• Contact Sales
  • Resellers
  • Support
Yubico Header Text LogoYubico Header Text Logo
Why Yubicoexpand_more
Why Yubico
  • Enterprises
  • SMBs
  • Individuals
  • Developers
  • Careers
  • Partner programs
  • Affiliate program
  • Contact Sales
  • Events
  • Press room
  • Yubico Blog
  • Yubico Executive Connect
  • About us
  • The team
  • Investors
  • Innovation history
  • Secure it Forward
Man holding YubiKey
Easy-to-use, secure authentication

With YubiKey there’s no tradeoff between great security and usability

Why YubiKey
  • best practice guide
Google headquarters
Proven at scale at Google

Google defends against account takeovers and reduces IT costs

Google Case Study
  • best practice guide
Hand holding YubiKey behind Apple iPhone
Protecting vulnerable organizations

Secure it Forward: One YubiKey donated for every 20 sold

Learn about Secure it Forward
  • best practice guide
Productsexpand_more
All products
  • YubiKey 5 Series
  • YubiKey 5 FIPS Series
  • YubiKey Bio Series
  • Security Key Series
  • YubiKey 5 CSPN Series
  • YubiHSM 2 & YubiHSM 2 FIPS
  • YubiEnterprise Subscription
  • YubiEnterprise Delivery
  • Yubico Authenticator
  • Computer login tools
  • Software Development Toolkits
  • YubiCloud
  • Using YubiKey is easy
  • Find the right YubiKey
  • Works with YubiKey
  • Compare YubiKeys
Woman holding YubiKey 5ci
One key for hundreds of apps and services

YubiKey works out-of-the-box and has no client software or battery

Yubico protects you
  • best practice guide
See YubiKeys as a Service
YubiEnterprise Subscription delivers scale and savings

Gain a future-proofed solution and faster MFA rollouts

See YubiKeys as a Service
  • best practice guide
Solutionsexpand_more
Solutions overview
  • Zero Trust
  • Executive Order OMB M-22-09
  • Phishing-resistant MFA
  • Passwordless
  • Compliance
  • Cyber Insurance
  • Secure supply chain
  • Critical infrastructure
  • Hybrid & remote workers
  • Secure privileged users
  • Mobile restricted environments
  • Call centers
  • Shared workstations
  • Microsoft ecosystem
  • Salesforce workspace
  • IAM solutions
  • AWS environment
  • HYPR experience
Hand holding YubiKey behind Apple iPhone
The Bridge to Passwordless

Begin the journey to make your organization passwordless

Get the white paper
  • best practice guide
Lock on a laptop
Accelerate your Zero Trust Strategy

7 best strong authentication practices to jumpstart your Zero Trust program

Get the white paper
  • best practice guide
Government building
Federal cybersecurity requirements

See guidance for CIOs and leaders to prepare for the modern cyber threat era

Get the white paper
  • best practice guide
Industriesexpand_more
Industries overview
  • High tech
  • Federal government
  • Federal systems integrators
  • State & local government
  • Education
  • Financial services
  • Elections & campaigns
  • Retail & hospitality
  • Telecommunications
  • Healthcare
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Energy & natural resources
  • Manufacturing
man working a manufacturing line
Manufacturing and supply chain security

Authentication best practices for manufacturing using highest-assurance security

Get the white paper
  • best practice guide
Person looking at a computer with a government building showing
Phishing-resistant MFA: Fact vs. Fiction

Meet requirements for phishing-resistant MFA in OMB M-22-09 guidelines

Get the white paper
  • best practice guide
Remote workers at a wind farm
Secure energy and natural resources from cyber threats

Best practices for phishing-resistant MFA to safeguard your critical infrastructure

Get the white paper
  • best practice guide
Resourcesexpand_more
All resources
  • Yubico Blog
  • Cybersecurity glossary
  • Authentication standards
  • Resource library
  • Developer program
  • Product briefs
  • Solution briefs
  • Case studies
  • Get a pilot started
  • White papers and reports
  • Webinars
Laptop with a YubiKey inserted
BeyondTrust: secured with a subscription

A leader in Privileged Access Management simplifies YubiKey deployment

How they optimized ROI
  • best practice guide
S&P Global Market Intelligence report: old habits die hard

Only 46% of respondents protect their applications with MFA. How about you?

Read the report
  • best practice guide
Considering Passkeys for your Enterprise?

