In this age of advanced technology and communication powered with easy internet connectivity on multiple platforms, building an efficient cyber security strategy and execute it is the biggest challenge for any organization. Despite substantial efforts to combat cyber security threats, those threats continue to expand if not remediated on time.
A strategic cyber defense solution is required to address the multifaceted security concerns from mobile to connected devices utilizing the cloud, as well as the underlying screening of IT analytics. Exponential leaps in technology have also facilitated the current-day hackers’ intent to outsmart the most impenetrable cyber security techniques.
Below are the key requirements needed to create an efficient cyber security system, which can be implemented to absorb the latest security architectures for attack detection and how to handle data breaches effectively. This will help in timely attack or threat detection, and how companies can handle data breaches effectively.
Chalk-Out A Security Roadmap
With an ever-evolving cyber threat landscape, crafting a better security road-map has become vital for every organization. The rise in cyber-attacks and the continued threat of vulnerabilities to organizations big and small have created an urgent need to deploy a team of cyber experts and security professionals to detect and defend against cyber security incidents on a regular basis.
Security experts must draft a road-map of how their organizations can strengthen their cyber security strategy to counter data breach threats and keep the sensitive business data safe in cyberspace.
In order to manage a data breach and defend against different types of cyber-attacks, you may need to incorporate the next-generation security architecture, which is micro-virtualization and artificial intelligence-led security combined with the IT security best practices.
Create A Cyber Security Culture
When you are aiming for an end-to-end cyber security solution, creating a security culture is key. For any security parameters to perform effectively and bring noticeable results, an organization must streamline the process by involving top-to-bottom employees.
For the past few years, we have come across many cyber traps like phishing websites, spam emails, social engineering, online bank accounts, and so on. Today’s cyber criminals have discovered new ways to penetrate sensitive business data from an organization, which can result in serious business risks to any company.
It’s extremely important that there is clear communication between board members and cyber security professionals to ensure the safety of the business data. By introducing cyber security awareness campaigns to all the officials, cyber defense experts will be able to execute IT security strategy effectively.
It’s crucial that the IT security, business objectives, and company employees’ perspective align to achieve an absolute cyber safe environment in an organization. The company board members must identify cyber security as their primary concern because if they overlook security, the blowback could be disastrous in both financial and credibility ways to stakeholders.
Consistent Security Efforts
The success of a security strategy is determined by consistency and continuous security practices being aligned with business objectives. The biggest threat to any organization be it IT or personnel, is from within.
Despite the advances in AI and machine learning in cyber security, human errors are still the biggest threats in cyberspace security. One single lapse, from failing to secure S3 buckets to emailing a spreadsheet to the wrong people, may cost irreparable loss to any organization. Without a conducive environment and employees with the right mindset, an organization’s IT security is put at risk. Hence, it becomes inevitable for an organization to make continuous efforts to create an awareness campaign for cyber security at regular intervals.
Conduct the cyber security training for company employees, security personnel, privileged users, clients, third-party vendors, and board members alike regarding their role in IT security. These awareness programs must include key areas like the importance of IT security, software updates, backup routines, cyber-safe social media practices, how to detect phishing scams, information on ransomware attacks, malicious websites, incident reporting, cyber security best practices, and policies.
To ensure proper protection, organizations must perform and include specific risk assessments on critical information assets. This will help develop an appropriate technique to assess the continuity and recovery in the event of a data breach. Build a strong top-down employee relationship and strengthen your IT security with data protection policies that keep your organization’s data cyber safe.
Spend Right on Security Budget!
Cyber criminals are aggressively aiming to make your IT security system weak, and steal all your critical assets and sensitive data. It’s not about how much you spend on your cyber security budget but that you need to focus on how efficiently you are spending your IT security budget.
It is essential that your cyber security budget is well-equipped with an advanced defense mechanism to battle against cyber as well as growing internal IT threats. Applying smart security strategies like embedding data protection can reduce information security costs.
Monitor, Track and Update Constantly
It is a very common security routine for companies to detect certain vulnerabilities, and take the appropriate measures to patch their security systems. This helps them to prevent or minimize the impact of cyber threats on their operations. But not everyone keeps a close watch on their security training investments, its functionalities, or a suggestive disaster recovery plan to meet their business needs.
It is highly important to monitor, track, and update your cyber security activities, and improvise accordingly. Upgrading your company’s cyber security is essential to addressing the developing threat landscape, deploying experts with consolidated threat intelligence tools for regular IT scans and data analysis to adapt to mitigation processes, detect threats, and remediate vulnerabilities.
Mobile Security
Your mobile knows it all! Be it your personal chats, social media comments, bank transaction, office emails, your mobile knows everything about you. Employees who use their personal mobile devices for both official and personal use have a high potential of becoming a cyber security threat for an organization. The number of mobile devices now outnumbers the number of people in the world, making them tempting targets for prevailing mobile security threats, such as phishing scams, and malware to leak your company’s confidential data. To fight such threats, companies need to secure mobile devices using next-gen security tools, and must adhere to strict IT guidelines, and follow best practices to mitigate these vulnerabilities.
Cloud Security
Doing business has moved from computer to cloud, hence cultivating a robust cloud security strategy is the biggest challenge for most of the corporates. Using cloud technology gives your cloud hosting vendor full access to business applications, collaboration tools, client’s data, employees personal information, other sensitive identifiable information, and databases.
You can keep your data safe in the cloud by using secure and trusted cloud storage, strict cloud user agreement, and by refraining from storing sensitive information in the cloud. Other measures include using encrypted cloud services, and data encryption for custom application purpose. Thus, the use of a strong cloud infrastructure and best practices secure your business sensitive data on the cloud and connected devices.
IoT Security
IoT will fail if security is not the top priority. The Internet of Things is rapidly growing, and as it does, so does the potential for security vulnerabilities. Lack of focus on IoT security challenges will create many data protection weaknesses.
Unfortunately, securing IoT devices remains a low priority for most developers, paving the way for cyber criminals to attack IoT-enabled devices. The more connected we get, the more important it becomes to protect the massive amount of data involved. That’s why IoT security has become so important for any organization cyber security strategy. It’s high time for organizations to put IoT security on priority to avoid the inevitable cyber risk and downfall of the Internet of Things.
Summary
An organization’s critical assets can reside anywhere in the virtual world as employees, customers, and company partners migrate to cloud-based technologies to access and share business information. It is important for organizations to understand the value of employees’, customers’, and the company’s clients’ data, and to devise ways to manage, track, monitor, and secure personal data interactions and transactions. To ensure proper data protection, organizations must perform stringent risk assessments on critical information assets.
At QualiTest, we provide customized cyber security testing services, with an added advantage of business assurance. We are the world leader in pure play software testing services, with over 20 years of experience in technology-specific competencies, and industry-specific testing solutions. Our cyber security testing experts will deliver end-to-end mobile, cloud, IoT and cyber testing services.
