Some companies don’t realise the risks that cyber threats pose to their reputation, revenue, and operations until they fall victim to similar attacks. While investing in monitoring tools, increased security awareness, multi-factor authentication, and cybersecurity techniques can help protect your business, these security measures don’t always guarantee the safety of your business data. Therefore, it is essential to focus on proper cybersecurity planning.
Effective cybersecurity planning is critical for companies to counter potential threats and meet future security requirements, such as threat deterrence. However, if you’re not sure where to start, here are strategies and tips to consider when planning for cybersecurity:
1. Hire The Best Cybersecurity Team
A key cybersecurity planning strategy is picking the best team. No matter the industry or the size of your company, hire the most reliable cybersecurity professionals, as they will become your company’s first line of defence.
When looking for experts, check their experience, level of training, and knowledge in the ever-changing world of cybersecurity. Having qualified, certified professionals on your team makes it easier to train employees from other departments. Ultimately, employee cybersecurity training is a great way to strengthen online security.
If your budget is limited and you can’t afford to hire more employees, consider bringing in an outside cybersecurity service provider. These professionals will help you develop the optimal cybersecurity plan for your business. While some may consider this redundant, it’s worth investing in cybersecurity service providers because they also:
- Understand the latest trends your company needs to know about.
- Know what threats to avoid.
- Use technologies that can benefit your organisation in the long run.
2. They involve developing a response plan.
Every company should include a response plan in its cybersecurity plan. Hackers have reached a level of development that allows them to use the most advanced security solutions. Therefore, an incident response plan will help you and your employees know who to contact and what actions to take during a crisis. This will help prevent cyber threats from escalating.
When developing a response plan, it is essential to consider the phases of cyber threats, such as preparedness, elimination, identification, lessons learned, deterrence, and recovery. After completing the plan’s development, test it to ensure its effectiveness in case of a data leak. This will help you identify which aspects require improvement to increase protection.
3. Apply a human-centred approach to security
Your employees can both protect and threaten your company’s security. Therefore, taking a human-centred approach to your cybersecurity planning is extremely important.
Nowadays, a tech-centric approach is not enough to protect your business from hackers, who often exploit employees as a loophole. Therefore, a person-centred approach is recommended to reduce the risks associated with the human factor.
Below, we’ll show you how to implement this approach:
Definition of Responsibilities
Defining responsibilities is one of the best ways for employees to take company security seriously. Employees must understanding their role in protecting the company from attacks and threats.
Cybersecurity Awareness
Inadequate employee awareness can cause catastrophic damage to your business. They are easily fooled and become victims of phishing and social engineering attacks. Therefore, it is essential to raise awareness of growing cyber threats. Employees should also know what actions to take during a cyberattack. This way, they will know the right action to solve the problem.
Cybersecurity Training
Another way to implement a human-centred approach is through regular employee training. Technology is constantly changing, so your cybersecurity methods must stay current. Remember that outdated cybersecurity methods can put your organisation at risk and make it vulnerable to threats.
To avoid this, train your employees on cybersecurity-related information. For example, teach them to correctly identify malicious links and dispose of unused technology and devices.
4. Take time to study the threat landscape
One tip for ensuring proper cybersecurity planning is to take the time to study the threat landscape. This will help you understand your company’s operating environment, its customers, and how disruptions can hurt it.
It is also recommended that you evaluate your main competitors. Identify the common threats they face and whether they’ve experienced data breaches. Your competitors’ threats are virtually identical to those that could affect your business.
Another critical aspect of understanding the threat landscape is learning how cybercriminals attack. Do they act individually, or do they represent organised crime groups? Knowing their motives and the resources they count on can give you a competitive advantage in protecting your business from potential cyber threats.
5. Focus on developing a security policy
As a business owner, incorporate security policy development into your cybersecurity strategy and planning. It’s a key component of your cybersecurity strategy: the procedures and practices your employees must follows.
Security policies define the company’s expectations, the ways to achieve them, and the consequences for violating them. Where possible, break down the security policy into smaller parts to make it easy for employees to understand.
Possible security policy options:
Remote Access Policy
It determines how your employees can remotely access company resources, who can access corporate systems, and what data or systems can be used.
Workstation Policy
It determines how employees should protect their workstations. For example, they should lock the workstation when not in use, install antivirus software, apply security updates, and use strong passwords.
Acceptable Use Policy
This policy defines how employees should know the company’s requirements for online communication of confidential data, proper social media and email use, and permitted web browsing.
Clean Desk Policy
It should determine how your employees should maintain order in their workplace. For example, they must store confidential documents properly and prevent records with confidential information from coming into view.
Conclusion
For some companies, cybersecurity planning may seem like a waste of time. However, if you want to protect your sensitive data from cybercriminals, you need to consider your actions carefully. This will allow you to reviews your strategies and take the time to perfect your current security measures. Additionally, using the above methods and tips, you can take your security to the next level and gain an edge over less-prepared competitors.