6 Steps to Build a Cybersecurity Culture
The pandemic forced businesses to adapt to a remote workforce, pressing businesses and their employees to rely on the safety of at home networks for business transactions. This reliance led to an increase in cyber activity without regulations leaving employees and businesses at risk for cybercrime. There are two simple truths related to cybersecurity. First, the risk and exposure related to cyber threats is at an all-time high and is only increasing as the difficulty of defeating this pandemic increases. Secondly, most organizations are struggling to build and maintain an effective cybersecurity program. MIS Alliance would like to help.
Security Magazine identifies 2022 as the year that regulations begin to catch up with technology. Regulations that change cybersecurity standards and expectations such as the Californian Consumer Privacy Act. To stop violators, regulations will emphasize the businesses’ responsibility in protecting information with potential penalties for information security slip-ups. At MIS Alliance, we want to help you take your cybersecurity to the next level to ensure your data is safe from all threats to your business. In this blog, we will discuss a simple how-to guide to help your organization build a cybersecurity protection plan.
- Alter your Mindset and Take Accountability
The quick change from workplace to remote-work overloaded governance on the cyber community and as a result, it’s crucial to be aware of risks to cybercrime that threaten your business’ security. Forbes Magazine reported a growing threat in the cyber-community, ransomware, showing that educating employees made them eight times less likely to fall victim. Business leaders need to alter their mindset and take responsibility for your cybersecurity program.
- Change your mindset to protect your information and your people
- Take Ownership of your cybersecurity program
- Identify organization’s current state and define your ideal state
Begin by evaluating where you currently stand with cybersecurity. Do you have regulations in place? How do your employees protect themselves and organizational information? Cybersecurity skill gaps will remain an issue according to global cybersecurity firm, Varonis’ top stats for 2022. Once you’ve identified your cybersecurity program’s current state, define your desired outcome. What are your desired standards of cybersecurity? What are unnecessary risks your organization is taking? Identifying and defining will allow you to bridge the gap and set your organizational standards for the future.
- Align your standards with your security objectives
- Organizational Agreement
- Shared Understanding across all echelons
- Assess Risk
Continued research indicates that cybersecurity risks are gaining shares and will soon overtake much of your business’s risk. Risk assessment will be a growing area of expertise, specifically in the cybersecurity realm.
After you’ve implemented your strategy, assess your strategy with your risk management structure. Identify potential hazards, characterize the hazards, assess hazards, and categorize your risks. In this step, identify prudent risks and unacceptable risks. Continue to build a plan that reduces risk to an acceptable level. Risk assessment is an on-going process that occurs intermittently with your system
- Build your Control Framework
The control framework is the structure that allows your organization to manage risk. Use the risks identified in the previous steps to prevent incidents from occurring. Protect your businesses’ vulnerabilities.
Unsure of where to begin for your cybersecurity framework? We recommend starting with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s control framework (NIST). It’s better to understand the necessary protection for cybersecurity risks and use these guidelines to assist you in developing your framework.
- Document & Publish
Once you’ve built the framework, document it. This will provide you and your organization the ability to track your cybersecurity progress, publish information to create a shared understanding and build upon your program.
- Supervise your Cybersecurity Program and Refine your Cybersecurity Program
Continue to monitor your cybersecurity program’s effectiveness. Track incidents, ask tough questions, discuss with your team, learn what happened, refine your framework. Then, implement changes, continue to grow your program for the growing age.
The future risk of cybersecurity is non-compliance and remote workers will continue to be a target for cybercriminals. Be proactive, let us help you protect yourself and your business.
