Cyber security tools are a must for any business or individual interested in ensuring their privacy and safety. In 2020, we saw a 26 percent rise in ransomware, with 67 percent of companies reporting rising numbers of impersonation fraud and 88 percent of companies targeted by email spoofing. So, any CSO or CIO worth their salt, will invest time and consideration into picking the right tools for the job for 2021.
Also, the global pandemic devastated many organizations and enterprises around the world, forcing companies to move their business processes into digital space. Consequently, COVID-19 has had such a negative impact on every day business that most companies struggle to allocate resources into adequate cyber security solutions.
Shrinking budgets and an inability to adapt to the current situation left plenty of openings to those looking to exploit these weaknesses.
A general lack of public information and disregard of security protocols among employees is certainly not helping. More than half of internet users utilize public Wi-Fi – even though 73 percent of them know that public Wi-Fi is not safe even when its password protected.
Likewise, there are more people working from their homes. So we now have more devices out there transmitting data from home networks. Company cyber security and poppin’ firewalls might provide adequate protection in the office.
But what about our devices and networks at home? Certainly, this remote work environment necessitates revisiting the cyber security tools and solutions in place. It also streeses the need to re-educate users on the most current cyber security best practices.
So, without any further ado, let’s check out the 10 best cyber security tools for 2021.
Comodo HackerProof
Particularly useful for e-commerce business owners, Comodo Hackerproof allows you decrease cart abandonment, perform daily vulnerability scanning, and use the included PCI scanning tools.
An especially interesting feature is its drive-by attack prevention that will definitely help you build trust with your visitors. HackerProof is Comodo’s trust-seal program, offering numerous advantages over other brands’ trust-seals.
It offers efficient third-party website security solutions and is currently one of the best trust-seals in the cyber security industry. The program relies on a unique Point to Verify technology which allows users to verify the integrity of the website without having to open a new browser tab.
Netsparker
A cloud-based, on-premises solution, Netsparker allows you to manage the entire application security lifecycle through automated vulnerability assessments. Vulnerabilities are detected in a safe and read only environment.
These are reported only after being reproduced in a test environment to reduce false positives. This saves quite a bit of time. Also, Netsparker features:
- maintenance scheduling,
- OWASP top ten protection,
- database security audit, and,
- asset discovery.
Netsparker’s scanning technology ensures the long-term security of all their web applications at all stages of the SDLC.
UpGuard
UpGuard helps businesses reduce their cyber security risks by detecting data exposures and controlling third-party risk. This interesting tool utilizes continuous data leak detection and security ratings in order to provide protection from security breaches.
Most users compliment UpGuard for its ease of implementation, workflow tracking assistance, control surface security, and risk prioritization and remediation. UpGuard combines third-party security ratings, vendor questionnaires, and threat intelligence scans to assist companies in reducing their cyber risks.
Acunetix
This is a fully automated web vulnerability scanner, with the capability of detecting and reporting on over 4500 web application vulnerabilities – which include all variants of SQL Injection and XSS.
The Acunetix crawler supports HTML5 and JavaScript and Single-page applications. It allows for the auditing of complex, authenticated applications. Also, Acunetix utilizes advanced vulnerability management features, prioritizing risks according to data through a single, consolidated view, as well as integrating scanner results with other tools and platforms.
SimplyEmail
As the name suggests, SimplyEmail is an email recon tool that helps gather information found online based on someone’s email address.
This tool is basically a harvester solution that works by searching the web for any data that can help provide intelligence concerning any email address. Mainly used by pentesters looking to create account lists for enterprise testing engagements, SimplyEmail supports:
- Dockcer,
- Kali,
- Ubuntu,
- Debian, and,
- macOS.
AxCrypt
AxCrypt Premium offers seriously advanced encryption features in a superbly simple setting. You just drag a file onto its window and that file gets encrypted.
It goes beyond just encryption, you can also decrypt, and securely delete files from AxCrypt’s right-click context menu. The only way to breach it, is by hacking the endpoint – but then any software can be compromised in this manner. Apart from that, breaking an AxCrypt file will take approx. a billion years.
SonicWall
SonicWall has a firewall for everyone, with packages to fit the needs of any organization, no matter its size. You have the SuperMassive line for the large companies, NSA for midrange companies and the TZ series firewalls for small corporates. Each series comes with its own myriad of features – of which there are too many to list.
Their security solutions service more than a million networks globally. Also they provide for more than half a million companies, spread across 150 countries.
SolarWinds
The SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is a network monitoring platform with a network packet analyzer, capable of capturing data from over 1,200 applications out-of-the-box. You can measure packet transfer in real-time, view services with the top response times on a graph, as well as traffic types as categories such as destination IP address, port usage, and application type.
To avoid false positives, SolarWinds utilizes dynamic baselines to detect genuine performance deviations without overwhelming you with fake alerts.
Capsa
Capsa is a professional network monitoring and management package, providing also diagnostic and analytical functions. It can be operated from a USB drive or local folder without installation. Capsa is an attractive option for companies with a lot of non-technical staff or with remote IT departments.
Monitoring is compatible with LAN as well as WAN. It furthers accountability by logging all network activity, with packet interception across multiple protocols, as well as summaries of employees or interfaces.
This makes it very useful for discovering data leaks and attempted access from external threats.
ConnectWise
ConnectWise Automate is a RMM package providing network analysis and data collection capabilities. As you can guess, this software focuses on automation. This is done with smarter scanning and up-to-date information that allows more accurate discovery of devices on managed networks.
Because of its remote administration tools, it’s a pretty good choice for businesses with large client networks. Also, it can be installed on the premises o accessed from the cloud – which is important for companies with growing numbers of remote workers.
The Take-Away
For most of us, 2020 was one of the most challenging years in recent history. We have collectively struggled to deal with major changes in our lives and forced to overcome various professional obstacles.
Sadly, most cyber security experts predict that we will see over the next 12 months even more COVID-19 related cyber-attacks, greater developments in malware and cyber-conflicts, as well as new threats to 5G and the Internet of Things.
With that in mind, we hope that this article provided you with the right cyber security tools for the job of keeping yourself, your company and employees safe in 2021.