How To Develop Secure Cybersecurity Practices

The potential business revenue from rising compliance requirements and security threats is hard to ignore. The increasing press coverage of ransomware attacks and fines for non-compliance is driving awareness and urgency. 

Even the slow adopter business owners and managers know something needs to be done to limit their corporate risks and individual exposure, and time isn’t on their side.

What tools are necessary, how to integrate it into the IT services offering, how to market it? What are the best ways to go about developing sound cyber-security policies and practices in 2018 that could be used for commercial gain as well as internal commercial security? Here are some recommendations.

1.Update Software and Systems
After Spectre struck in Jan 2018, Apple issued security fixes for its iOS 11 operating system This is no different from what other IT vendors do when they discover a security vulnerability. However, the rub for IT is making sure that the diversity of devices that are in the hands of users are all updated with the latest versions of a bevy of OSs.
This requires centralised policy making in IT that likely adopts a 'push' methodology, forcing new security updates onto a user's device when they connect to the network, instead of a 'pull' methodology, which notifies the user that a new security patch is available and gives them the option to load this new software when it's convenient.

2.Conduct Top-To-Bottom Security Audits
If your company hasn't already done so, it should conduct a thorough security audit of its IT assets and practices. This audit will review the security practices and policies of your central IT systems, as well as your end user departments and at the 'edges' of your enterprise, like the automated machines and IoT you might be employing at remote manufacturing plants. 
The audit should look not only at the software and hardware techniques you have in place to protect security but also at remote site personnel habits and compliance with security policies.
These audits should be carried out by an independent cyber-audit business that brings a clear understanding of cyber security to the business being audited, this would be similar to a Financial Audit and so it should also bring a certification of completion and security each year.

3.Don't Forget Social Engineering
As part of your end-to-end IT audit, you should include social engineering, which reviews whether your employees are demonstrating vulnerability when it comes to offering up confidential information
This social engineering can be as simple as someone shouting a password to a co-worker over an office partition, or it could be a user who pulls up a website at work and surrenders passwords or other vital information that ultimately gets into the wrong hands.

4.Demand Audits from Vendors and Business Partners
According to a 2017 report by Commvault and CITO Research more than 80 percent of companies see the cloud as integral to their technology. But with the move away from internal data centers, it's also become more important to demand regular IT audit reports from your vendors and business partners. Companies should have policies in place that require regular security audit reports from vendors they are considering before contracts are signed.
Thereafter, vendors, as part of their SLAs, should be expected to deliver security audit reports on an annual basis.

5.Provide New and Continuing Security Education 
Cyber-security education should be a staple of every new employee orientation, with new employees signing off that they have read and understood the training.
On an annual basis, a refresher course in cyber-security practices should also be given to employee’s companywide. This ensures that security policies and practices stay fresh in employees' minds, and that they understand any policy additions or changes.

6.Watch the Edge
Manufacturing 4.0 and other remote computing strategies are moving computing away from data centers and out to the edges of companies. This means that a manufacturer with a remote plant in Ireland is likely to have manufacturing personnel operate automated robots and production analytics with local servers in the plant.
Software and hardware security must be maintained on these devices, but the devices must also be locally administered under accepted cybersecurity policies and procedures by personnel who are asked to do these jobs without an IT background.

This is a security exposure point for the company and for IT that requires training of non-IT personnel in IT security policies and practices, as well as oversight by IT and auditors.

7.Perform Regular Data Backups that Work 
If your data is compromised or held hostage in a ransomware attack, a nightly data backup will at least enable you to roll back to the previous day's data with minimal loss. It’s a simple enough policy and practice to enact.
Unfortunately, a bigger problem for companies is not so much that they don't perform data backups, it's that the backups don't always work.

One of the most important cyber-security policies that corporate IT can put in place is a requirement that data backups and disaster recovery minimally be full-tested on an annual basis to ensure that everything is working properly. 

