One of the biggest challenges facing government agencies today is protecting their networks and workforce from cyberattacks. “Responding to cyberattacks is often challenging, and governments lack adequate resources to combat increasingly sophisticated threats,” said Brenna Plesich, Head of Public Sector at Check Point Software Technologies.
Preventative defense is the answer. Mitigation of risk, prevention and detection are all key building blocks of a robust cybersecurity platform. There are plenty of hurdles to improving cybersecurity, but most importantly, strong public-private partnerships are key to strengthening cybersecurity in the public sector. For example, when Log4J was discovered in 2022, it had no impact on Check Point customers, Plesich explained.
Know — and Use — What You’ve Got
Over the past decade, government agencies have rushed to purchase as many cyber tools as they can to combat the rising threats. The challenge with this approach is that agencies have many tools that are underutilized, Plesich observed. They may buy a product for one use and never realize it has other capabilities. “So they buy another tool and another tool and another tool…” she said.
A solution to this problem starts with an annual operations review — identifying an agency’s cyber assets. This process ensures that organizations are getting the full value of the tools they have acquired. “As part of our review, we examine configurations, security policies/enforcement, and redundant or unused capabilities,” explained Plesich.
In addition to the review, Check Point helps its government customers consolidate their security tools. “Consolidation creates a more manageable and cost effective environment, which reduces the administrative burden on the agency,” Plesich said.
Find — and Grow — Your Cyber Workforce
Workforce is another challenge agencies face when trying to improve their cybersecurity. It’s hard to hire cybersecurity specialists and hard to hang on to them once you do. Governments often lose the salary competition with private industry, and their aging systems are less attractive to potential employees.
One way to address this problem is to train the workforce you already have. Check Point offers to help train an agency’s employees on how to improve its cyber posture. “We help them become proficient on our tools, which increases their skillsets and builds employee morale,” Plesich said.
Another way Check Point is helping bridge the workforce talent divide is through Check Point’s Secure Academy, which provides a hands-on learning experience. Check Point deploys their engineers to universities and vocational schools in an effort to increase student’s cyber knowledge and help build the next generation cyber workforce.
How Check Point Helps
In the recent Miercom Firewall Security Efficacy Competitive Assessment Summary Lab Report, the Zero+1 Day Malware test showed Check Point prevented over 99.7% of malware versus other security vendors.
The biggest difference between Check Point and other security vendors is that Check Point is preventative defense. “Detection is critical, but once an attacker infiltrates an environment, it’s too late,” Plesich said. Check Point’s proven preventative defense philosophy utilizes next generation threat hunting artificial intelligence that best protects government customers from new and unknown threats.
