Secure Switches – A Saviour in Disguise to Prevent Cyber Attacks

By: Anjani Kumar, India Country Manager, Raritan

Data is absolutely critical for organizations today and so is the responsibility of safeguarding it. With seamless data transfers rising by the day across the networks of organizations via connected devices, cyber-criminals are becoming more advanced and resourceful with the back-up of funds. Which is why data breaches are becoming one of the biggest threats to all organisation world over and in India.  In fact, a recent IBM Study on “Cost of a Data Breach” found that a single data breach costs India Rs.120 million.

Malicious or criminal attacks were the root cause of 42 per cent of data breaches. According to experts, the threat scenario shows a significant rise in both the number and sophistication of breaches in this year's report, which is alarming as it continues to rise in India. The report also states that the estimated average cost of a data breach in India went up to Rs 119 million in 2017 – which roughly translates to Rs.4,552 per record lost or stolen - a nearly eight per cent jump in the year since 2016. The report highlights the hidden costs in data breaches which includes loss of business, damage to reputation and time spent by employees on recovering the costly data that businesses cope with. In order to avoid these unprecedented risks and alarming numbers, they are looking at solutions that can protect their crucial data and safeguard it against online threats.

The need for an effective preventive measure

Enterprises across sectors deal with different types of data shared between multiple systems and networks that require close monitoring. Securing the network and the data then becomes a concern, as they need simple solutions, which are both cost effective and offer an edge by minimising the risks emanating from data transferred across multiple systems.

Amidst all other available options, a simple and one-stop solution could be Secure KVM switches. These switches have time and again been proven as effective and reliable solutions for enterprises to fight against cyber hackers and intruders online. They have been popular with the government, military, and utility networks for many years. KVM Secure Switches have been designed to augment operator efficiency by removing the need for multiple keyboards and mouse systems and simultaneously reducing the chances of data transfer between multiple systems and networks. In short, this powerful cybersecurity too prevents data breaches by isolating the systems and their data. The technology used in KVM switches uses productivity and efficiency and effectively defend against cyber-attacks and limits their destructive power.

Here are the specific ROI driven advantages offered by secure KVMs:

• Air Gap Defences. – Secure Switches have air gap defences that aid in segregating and isolating cyber assets. This enables them to separate different servers connected to the switch which in turn help in gauging the probable attacks and avoiding data leakage.
•   Separated USB Ports. -- Secure KVM switches can be used to increase security by isolating exposed USB ports. With this unique technological advantage, the potential malware threats can be reduced with accidental exposure to a server while accessing USB flash drives or other USP peripheral devices.  Another key highlight of Secure KVM is the audio output inside of the KVM that acts as an inbuilt microphone to indicate a potential cyber-attack.
• Operating on high cybersecurity standards. -- KVM switches are designed to meet rigorous cybersecurity standards as is evident from their effective usage in military, government and utility sectors. Secure Switches are tested, audited and certified by the NIAP ensuring an increased level of protection on both classified networks and systems alike. Additionally, these switches are used in conjunction with biometric readers to help companies deploy a multi-factor authentication solution. 

Secure Switches also safeguard information by managing access and data transfers based on a computer’s security classification level — ranging from top secret to confidential to unclassified. The switch also provides tamper-resistant and intrusion-detection features.

The need of the hour for enterprises are solutions that help in blocking out harmful data sharing and signals, providing additional control, and removing desktop clutter that can safeguard against security breaches and hacking of data and networks.