Every company regardless of size should have a CISO on their payroll. A Chief Information Security Officer is vital to protect an organization’s private network and sensitive information. A CISO will be able to pinpoint weak spots in a company’s network making it easier for a potential threat to infiltrate. They are also well versed in the different software that are available to curb attacks.
Once a CISO is onboarded – he or she must develop a strategy to not only keep information secure but develop a plan when the company gets breached. He or she must outline what a potential breach may look like and what is needed to ensure it does the least amount of damage as possible. While each strategy is unique to the company – it must include a scenario for different types of attacks. While phishing is one of the most common cyber attacks – companies also have to deal with malware, ransomware, and hacking. While some are more common than others a company needs to prepare themselves for any one of the various threats.
Once a strategy is implemented a company must always play defense – keeping up to date on the different types of threats and software that can help alleviate risk. Each year threats become more sophisticated at going undetected and a company must keep up. One of the ways that a business can play defense is to continuously train their employees about what potential threats look like. A company needs to challenge their employees to think like CISOs. While a CEO or CISO may know the significance of a strong password or why someone should never click on an unknown email link – but do all of their employees? Insider threat has steadily increased throughout the years – mainly in part to neglectful users who don’t realize their acts are jeopardizing their company’s sensitive information. There is also the risk of 3rd parties – therefore any vendors must be vetted to ensure that they do not add unnecessary risk. By training employees to spot negligent behavior it will better protect a business ward off threats. A CISO is only one person and can do very little to fight an attack without the help of their organization.
Statistically speaking, a company will be the victim of a cyber crime at some point – but it’s up to the organization to minimize the fallout. While there is no fool-proof plan – by hiring a CISO, developing strategies to deal with a threat, and training their employees are just three ways that an organization can be prepared to deal with a potential threat.
