A Holistic Approach to Cybersecurity

A holistic approach to cybersecurity strategy can be obtained by mixing integrated security methods, impactful employee upskilling/reskilling, robust infrastructure, best risk-analysis programs, effective policies, and building a culture of cybersecurity as a shared responsibility.

Increasing streams of suspicious network activities have forced organizations across the world to include cybersecurity management strategy in their digital journey program. Just search ‘cybersecurity threats’ online, the search engine will bombard you with alarming facts, stats, and figures. Here are a few:

• Every 39 seconds there is a hacker attack.
• 1 in 10 users has been a victim of an online attack.
• The number of publicly revealed data breaches in 2017 was 1,579.

Such facts are further evidence of why cybersecurity management has become the top-most concern for almost every organization today. To add to the list, it is expected that “the average cost of a data breach in 2020 will exceed 150 million dollars.”

Given the rising threat, executives should really work hard to find an infallible solution that will mitigate cybersecurity risks. But in reality, despite heightened risks over data breaches, over 40% of organizations do not have a proper cybersecurity strategy. Making cybersecurity the DNA of an organization is not an easy undertaking, understood. But not impossible, right? It might take a lot of efforts to identify gaps in the business procedures where hackers could sneak in. Organizations should also ramp up their defense procedures by instilling complete transparency over cybersecurity risks. But, firstly they should build a holistic approach to cybersecurity, a posture that combines employees, processes, and technologies. 

It is not true that organizations haven’t tried their best to stop this awful activity. In fact, the world is seeing a rise in global security funding. During the start of 2018, Gartner predicted that cybersecurity spending will reach 96 billion dollars by the end of the year. But we see more and more threats mount, which says that the existing security system needs a makeover. Their lacking area is they actually fail to build a comprehensive cybersecurity management strategy that paints a clear picture of how to achieve the ultimate goal of having a 100% secured infrastructure. If you are one of those who haven’t yet developed a cybersecurity posture, then there’s no better time than now! In fact, we will help you lay a foundation to your cybersecurity posture journey.

Technology 

The market is bombarded with different security tools, solutions, and products, offering the best services to organizations, regardless of their size. But, organizations should most importantly carry out thorough research to select only reputed vendors out of those available in the market. They should ensure that vendors provide protection systems at all levels and layers. But, buying too many security products can overwhelm organizations, leaving them confused to manage all of them appropriately. More vendors, more confusion. Hence, it is better that organizations find not-many vendors, so that their IT team can get complete control over their vendor’s offerings. However, companies cannot solely depend on technologies or vendors and expect 100% security. Obviously, technologies are a part of the holistic cybersecurity approach, but not everything.

Infrastructure

Once executives get a clear idea of which security solutions they are going to choose, they have to ensure whether the solution seamlessly integrates with the existing security infrastructure. If not, they will have to revise their architecture. In this hyper-connected digital era, there are high chances that new security expectations emerge inevitably. So, building an infrastructure that is agile enough to understand security demands and allow organizations to fulfill them is mandatory.

Employees 

No matter how compelling, robust, and reliable a security system organizations deploy, successful implementation is not achievable without having the right team of highly skilled employees within the context of holistic cybersecurity defense posture. Without certified, experienced, and skilled professionals who have sound knowledge on how these security technologies operate, efforts that companies put in building cybersecurity defense model will surely fail.

As cybersecurity threats are rising, there arises the need for special security methods beyond the baseline ones. Cybersecurity demands risk assessments to be done using state-of-the-art analysis platforms. Comprehending the security threat landscape and analyzing hacker risks is of paramount importance. And only ideal employees can perform all of these. Embarking on their journey of achieving 100% security, organizations can set up a Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE), where they can scrutinize the security exposures on the web of what they develop. The key objectives of CCoE should be:

• Refining cybersecurity efforts, strategies, and policies as and when the need arises.
• Developing a flexible infrastructure to enable R&D, innovation, experimentation, and assessment in the field of cybersecurity.

Security Policies 

When news about cybersecurity threats hit the media, most of us might think that nefarious players outside the organization perform such malicious actions. If you also feel the same, then you are highly mistaken. Because in reality, almost half of the cybersecurity threats are caused due to employees. Some people might leak confidential company information on purpose, while some might just be careless and not know the consequences.

To ensure this isn’t the case for your organization, impose a set of strict security policies that has every information on what shouldn’t be done and also penalties if employees break the rules. But, there arises a problem here. How would organizations know who has disclosed their data? We have a fact to back the statement made. “Over 60 percent of cybersecurity professionals sayInsider Cyber Attacks are more difficult to detect than External Cyber Attacks.” Fortunately to organization’s rescue, various technologies that help organizations prevent insider threat are available today. So, organizations can strengthen their cybersecurity strategy by equipping their employees with relevant tools, support, and culture.

Governance 

To strengthen the organization’s security boundaries, they should have a well-crafted risk mitigation plan for the future along with fulfilling the current security objectives. And to achieve this, they must have a governance framework built. Having a governance framework will give businesses an overarching view that covers not only preparations to deal with cybersecurity objectives, but also precautions needed to tackle security incidents that might occur in the future.

Taking into account the rising number of security breaches, organizations cannot be in a wait-and-watch mode anymore. Exposing their security ecosystem is like offering free entry tickets to hackers. Serious efforts should, therefore, be put in by every organization across the world. But, as every organization is unique, their posture to security solutions also varies. No one solution fits all organizations to achieve the common goal - security. And that’s exactly why the need for a holistic cybersecurity approach arose. But, the holistic approach to cybersecurity mentioned above is just a path laid for organizations to kickstart their journey. Before everything else,

• Does your business follow the right security practices?
• Does your organization have access to the right security tools?
• Did an insider attack ever take place in your organization?
• Is your organization’s infrastructure ready for a change?

Jot down your answers to the questions mentioned above. Carry out regular checks to examine the security status of your organization. After all, security is not just a technical glitch today, but a business problem. And if you leave it unconsidered, the problem will surely destroy your company’s bottom line.