Threats are increasing every day, as is the sophistication of attacks. Companies that want to have a better understanding of their cybersecurity risk must work with their security teams with a mindset of “Trust and Confirm” to guide the cybersecurity journey.
There are many questions to ask, including: how can your team actually confirm the effectiveness of the cybersecurity framework? And, do you rely on a trust model with your security team? How you choose to navigate the cybersecurity journey will impact on your success. We look to the “Trust and Confirm” paradigm as the most comprehensive approach to ensuring confidence in security. There are two standard approaches that most companies should be doing already:
- Auditing
- Auditing is the classical approach. You can invest in and/or hire a third party to manage and perform compliance against various cybersecurity standards, such as NIST or ISO. Emphasis is on protecting the company and reducing risk.
- Penetration Testing
- Penetration testing is an authorized simulated cyberattack on your computer systems, performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the security of your computer system. Emphasis is on the validation of the implementation of your technology protecting the company.
As increasing bad actors continue to use more sophisticated and coordinated attacks, it’s crucial that the business industry keep security a top priority and commit to evolving and investing in testing to ensure enhanced cybersecurity methods are effective.
Cyber Risk Assessments
Cyber Risk Assessment (CRA) is one of the newer methods used and is a blending of audit and penetration testing. It starts with mapping your security program to standard frameworks and identifying gaps. Then use an Attack Vector Assessment approach evaluating the security control and compliance for the various phases of an attack and finally an actionable cyber risk assessment strategy.
You may be doing all these things already. Or, it may be time to take a new approach and perform a Cyber Risk Assessment. If you need assistance or guidance, we can quickly come in and not only evaluate the seven core areas of cybersecurity every system needs, but can also help you build a robust cybersecurity framework.
With breaches, hacks and phishing expected to increase as we head into the holiday season, we look forward helping you on this journey. Contact us today.
Author:
Erich Escobar 2020