Learn how to avoid the common pitfalls of synced passkeys

Get the Ebook
  • best practice guide
Supportexpand_more
Support home
  • Find the right YubiKey
  • Set up your YubiKey
  • Downloads
  • Product documentation
  • Support articles
  • Support Services
  • Professional Services
  • YubiEnterprise Subscription
  • Works with YubiKey Program
  • Buying and shipping information
  • Security advisories
  • Help center
YubiKeys in lots of form factors
How to set up your YubiKey

Follow our guided tutorials to start protecting your favorite services

Set up your YubiKey
  • best practice guide
YubiKey on a keychain plugged into a laptop
Find the best YubiKey for your needs

Take the guided quiz and see which YubiKey best fits your or your businesses needs

Take the quiz
  • best practice guide
Worker with a calculator and laptop with a spreadsheet
Accelerate your YubiKey deployment

Technical and operational guidance for your YubiKey implementation and rollout

Professional Services
  • best practice guide
SubscribeStore
  • Home » Blog » Five foundational cybersecurity controls to mitigate 90% of breaches

    Five foundational cybersecurity controls to mitigate 90% of breaches

    Stina Ehrensvard

    Stina Ehrensvard

    September 12, 2023
    6 minute read
    Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare via Email

    During my 16 years in the cybersecurity industry, and after discussions with numerous CISOs and cyber security experts, they all agree that there are five basic steps all organizations can take to mitigate over 90% of all cyber breaches1. 

    Just like cars were not initially designed for safety, the internet was not designed for security. With a growing number of fatal accidents, the car industry and governments took action to make driving a car ten times safer. Five features and controls that have proven to make the biggest difference for car safety today include seatbelts, crush zones, airbags, driver education, and mandatory motor vehicle inspections. 

    Today, cyber attacks are the single biggest crime sector impacting the security of billions of people around the world. Ranging from criminal gangs to governments, hackers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, organized, and well funded, leveraging the latest cyber technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, to automate advanced attacks at scale. 

    Thankfully, governments and industry bodies are joining forces to improve internet safety, similar to what has been achieved for cars. Large technology, financial and healthcare corporations, and government agencies are required to comply with extensive risk management frameworks. These initiatives are important, but it is a daunting task for any organization to address every cyber security risk. At Yubico, on our mission making the internet safer for everyone, we want to help others mitigate the most impactful cyber threats. This can be achieved by implementing five key controls that make the biggest difference while continuing to strive for broader security and compliance goals.

    1. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access all IT systems and implement phishing-resistant authentication for all privileged users

    Cyber security experts agree that strong MFA is the most important defense against accidental disclosure and cyber attacks that target user identities. Statistics show that more than 80% of breaches involve stolen and misused login credentials1.

    Logging in with only a username and password to IT systems may in the physical world be similar to a simple lock on your entry door; it can be easily bypassed. Additional steps, including one-time passcodes (OTP) from an authenticator app add an additional layer of security, similar to a deadbolt lock for your entry door. However, advanced phishing attacks and social engineering demonstrate that fraudsters can trick the users into sharing these on time passcodes.

    Phishing-resistant authentication technologies, based on strong public key encryption, provide a greater degree of account protection while reducing the likelihood of human error. The FIDO standard and Smart Cards both provide this increased level of protection. The security level is similar to an iron bank vault that requires multiple factors to open. To stop the most targeted users and damaging breaches, this level of protection is recommended for all privileged or sensitive users, anyone authorized to access and perform company security-relevant functions, and anyone with access to IT systems and servers with sensitive information.

    The US Government has acknowledged that all MFA is not created equal, and a White House Directive recommends phishing-resistant authentication as the only approved login method for all US government agencies by 2024.

    2) Limit users’ access rights to the minimum required to perform their role

    To limit the attack vector and the number of people in an organization that can cause a breach, it is critical to also limit access rights for all IT systems to the people who need these rights to perform their job responsibilities. Statistics show that cyber breaches caused by the organization’s own staff or contractors, by purpose or accidentally, are the reason behind 19% of all breaches1. Some of these insider attacks may be orchestrated by outside forces, including competitors and governments, and the best way to stop employees who are involuntary or voluntary planning to commit a crime is to ensure that they do not have access to the most critical data and systems.


    3) Apply software patches for all high-risk vulnerabilities within 30 days, and use only supported software versions

    Hackers look for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in old and unpatched software and IT systems. Unpatched software is directly or indirectly the reason behind 5% of all breaches1. By moving IT systems from offline servers to modern cloud services, the cloud vendors mitigate risk by continuous updates for known vulnerabilities. However, as cloud services can be accessed from anywhere it is even more important to implement step one on this list: using strong MFA for all logins.

