Protecting the privacy, confidentiality, availability and integrity of your sensitive data is critical. While it is all too easy to let your attention to information security lapse in favor of putting out immediate and visible business-related fires, procrastination and minimization can be a fatal mistake. You need to do all you can to plug the holes, mend the flaws and train the people who will be working directly and indirectly with your network systems in order to keep risk low. That is the critical job of a strong security architecture. It contains several important components, all of which can benefit your company.
Protect Against Threats
Hackers are relentless in their attempts to gain entry into your network system. Once they do, they can commit identity theft, sabotage your operations or even turn your computers into bots. The worst news of all is that they only need to succeed once in their attempts to breach your defenses.
Therefore, the combination of technology and human expertise involved in your cyber safety infrastructure must be as robust as possible. That means developing training and implementation protocols and policies that specify which staff members or outside contractors will be responsible for each particular security task as well as a thorough incident response plan that can go into action should attacks or theft happen.
Security information and event management (SIEM) software can help you learn about security events when they occur by immediately logging them. Since the technology can also show you the effectiveness of the attacks, it provides key intelligence that enables you to improve your system and help to keep your organization safe.
Remain in Compliance With Industry Standards
Most sectors have implemented their own sets of procedures and protocols that must be followed by the companies with whom they do business. Just some of these include:
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for any organization that stores, manages, transmits or otherwise handles credit card data;
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for all providers and insurance companies who handle sensitive patient medical information;
- Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) for financial institutions safeguarding customer data;
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect payment data for EU customers.
Depending on the regulation, your business might be required to set and implement related strong security measures. While this represents an additional investment in time and resources, it can set you apart from the competition and put you in the lead.
Gain Credibility and Trust
When your security architecture is strong and you comply with industry audit and compliance standards, you can communicate your accomplishments. By displaying credentials such as your certification for all to view, potential customers can see visible signs of your credibility and will be more likely to trust you. The same goes for current and future business partners and lenders.
For any modern organization, a comprehensive and constantly evolving risks assessment and cybersecurity strategy is not a luxury; it is a necessity whose importance is growing and cannot be overstated. Protecting assets means safeguarding email, apps, access to your website and system networks with a safety net of processes, procedures, technology and human governance.
Although implementing this complex standard can be a challenge, the benefits of information security are substantial. The business that takes time to properly manage and protect the security of its data environment is much more likely to avoid most attacks and be resilient should the worst occur.