Ensuring that your business is safeguarded from cyber attacks and maintaining regulatory compliance is an ongoing process for business leaders and IT specialists. Making sure your business has a well thought out plan of attack for when breaches arise, and a strategy for risk mitigation that is easily adaptable to the agile landscape of cybersecurity compliance, will put your business in a strong position against data breaches. Furthermore, understanding which regulations are applicable to your organization is a significant first step, as this will form the foundation of your compliance efforts.
Depending on your industry and geographical location, you may need to comply with various regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and more. Understanding which regulations are applicable to your organization is a significant first step, as this will form the foundation of your compliance efforts.
Conduct a Comprehensive Risk Assessment
The first step towards cybersecurity compliance is to conduct a thorough risk assessment. This involves identifying potential vulnerabilities and threats within your business’s infrastructure, applications, processes, and data management practices. Understanding your risks will allow you to prioritize your efforts and allocate resources effectively. A risk assessment also helps in tailoring your compliance strategy to address your organization’s unique needs.
Implement a Robust Cybersecurity Framework
A resilient cybersecurity framework can act as a foundation for your compliance journey. Consider adopting an established framework, like the CIS Critical Security Controls Implementation Group 2 that we leverage at Thrive. A framework helps provide a structured approach to implementing cybersecurity controls and best practices, helping you establish a strong foundation for your IT infrastructure and compliance. These frameworks also provide guidance to achieving a comprehensive approach to addressing the many facets of cyber risk.
Continuous Monitoring and Improvement
Cybersecurity compliance is a fast-changing and evolving process. Implementing continuous monitoring practices helps your business detect and respond to emerging threats in real time. Regularly assess and update your security measures to align with the evolving threat landscape and changing compliance requirements.
Leverage Technology Solutions
Technology can be a powerful tool in your IT toolbox to help achieve compliance. Investing in cybersecurity tools, such as intrusion detection systems, firewall solutions, security information and event management (SIEM) platforms, and vulnerability assessment tools can help you build out a robust cybersecurity framework. These technologies can help automate security tasks, provide visibility into your network, and facilitate compliance reporting.
Employee Training and Awareness
Human error remains one of the biggest cybersecurity risks. Conducting regular training sessions to educate your employees about cybersecurity best practices, data handling procedures, and the potential consequences of non-compliance will help mitigate haphazard risk. When your entire team is aligned with the importance of cybersecurity, the compliance journey becomes smoother and more efficient.
Achieving cybersecurity compliance is not just a regulatory requirement—it’s a crucial step in protecting your business and its stakeholders. Conducting thorough risk assessments, adopting a robust framework, continually monitoring for risk, leveraging technology solutions, and investing in employee training, can help streamline your journey to cybersecurity compliance. Thrive’s IT Compliance and Regulatory Consulting Services can help you reach and maintain these compliance goals with ease. Remember, staying proactive and adaptive is key to maintaining a strong cybersecurity posture.
Taking control of your IT infrastructure and ensuring that it has a strong foundation can be hard to get started. Making sure that your organization’s data and systems are protected from cybersecurity threats requires thoughtful planning and consideration.
To get started on locking down your data and securing your organization, here’s a cybersecurity checklist to ensure control of your IT stack:
- Perform a Risk Assessment: Identify and evaluate potential security risks in your organization. Understand the critical assets, vulnerabilities, and the potential business impact of security incidents.
- Create a Sound Security Policy: Develop a comprehensive security policy that outlines the rules, guidelines, and procedures for securing your organization’s data and other information. This policy should be regularly communicated to all employees and stakeholders.
- Inventory and Regularly Update Your Software: Document all software and applications in your organization and keep them up-to-date with the latest security patches and version updates to protect against known vulnerabilities.
- Use Strong Passwords and Setup a Strong Network Security System: Enforce the use of strong, complex passwords and encourage the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible. Set up firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS/IPS) to monitor and protect your network from unauthorized access. Consider Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) for remote employees.