8.Physically Secure Your Information Assets
Even if software, hardware, and network security are in place, it doesn't help much if servers are left unsecured on manufacturing floors and in business units.
Physical security, like a locked 'cage' for a server in a plant that is accessible only to personnel with security clearance, is vital. Security policies and practices should address the physical as well as the visual aspects of information.

9.Maintain Industry Compliance
Especially for companies in highly regulated industries like healthcare, insurance, and finance, regulatory compliance that concerns IT security should be closely adhered to.
Companies in these industries should annually review security compliance requirements and update their security policies and practices as needed.

10.Inform Your Board and CEO
A successful cybersecurity strategy is one where you never find yourself in front of the CEO or the board having to explain how a cyber breach happened and what you are doing to mitigate it. Unfortunately, great security systems are 'invisible', because they never give you problems.

This makes it important for CIOs, CSOs, and others with security responsibilities to clearly explain cybersecurity technologies, policies, and practices in plain language that the CEO, the board, and other nontechnical stakeholders can understand.
If the non-technical people in your organisation can't understand why you are enacting a certain policy or asking for a sizeable investment for a cybersecurity technology, you're going to have trouble making your case, unless you're all suffering through an embarrassing security breach that could end careers and put the entire company's survival on the line.

About The Author
Alfred Rolington, is a Director of Cyber Security Intelligence who has lectured at Oxford and Cambridge and a number of other Universities on the topic, has written well regarded books, was former CEO of Jane's information Group and has been a key part of the GDPR Advisory Board. 

For more Cyber Security Training Information please email us at: alfred.rolington@cybersecurityintelligence.com
 

 

« US Allies Don’t Agree With Trump Blocking Huawei
Triton Malware Is Spreading »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Tendo Solutions

Tendo Solutions

Tendo Solutions provides intelligence, security, forensics and risk solutions to clients across different sectors and jurisdictions.

KFSensor

KFSensor

KFSensor is an advanced 'honeypot' intrusion and insider threat detection system for Windows networks.

Cologix

Cologix

Cologix provides reliable, secure, scalable data center and interconnection solutions from 24 prime interconnection locations across 9 strategic North American edge markets.

360 Total Security

360 Total Security

360 company is the largest provider of Internet and mobile security products in China.

NetKnights

NetKnights

NetKnights is an independent IT security company which offers services and products for strong authentication, identity management and encryption.

Secure Recruitment

Secure Recruitment

Secure Recruitment is a specialist Executive Search business that focuses its efforts on attracting specific exceptional talent in Cyber Security.

North American International Cyber Summit

North American International Cyber Summit

The North American International Cyber Summit brings together experts from around the globe to provide timely content and address a variety of cybersecurity issues impacting the world.

SHe CISO Exec

SHe CISO Exec

SHe CISO Exec is a sustainable global training and mentoring platform in information security and leadership.

Sprint Networks

Sprint Networks

Sprint Networks is a trusted compliance and risk program advisor which deliver cost-effective technology to reduce enterprise-wide risk.

Aura

Aura

Aura is a mission driven technology company dedicated to creating a safer internet for everyone. We’re making comprehensive digital security that's simple to understand and easy to use.

Citizen Lab - University of Toronto

Citizen Lab - University of Toronto

Citizen Lab focuses on research and development at the intersection of cyberspace, global security & human rights.

Strac

Strac

Eliminate Personal Data Risks from your business. Our Dataless SaaS removes the need to manage sensitive data across web, mobile apps, servers and communication channels.

European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA)

European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA)

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, ENISA, is the Union’s agency dedicated to achieving a high common level of cybersecurity across Europe.

ZeroGPT

ZeroGPT

ZeroGPT.com stands at the forefront of AI detection tools, specializing in the precise identification of ChatGPT-generated text.

Mantodea Security

Mantodea Security

Mantodea Security is an industry-agnostic powerhouse backed by extensive experience and expertise in the realm of IT security.

Neo Auth

Neo Auth

Neo Auth is an identity and access management solution to help organizations optimize their cybersecurity processes.