with the product?

• Do you offer a free plan, free trial, and demo for your security products? 

How do small and midsize businesses use cybersecurity software?

Let’s see an example of how small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are using cybersecurity solutions to safeguard their data from cybercriminals.

SMBs need to monitor fewer employees, applications, systems, and devices compared with large firms. Also, they have a small IT team and a limited budget, so their main goal is to prevent a data breach and ensure basic protection. They use cybersecurity software with features such as antivirus, endpoint protection, data backup, anti-spam, vulnerability scanning, and application monitoring to secure their business networks and systems.

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