5 Great Cybersecurity Tips

For a Universal Strategy

I was writing this article yesterday when I saw this news flash. 

From the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). STATEMENT FROM CISA DIRECTOR EASTERLY ON POTENTIAL RUSSIAN CYBER ATTACKS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

You don’t have a senior manager or CIO overseeing your plan or working on a security plan with your team. Contact us we can help you. In the meantime, we are offering you these tips.

Since June of 2021, the fear of cyberattacks has grown significantly, primarily due to high-profile incidents such as the Colonial Pipeline and Kaseya ransomware attacks or the ParkMobile data breach that left enterprises struggling to deal with the fallout and the widespread fear for the next cyberattack.

Cybercriminals aren’t just targeting businesses or banking institutions. They’re paralyzing and shutting down our supply chain, and public transportation and holding public agencies hostage. Be prepared because every company is a target.

The thought that it won’t happen to me is a false belief. It’s no longer a matter of “If” you get attacked. It’s a matter of “When.” So, what are you doing to protect your company against ubiquitous cyber threats? Here we provide tips to help IT leaders ensure their cybersecurity strategy is comprehensive.

Carefully Consider Your Cybersecurity Budget

Cyber Defense Magazine says cybersecurity spending exceeds $1 trillion over five years ending in 2021. That comprises a growth rate of 12 percent to 15 percent each year. More importantly, they predict that the cost of cybercrime around the world will rise to $6 trillion over that same period.

This fact is problematic as we are spending more money to protect against threats that are, in turn, increasing in cost. You don’t need to be a financial magician or CFO to know that the ROI on that $1 trillion isn’t outstanding.

Deloitte’s study conducted in 2019 showed that financial institutions spend on average 10 percent of their IT budget on cybersecurity, while a different study that same year called the State of the CIO written but CIO Magazine showed a mean of 15 percent.

While there is no complicated answer to how much a company should spend on cybersecurity, companies should be getting some return on their investment, just like any other IT acquisition. You can’t keep throwing money at the problem, hoping it will disappear because it won’t if you don’t have a solid strategic plan for those funds.

Focusing On the Right Threats

A 2017 survey involving 1100 cybersecurity executives showed a blaring disconnect between the security solutions their organizations spent money on and the answers they needed to address their most appropriate threats.

While 30 percent of those who responded classified their companies as “very or extremely vulnerable to data attacks,” only 62 percent listed network security as their top spending priority, while just 56 percent cited an endpoint solution. Sadly, data-at-rest security solutions rated last.

So, why does this spending not match up with cybersecurity vulnerabilities? One explanation is that companies continue purchasing what has worked in the past. However, threats are continually evolving. Therefore, your required solution sets must develop as well. Another reason is that many organizations implement security measures without assessing what they need for their digital environment, leading to an incomplete picture of their cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Don’t Get Hung Up on Every New “Best-In-Class” Solution.

If you’re involved with IT solutions purchasing, you should be familiar with “Best-In-Class,” which signifies that a solution is the best option. In theory, best in class sounds terrific, and at JAYCO CIO Services, we are not a solutions provider, so we do not have a solution that fits all mentality. We work to find the best provider to meet your needs. 

When it comes to purchasing, cybersecurity is different from other IT areas. Cybercriminals develop quickly, and new attack strategies emerge daily. Trying to stay on top of these developments by grabbing up every new best-in-class solution is unproductive and may create more risks. According to a study done in 2020 by the Enterprise Strategy Group commissioned by CISCO, 40 percent of security professionals say purchasing from many security vendors adds cost and purchasing complexity to their organization, while the 2020 CISO Benchmark Survey underscores a direct connection between the number of security vendors an organization had with the amount of downtime they experienced due to a security incident.

The bottom line is that the greater complexity of your solutions can reduce the effectiveness of your comprehensive cybersecurity plan. Unfortunately, adequately safeguarding your digital infrastructure is more complicated than just picking up the latest and greatest cybersecurity solution.

Avoid Cybersecurity Silos at All Costs

You’ve probably heard this at least a million times before. To truly thrive, enterprises need to break down their IT silos. We often associate these silos with data storage solutions or management systems. While companies have made considerable headway in breaking these down over the years, the average cybersecurity landscape remains tormented by them.

Each tool works independently and compels IT, teams to bounce back and forth between tools, creating visibility blindspots and attention gaps. It also makes an overflow of unfiltered alerts. According to the 2020 CISO Benchmark Study, over 40 percent of organizations see greater than 10,000 daily alerts, only addressing about half. The same study also showed that 82 percent of CISOs acknowledged that orchestrating signals from multiple vendor products was challenging.

Employ A Cybersecurity Platform

Today’s enterprises need a security plan that facilitates a more holistic and coordinated approach to protect against threats, especially as the industry lacks suitable cybersecurity professionals.

Many IT leaders today are familiar with solution-based platforms, such as an endpoint protection platform (EPP) or the platform of conglomerated tools in a next-generation firewall apparatus. Portfolio-based platforms allow you to integrate applications you currently use with future products you may wish to incorporate, even third-party products.

These security platforms can unify visibility across all parts of your infrastructure through a combined console that vastly increases operational efficiency. These platforms provide actionable automation for workflows to hunt better and remediate threats.

In particular, comprehensive security platform solutions can enable better decision-making through all-around threat detection, robust analytics, and policy management. Also, a modernized security platform delivers value through greater efficiency and ROI metrics that can significantly accelerate time to value.

Our plan will make your business more resilient before, during, and after a crisis; this custom-made service gives you access to our experienced consultants, who can equip you with the tools you need to make a robust plan.

Our two-day consultation, gap analysis, business impact reports, and a customized business continuity plan will also give you additional supporting documentation, including Key Supplier Lists, Threat and Risk Assessment Matrices, and response templates to help you react effectively to disruptions. There is also an annual business continuity review option to keep your plans up-to-date and accurate.

There is no 100% solution and no perfect plan. Having someone accountable, like a CIO or Fractional CIO, can ensure you do the best you can accomplish. 

At JAYCO CIO Services, we don’t do anything besides CIO services. Right now, we are offering 50% off our CIO Assessment. The assessment is an excellent way to get to know us. We will work with your executive officers, stakeholders, and IT team to show you where you are deficient and supply you with a report to increase your understanding of where you need help.