Cyber threats and attacks are a reality. There was a 20% rise in data breaches from 2022 to 2023. According to Security Magazine, 57% of small and medium enterprises have experienced a cybersecurity breach. Besides that, IBM reports that the cyberattack damage requires 277 days to fix.
There is no denying that cyber threats and attacks are going to grow and become more sophisticated with every passing year. So, the important question is: Does your organization have an effective cybersecurity strategy in place? Let’s uncover all about cybersecurity strategy, its importance, and best practices to deploy an effective strategy. So, let’s get started!
What is a Cybersecurity Strategy?
A cybersecurity strategy is an action plan that lists the measures to protect an organization from cyberattacks. It is a high-level plan that outlines how your organization plans to secure its assets from cyber threats.
An effective cybersecurity strategy includes a series of proactive measures, such as:
- Regular risk assessment
- Robust security policies/procedures
- Deployment of security controls, like encryption, firewall, etc.
- Employee training and awareness programs
- Incident response plan
In short, cybersecurity strategy incorporates all the key steps and activities that your organization should follow to protect itself from potential cyber threats. It also involves a commitment to adapting to changing cybersecurity dynamics.
Why Do You Need an Effective Cybersecurity Strategy?
Security Magazine reported that there are over 2,200 attacks daily, which means one cyberattack every 39 seconds. No organization is safe from cyberattacks today. Therefore, cybersecurity strategy is not a choice but a necessity today.
Some of the other key reasons why you need an effective cybersecurity strategy include:
- It helps understand your organization’s current cybersecurity posture and the security gaps to cover.
- It ensures your organization is well protected from potential cyber threats.
- It helps your organization become proactive instead of reactive against cyberattacks and reduces the chances of becoming victimized.
- It leads to swift tackling of cyberattack events, which reduces the damage and lowers the downtime and service disruption.
- It helps to fulfill regulatory compliance requirements.
- It makes everyone understand that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.
- It protects brand reputation, gives a competitive edge, and keeps customers satisfied.
In short, there are endless reasons to set up an effective cybersecurity strategy.
How to Build an Effective Cybersecurity Strategy?
Now that you know the necessity of an effective cybersecurity strategy, the next crucial thing is how to build one for your organization.
Different organizations are using different ways to build their cybersecurity strategy depending on their needs, potential threats, and other factors. However, we have below shortlisted the essential steps to build an effective cybersecurity strategy:
- Threat Assessment: Conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify all the potential cyber threats to your organization.
- Set up Security Objectives: Establish security objectives you want to achieve in accordance with the threat assessment.
- Technology Evaluation: Evaluate your current technology infrastructure and identify the weaknesses and gaps.
- Select a Security Framework: Choose a security framework like ISO or NIST to take a structured approach to developing and implementing a cybersecurity strategy.
- Develop Security Policies and Procedures: Establish clear security policies and procedures that outline the rules and guidelines for protecting your organization’s assets. This can include access controls, data handling practices, incident response protocols, etc.
- Implement Necessary Cybersecurity Measures: Deploy necessary cybersecurity measures, like installing firewall, antivirus, data encryption, data backup, etc.
- Develop an Incident Response Plan: Create a complete incident response plan that lists all the necessary steps to follow during a cyber incident or breach.
- Train Employees: Conduct regular training sessions for employees to increase cybersecurity awareness.
- Regular Update: Monitor emerging cyber threats closely and update the cybersecurity strategy as their dynamics change.
Overall, an effective cybersecurity strategy is all about commitment, planning, and execution to make your organization more resilient to cyber threats.
If you feel that your organization’s in-house expertise cannot build an effective cybersecurity strategy, don’t worry. Many organizations are now facing a skill shortage and a lack of necessary expertise or technology infrastructure. The solution is to opt for a managed cybersecurity services provider, like Sun IT Solutions.
Sun IT Solutions is a reputed name for offering organizations customized cybersecurity services. Backed by a team of experienced cybersecurity professionals and cutting-edge technology, Sun IT Solutions can help you develop an effective cybersecurity strategy and then secure your organization round-the-clock.
Simply get in touch with Sun IT Solutions and improve your cybersecurity posture from today.
