1.Prioritize Your Most Important Assets
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu notes that “If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.” While it’s important to take steps to safeguard your entire infrastructure, it’s vital to prioritize to your most critical assets.Which assets would have the biggest impact if they were penetrated? What devices are required for everyday operations? Where is your most sensitive data stored? Who has access to it? What do applicable standards and regulations require?
A natural list will begin to emerge with which assets require the most security reinforcements when answering these questions. From there, you can determine what policies to implement and tools to leverage for a layered defense strategy that meets your organization’s or department’s specific needs.
2.Employ Roving Patrols
What’s the best way to know if your defenses are working? Put them to the test. Penetration testers leverage the same techniques as today’s cybercriminals. They can evaluate security efforts by exploiting any weaknesses, prompting organizations to implement changes before experiencing a real breach.Regularly testing the effectiveness of your security controls is critical to making sure that your organization can defend against real-world attacks. Penetration tests can also serve as quality assurance checks, ensuring your security investments are going to the right places and are working effectively.
With comprehensive penetration testing, organizations obtain invaluable insights, so they can intelligently prioritize remediation, apply any necessary security patches, and allocate security resources effectively.
3.Practice Dynamic Risk Management
Organizations need to be both proactive and reactive in their approach to security in order to be prepared for today’s security threats.On the proactive side, the zero-trust model acts on the presumption that an attempt to attack will be made, so all doors should be locked as a precaution. This requires authentication for any type of access to the network, no matter the location. In order to implement the zero trust approach, Identity Governance solutions are required to streamline the assignment of privileges and managing access. Additionally, using penetration testing tools and services, as mentioned earlier, is a proactive measure that all organizations benefit from.
The zero trust model extends to reactive efforts as well. By assuming that the risk of attack is always present, policies are put in place to ensure constant vigilance. Given the size of most environments, tools and software can be invaluable in ensuring everything is monitored. For example, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions centralize data streams and flag threats so security teams don’t waste time investigating benign notifications. Advanced Threat Detection solutions can detect infections with certainty on devices like MRIs and smart TVs, so no asset slips through the cracks.
Ultimately, we must all remain flexible, adapting to each threat as it comes. By knowing the most critical pieces of your environment, continuously evaluating the status of your safeguards, and layering defenses, your organization can stay ahead of risks and be battle-ready to stop them in their tracks.
Bolster your cybersecurity posture with tips from federal cybersecurity professionals. Register to attend the “Incorporating Risk Management into Your Cyber Governance Strategy” webinar on Jan. 14.
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