“Our goal is a defensible, resilient digital ecosystem where it is costlier to attack systems than defend them, where sensitive or private information is secure and protected, and where neither incidents nor errors cascade into catastrophic, systemic consequences.”

US National Cybersecurity Strategy, 2023

Strong cybersecurity does not need to come at a hefty price. To build resilient digital environments that are difficult to attack, organizations can implement a small but powerful set of essential security controls that straddle data, software and device protection.

Identify Assets and Network Entry Points

Begin by identifying and categorizing your organization’s critical assets and data. Knowing what you need to protect is the first step in building strong defense. Invest in network scanning tools that give you visibility into entry points that could be exploited by attackers, such as network devices, applications, and endpoints.

Quantify Cyber Risk in Monetary Terms

Assess the potential impact and likelihood of various cyber risks. This can help you prioritize security efforts based on the most significant threats. It would be ideal to be able to quantify different categories of risk both in numeric risk scores and in monetary values. An estimate of the financial impact of potential incidents can help inform strategy creation, set priorities and direct resources to the most critical areas of defense.

Identify and Protect Sensitive Data

You can only protect what’s visible. Make sure you have full visibility into your organization’s data – what data you have, where it is stored, how it is used and shared, who can access it, and how it is protected. Once data is identified, it needs to be classified as sensitive or non-sensitive, and properly secured via protection measures such as encryption, deletion where needed, strong access controls, backup creation, and data loss prevention (DLP) technologies. Regularly back up critical data and systems.

Establish a Vulnerability and Patch Management Program

Establish a vulnerability management program to identify and address vulnerabilities in your systems and applications regularly. Prioritize patching based on risk. This can be made easier with a vulnerability management tool that can scan your systems, network devices, and applications for vulnerabilities both internally and externally. There are also scanning products that include the capability to push patches so you can manage both vulnerability detection and patching using the same software.

Ensure that System Configuration Settings are Secure

Weak configuration settings can lead to completely avoidable security breaches. Scan operating systems, devices, and applications to ensure that they are configured securely. Follow established standards and best practices for system hardening and regularly re-assess configurations to prevent configuration drift and meet compliance requirements. Some popular benchmarks used by organizations for baseline configuration settings include the CIS Benchmarks and DISA STIGs.

Track, Assess and Meet Regulatory Compliance

Stay informed about the cybersecurity regulations and standards that apply to your industry. Ensure your organization complies with these requirements to avoid legal and financial penalties. Again, you can use compliance assessment tools to track your organization’s compliance with standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, CIS Critical Controls and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Find gaps and take steps to meet all compliance requirements.

Assess and Mitigate Cyber Risk

Identify, assess and prioritize cyber risk, and implement strategies to mitigate risk. Align cyber risk with business risk, understand your organization’s risk tolerance level, and take steps to reduce risk by order of priority. This may involve implementing additional security controls, reducing the attack surface, or enhancing incident response capabilities. Establish accountability by creating clear mitigation plans with tasks assigned to individual team members.

Document and Report Cyber Risk Metrics

Continuously assess your organization’s cyber risks and vulnerabilities, and track progress as you tick off mitigation tasks. Create regular reports that provide insights into the state of your cybersecurity posture, and use this information to guide decision-making and resource allocation. Use reporting tools and formats that meet your organization’s specific internal requirements and what’s mandated by compliance standards.

Implement Training and Awareness Programs

Invest in cybersecurity training and awareness programs for your employees. Ensure that they are educated on cybersecurity and privacy best practices, social engineering threats, and the importance of strong passwords. Other top awareness themes include pushing software updates, not sharing personal information on social media, awareness of phishing attacks and the need for vigilance, and not using public WiFi.

Create an Incident Response Plan

Develop a well-defined incident response plan that outlines how your organization will respond to security incidents. Test the plan regularly through tabletop exercises and simulations.

Deploy Strong Detection and Response Tools

Implement continuous monitoring and detection solutions that can detect and alert you to suspicious activities in real-time. This includes network and endpoint monitoring, log analysis, EDR/XDR and more.

Remember that cybersecurity is an ongoing process. Regularly review and update your defenses to adapt to new threats and vulnerabilities. Collaborate with cybersecurity experts or consider outsourcing some security functions to specialized providers like MSSPs if your organization lacks in-house expertise.

Implementing Essential Security Controls with CYRISMA

CYRISMA is a unified SaaS platform designed for comprehensive cyber risk management. By integrating multiple scan types and functionalities into a single interface, CYRISMA simplifies the process of cybersecurity management, eliminating the need for multiple costly and complex scanning and assessment tools.

CYRISMA’s key capabilities of the platform include:

• Vulnerability and Patch Management
• Sensitive Data Discovery
• Secure Configuration Assessment
• Dark Web Monitoring
• Risk Monetization
• Risk Mitigation
• Compliance Tracking
• Cyber Risk Assessment and Reporting

With CYRISMA, you can efficiently address various aspects of cyber risk, streamlining your risk management efforts for enhanced security and peace of mind.

Request a demo today!