    4) Back-up all business critical data and test recovery procedures

    Backups of critical information and systems may be required to restore operations to an operable and trusted state.This step will not stop breaches, but it is critical to safeguard business operations and continuity.

    5) Annual employee security awareness training and continuous learning

    Remind employees of their responsibilities and provide guidance on how to fulfill them – starting with this list of the previous four foundational steps. Provide continual updates as the business and cyber threats evolve, and just like all education, try to make it fun and engaging and people will learn. This is why after stepping aside as CEO earlier this year, I am dedicating some of my free time contributing to a script to a comedy movie series that embodies the steps outlined in this blog. While cyber fraudsters try to trick users to make mistakes leading to breaches, entertaining education can trick users to want to learn how to outsmart the fraudsters.

    —

    The above five foundational steps can be used by any organization to track their cybersecurity maturity over time, for reporting to the leadership team and board, and for peer benchmarking. This list will also help prepare companies for the addition of cybersecurity risk management information as part of the annual environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, and help customers and investors to assess risk and make informed decisions based on consistent and useful information.  

    In upcoming blogs and webinars, Yubico will share more content and tools that will make it even easier for any organization to track and measure their own ‘five steps’ for effective cyber defense. We will then also introduce the security experts, industry bodies and government agencies that we are partnering with to drive this initiative. It may be a bold goal, but based on the current statistics on what causes the most damage, it is possible to help mitigate 90% of all breaches in 5 years. 

    We are committed to our mission making the internet safer for everyone. Together, we can stop fraudsters from limiting the potential of what the internet is and can be. 

    ——

    1The statistics cited in this blog are from the Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report

    Share this article:

    Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare via Email

    Recommended Posts

    • How retail and hospitality can protect themselves from increased cyber attacks

      Every industry in the world is vulnerable to phishing and other cyber attacks, but retail and hospitality rank as some of the most high-value targets for hackers looking for personal identifiable information (PII) and payment card information (PCI). These two industries are often ranked among the top three most vulnerable industries, right behind financial institutions. […]

      Read more
      • case study
      • Hyatt
      • retail and hospitality
    • Q&A with CEO Mattias Danielsson: Yubico’s next stage of growth as a public company and what investors can expect

      Today marks an exciting, historic day in Yubico’s history: the company is now publicly traded under the ticker symbol YUBICO on Nasdaq First Growth North Market in Stockholm. As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly through increasingly sophisticated attacks like phishing, the need for phishing-resistant MFA with the YubiKey are at an all-time […]

      Read more
      • Investors
      • Q&A
      • thought leadership
    • Okta + Yubico: Better together

      Modern cybersecurity needs to be phishing-resistant, but it also needs to incorporate a great user experience for employees, IT teams and customers. We know traditional authentication methods are perceived as user-friendly, but they are not secure and vulnerable to most attacks  – in fact, 59% of people still rely on username and password to authenticate […]

      Read more
      • Okta
      • Partner Program
    • Works with YubiKey Spotlight: How Yubico works with industry leaders who share the commitment to strong authentication

      As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly in the form of more sophisticated attacks like phishing and ransomware, the need for industry collaborations and partnerships are more critical than ever to help businesses and consumers stay secure online. We first launched the Works with YubiKey (WWYK) program in 2018 with this in mind […]

      Read more
      • Works with YubiKey
      • wwyk
Yubico Text LogoYubico Text Logo
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • GitHub
  • Product finder quiz
  • Find set-up guides
  • Buy online
  • Contact sales
  • Get Yubico updates
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Press room
  • About us
  • Investors
  • Partner programs
  • Affiliate program
  • YubiKey 5 Series
  • YubiKey 5 FIPS Series
  • YubiKey Bio Series
  • Security Key Series
  • YubiKey 5 CSPN Series
  • YubiHSM 2 & YubiHSM 2 FIPS
  • Yubico Authenticator
  • Zero Trust
  • Phishing-resistant MFA
  • Passwordless
  • Cyber insurance
  • More solutions
  • Industries overview
  • Yubico blog
  • Resource library
  • Cybersecurity glossary
  • Authentication standards
  • Developer program
  • Works with YubiKey
  • Help center
  • Downloads
  • Product documentation
  • Support Services
  • Professional Services
  • Contact support
Yubico © 2023 All Rights Reserved.
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies
  • Legal
  • Privacy
  • Patents
  • Terms of use
  • Trust