Cybersecurity is now one of the most pressing problems for businesses all over the world with hacking, ransomware, and other types of cyber-attacks becoming more common.
To ensure that their organization can resist cyber-attacks, C-suite executives must take the lead in developing a security culture. Companies must conduct due diligence and appoint a highly skilled security team to monitor and secure their data using tools that can help avoid, detect, mitigate, and eliminate risks, in accordance with industry best practises.
Companies can take the following four steps to create a safe working environment:
Choose a champion at the C-level
To ensure that compliance policies and security measures are adopted and followed, full support from C-suite is required. Beyond the budgetary requirements that come with discovering and acquiring new technology, it’s critical to keep senior management informed about assessment findings, new technology deployment, action plans, and ROI.
Also Read: Top 5 Strategies for CISOs to Improve Supply Chain Security
It is crucial to employ a separate security firm that is not part of IT and reports directly to the C-suite for the best results. While it is critical that the IT department and security teams work together to safeguard the company, it is best to have a clear division of tasks to ensure that the group providing IT services is not also monitoring and managing security risks.
Conducting a security risk assessment
To ensure that the company has the appropriate security strategy in place, it is vital to assess the organization’s present vulnerabilities and threats. A company vulnerability assessment, which is normally completed by a third party, is used to do this. Examining the security posture of each system to determine what is being used and where the risks are located, as well as having a mitigation plan in place to secure company, employee, and customer data, are essential.
If employees are collecting payments over the phone, for example, organizations should take advantage of current technologies to receive that information without revealing it to their employees. Are they safeguarding the information in line with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards if they businesses can’t engineer the receipt of credit cards out of the service delivery?
Also, are HIPAA regulations and mandated data security standards being followed if the organization is in the healthcare industry? Is it possible for third-parties or contractors to have access to certain portions of the company’s offices? It is important for IT leaders to be able to identify the places where fraud can be committed in order to mitigate risk.
Create an action plan to mitigate risks
As they plan to address security vulnerabilities, IT leaders should validate findings and assess emerging risks. They should also analyze a list of fraud opportunities after completing the vulnerability assessment to pressure test their mitigation plan to ensure it is effective.
They should also train and certify their workforce to satisfy industry information security standards like the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional). Companies should consider hiring these trained professionals who are familiar with the tightest security regulations and protocols, such as PCI DSS and HIPAA, to ensure full compliance. It’s also crucial to set up a schedule for independent audits.
Also Read: Four Crucial Cybersecurity Factors CISOs Should Consider for Secure Cloud Strategy
Monitor security systems
Organizations should focus on the following three areas to maintain and enhance security systems:
- IT leaders should employ best-in-class security technologies and match their security operations with industry best practises. It is also crucial to develop proprietary security tools to fill in the gaps in technology required specifically for the company if they have the development talent.
- Businesses should enlist the help of a third-party security specialist. When selecting a partner, they should look for one that can provide behaviour analysis and end-to-end security analytics to detect and prevent attacks and insider fraud. They should also ensure that all issues uncovered during the third-party assessment are resolved or mitigated.
- Companies should also set up a fraud hotline for their employees so that they can securely inform senior executives if they suspect fraud or suspicious.
Employees at all levels should prioritize security, but C-suite leadership and culture change are required to secure employee buy-in. Ensuring compliance and limiting risk is a 24/7 task, and only organizations that can dedicate time and will be able to establish a corporate culture based on developing and maintaining a secure environment.
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