
5 Efficient Ways to Strengthen Your Security Posture
by Josh Biggs in Software, Tech on 12th January 2022Cybersecurity during COVID has become a massive concern for businesses of all sizes. Most of them are even at more severe risk of cyberattacks that could affect their business operations and affect their data security. To prevent any incident caused by sophisticated cyberattacks, companies need to ensure their security posture is 100% protected from internal and external threats.
Although it’s easier said than done, there are several proven practices to protect the security posture within your organization. That way, your system can detect and prevent any incident before it causes more trouble, and you can continue to complete your business duties with peace of mind.
In this article, we’ll show you the 5 best practices to take your cybersecurity structure to the next level, protect your valuable assets, and make sure your posture is monitored in real-time, 24/7.
Let’s get to work!
Implement the Best Cybersecurity Tools
By implementing the most advanced cybersecurity tools, you’re more likely to mitigate the risk of cyber threats and enhance your cybersecurity practices. Besides automated cybersecurity solutions, your company should rely on the best antivirus protection and password managers that help you share your passwords safely and securely. By choosing some of the best password managers, you can generate, store, and share passwords while minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. At the same time, your organization establishes efficient and proactive cybersecurity measures. For mobile phones, you should protect your devices with a mobile threat defense solution to protect against malware, phishing attacks, and other malicious activity. This will ensure your sensitive and personal data is kept private and secure, allowing users to browse the internet, and communication online with confidence.
On the other hand, automated cybersecurity solutions can help you block the attacks before they spread across your corporate networks. Additionally, they can deal with high-risk threats quite efficiently.
Perform a Thorough Risk Assessment
By conducting an initial cybersecurity risk assessment of your security posture, you’ll be able to identify its strengths and weaknesses, including threats that could affect its protection capabilities. The evaluation results can help you develop the most efficient strategies for reinforcing your security posture and establishing better incident response in the future.
Still, keep in mind that the overall risk assessment of your posture should encompass third-party vendors, too. Namely, certain vulnerabilities may be rooted in their systems, putting your entire company at risk of severe cybercrime that could cost you revenue and reputation. So, don’t forget to evaluate high-risk vendors!
Rank Your Risks
Some risks should be prioritized due to their complexity. So, once you’ve identified potential exposures, it’s essential to rank them according to the overall risk they pose to your company. This information comes in handy when developing the plan to strengthen your security posture, as it tells you what to put first.
Prioritizing risks helps you understand which areas within your IT architecture require your immediate attention. By strengthening the critical zones first, your organization is less likely to experience disasters provoked by the most advanced malicious software specifically designed for businesses with security vulnerabilities.
Keep Track of Security Metrics
Security metrics help you keep track of the effectiveness of your current cybersecurity practices. Such data is valuable when finding methods to reduce risks and reinforce your organization’s security posture. However, you need to know what you want to measure and how to apply those metrics to your existing cybersecurity plan.
Since adequate measures may vary from company to company, it’s vital to track information that impacts your organization in any way. However, to get the best out of your metrics, you need to ensure they align with your goals without being overly complex and difficult to analyze. Otherwise, you may end up confused in front of large amounts of data you cannot rely on.
Develop an Efficient Incident Response Plan
Your organization cannot always prevent incidents from happening, but you need to act adequately in case of a breach. For that reason, you should have a working incident response plan in place and form dedicated teams responsible for guiding your company’s actions in case your posture’s been compromised.
Another way to keep things in order during a breach is to create a checklist of items or actions ranging from high-priority to low-priority. That way, you can prevent any waste of time and focus on the most critical areas of your IT infrastructure. Also, remember that your plan needs to be adapted to the severity of the attack and the overall situation your company’s facing.
Extra tip: One of the best ways to educate your employees on the importance of cybersecurity is to perform a mock attack. That way, you’ll ensure your staff understands their role inside the company and knows how to react in case of a security breach.
We highly recommend updating your incident response plan at least once a year or whenever your organization implements new technology prone to yet unknown risks and vulnerabilities.
The Lack of Cybersecurity Literacy: The Biggest Risk to Security Posture
No matter how advanced cybersecurity solutions your organization has implemented, no antivirus can block the lack of employees’ cybersecurity literacy. If your staff lacks the basics of cybersecurity, even the most apparent cyber threats can go unnoticed and infect your systems with ease. Once you realize it, it’s too late.
For that reason, companies shouldn’t overlook the importance of regular employee training on cybersecurity principles. By prioritizing efficient cybersecurity courses, you ensure your employees know how to identify potential threats and react appropriately once they face them.
Concluding
The key to establishing a safe and robust security posture lies in proactive cybersecurity approaches. What does that mean?
It means that companies should invest in their IT infrastructure and implement the most viable cybersecurity practices before the incident occurs. It includes regular system monitoring, regular updates, and having an incident response plan in place in case of an unexpected breach.
If the security incident catches you unprepared, your organization is at severe risk of losing its data, revenue, clients, and reputation.
A final piece of advice – don’t think cyber criminals don’t find you attractive because your business is small. In fact, small and midsize businesses are the most common targets for their poor cybersecurity practices. Well, let’s prove them wrong. Revise the 5 + 1 steps for strengthening your security posture mentioned in the post and shield your empire from any intruder that tries to enter.