- Train Your Employees: Conduct regular cybersecurity awareness training for all employees so they are educated about the latest threats and best practices for online security.
- Monitor and Conduct Security Audits: Set up monitoring and auditing tools to detect and investigate any suspicious activities on your network and systems. Also, conduct periodic security audits to assess the effectiveness of your security measures and identify areas for improvement.
- Implement Secure Cloud Services: If you use cloud services, ensure proper configurations and access controls are in place to protect your data.
- Create an Incident Response Plan: Develop a detailed incident response plan outlining the steps that should be taken in the event of a security breach. Test the plan through simulated exercises.
- Have Physical Security at Your Office: Install and implement physical security measures, like access control systems, CCTV, and secure facility design, to protect against unauthorized physical access.
- Ensure Regulatory Compliance: Ensure that your IT stack adheres to relevant industry standards and compliance regulations.
Following this checklist will help ensure that your organization is better protected from any security threats that may pop up and more prepared to deal with breaches when they occur.
If you have questions or need assistance with any or all of the steps within this checklist, reach out to the Thrive team today. From our cybersecurity risk assessments to our virtual CISO (vCISO) consultants to our industry-leading managed cybersecurity platform, we can help you check all the right boxes in your cybersecurity strategy.
Cybercriminals have upped their game as security teams look to meet new challenges. Oftentimes, these teams are led by a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), but finding the right person to fill that role has been a challenge.
We saw a rise in the need for CISOs as COVID-19 introduced a sharp increase in cybercrime. In a 2021 IDG report, it was reported 78% of executives expressed a lack of confidence in their organization’s ability to deal with cyber risk. This confidence gap highlighted the need to have the right expertise in place to maintain a strong security posture in a world with unexpected and increasing cyber-attacks accompanied by constantly changing regulations.
No matter the size of your business, it’s imperative that cyber threats aren’t ignored. From large corporations to start-up businesses, there is vital information in play that can be hacked at any moment. For mid-market enterprises that need a strategic vision behind their cybersecurity efforts, it’s often impossible to find and/or afford a CISO, leaving them directionless in a fast-moving threat environment.
To combat the CISO shortage, many companies have tapped into outsourced CISO services. It’s important to know the difference between your options, and what they can do for you. Fractional CISOs are part-time, on-site chief information security officers there to maintain a company’s cybersecurity as well as other IT roles within and/or outside the company. Virtual CISOs (vCISO) are outsourced, off-site security resources for businesses that can’t/don’t want to hire cybersecurity personnel as payroll employees or do not require a full-time, dedicated resource based on the needs of their organization. They collaborate with key organizational leadership to formalize cybersecurity policy, mitigate cyber risk through technical solution, and ongoing validation and improvement of cybersecurity programs.
A fractional CISO might be more equipped to handle low cyber risk organizations while vCISOs have a wide breadth of expertise from a variety of mature clients. This results in vCISOs having access to the latest resources and their ability to deliver increased knowledge regarding current industry trends and regulations.
It’s important to consider which CISO service is best for your business, but in our eyes, the obvious choice is to engage in a vCISO service that offers exceptional benefits: promised cost savings, access to the latest and greatest technology and resources, and unmatched expertise in industry regulations (healthcare, financial services, legal, etc.). Most importantly, a qualified cybersecurity resource like a vCISO will guarantee a proactive approach to cyber risk mitigation and provide your organization with the appropriate level of protection in today’s cyber landscape.
At Thrive, we emphasize the importance of maintaining a security posture through our comprehensive vCISO services:
- Industry-leading information security program management
- Thrive’s vCISO serves as a trusted security advisor
- Information security governance and compliance oversight
- Information security program reviews
- Review of existing policies, controls, and security toolsets
- IT Management remediation plans
- Prioritized improvements for IT Management
- Incident response preparedness and annual incident response table-top exercise
- Center for Internet Security (CIS) framework implementation
Consider Thrive for your vCISO needs and learn more about our vCISO service and how our security-first NextGen Managed Services can help your organization.