Rami Sass, co-founder and CEO of mend.
Getty
Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CAM) is a call to action for governments and the private sector to raise awareness so that both individuals and organizations understand the risks of cybercrime and hacks. Through its diverse programming and themes, CAM helps quantify the risks associated with lax (or non-existent) data or information security (InfoSec) practices between consumers and businesses.
This October, industry-wide leaders recognized the initiative, now in its 18th year. Unfortunately, the emphasis on cybersecurity in October alone does a disservice to many people and businesses. why? He proposes limiting these initiatives to one month out of the year, leaving him with the remaining 11 months of the year where cybercriminals could prey on organizations that neglect critical security measures. is leaving
Cybersecurity awareness is important, but it’s only the first step to an impactful cybersecurity initiative. Enduring organizations understand the importance of an ongoing annual program and make cybersecurity a top priority through investment and culture.
Here’s what the most equipped companies think about cybersecurity and what leaders should consider for the new year.
Awareness is the first step, but action makes the difference.
Cybersecurity is an evolving industry, and attackers are constantly changing their techniques to stay ahead. It is impossible to truly complete cybersecurity due diligence in one month.
As such, cybersecurity requires ongoing commitment, investment, executive buy-in, and a security-conscious culture within the organization.
On the execution side, this requires quite a bit of foothold. Especially when it comes to software companies. Think about the vast amount of code that powers a particular application or service. It is very important for teams to be aware of where threats can originate. But cybersecurity initiatives also need to extend beyond cybersecurity and his IT team. Cybercriminals and hackers can access sensitive data for any number of reasons, from weak employee passwords to poor data hygiene.
This is not to say that a formal time dedicated to cybersecurity awareness is not important. In fact, October is a great time for businesses to spend time protecting their assets. It’s just before the holiday season when cybercriminals bet on lax surveillance and take advantage of his team of minimal security. But these threats don’t just disappear when the holiday season is over. Cybercriminals are always looking for entry points. Therefore, companies should provide training and require stress testing throughout the year.
Invest in the right tools to protect against today’s threats.
Implementing effective security procedures starts with having the right tools to deal with the current problem you are trying to address and having protocols in place for potential future problems.
It is important for organizations to review their current solutions and determine which tools need to be updated or replaced. A tool that was released years ago may have been great at the time, but may not have had significant changes or updates to keep it current.
As part of this process, it is important to consider processes and manual tasks that could be replaced by automated solutions. Thanks to industry advancements, many mundane processes, such as identifying critical vulnerabilities, have been automated, freeing up teams to focus on more important tasks.
Investing in these tools is especially important given the sheer volume of applications that organizations rely on today. Companies use hundreds of applications across departments, and this number continues to grow each year. Applications are also the number one source of external compromise, as cybercriminals view them as one of the easiest points of entry for an attack, according to Forrester Research. As supply chain attacks increase, application security (AppSec) cannot be overlooked.
Cybersecurity is an important element of any business plan.
As threats become more prevalent and sophisticated, security capabilities must extend beyond IT department boundaries, demanding attention from both management and the board of directors. However, one-fifth of CISOs report little contact with their company’s CEO.
Even if the organization’s board of directors and CEO understand the value and necessity of information security practices, they understand how to prioritize code inventories (or software bills of materials) and how to avoid technical debt We have experienced leadership and continue to evaluate known vulnerabilities and potential threats. An ecosystem is essential for an organization to remain secure.
Work hard: Comprehensive security means building a security-aware culture.
Building a security-aware culture and fostering collaborative workflows between developers and security teams strengthens any organization’s cybersecurity program.
Consistent training, phishing tests, and multi-factor authentication requirements are great tactics to help build a company culture that values security and encourages employees to better understand their role in security.
Companies that fail to keep up with cybersecurity practices at the same rate as innovation and new product development across the organization risk losing millions of dollars. Not to mention the potential liability for reputational damage and sensitive consumer data.
important point
A significant shortcoming of CAM today is that it positions cybersecurity as a one-time initiative, which is not far from the truth.
Protecting your organization means continuous investment and effort throughout the year. This also means some effort and budget, but those efforts will surely pay off when another catastrophic vulnerability like Spring4Shell or Log4j comes along.
Avoid becoming an easy target by limiting your cybersecurity tasks to surface-level awareness for just one month of the year. Get the job done: Ensure executive-level buy-in, invest in the tools your team needs, and work to weave security into your entire organizational culture.
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