Many companies place a high value on their cybersecurity. Therefore, they should also consider their security posture to improve their security even more. Here we take a look at what the (cyber) security posture is and what considerations you should take into account when reviewing it.
What is the (cyber) security posture?
A (cyber) security posture is basically a position and status of a company's cybersecurity. It is furthermore an assessment and status of all software, hardware, networks, information and service providers connected to an organization.
Security posture thus relates to information about:
- Security - this includes cybersecurity.
- Data security.
- How secure networks are.
- How easily cybercriminals can penetrate your software.
- Awareness training of employees.
- How vulnerable your software is.
- Data breaches.
- Other security controls.
It is mainly the IT managers in a company who are responsible for the level of cybersecurity and its monitoring, but the whole company is involved in increasing cybersecurity.
Awareness training is an essential way for a company to strengthen its cyber defenses. In the majority of cases, a hacker attack is more often the fault of an employee than the technology. It is human error that allows hackers to penetrate companies' networks and software.
Cybersecurity posture and status are strategies to improve cybersecurity and protect the company from the cyber threat - this is done by protecting software from malware and securing the company from having confidential data stolen.
Why is the cybersecurity posture so important?
Security posture is closely linked to cybersecurity. The better a company's security posture, the lower the risk of cyber attacks. Cybersecurity risks relate to data breaches, malware and hacker attacks on a company - these need to be minimized as much as possible.
By looking at the security level of a company, you can judge how easy it is for hackers to penetrate - and thus steal personal data and confidential information.
It is essential to reduce the cyber threat in any business, as new legislation such as GDPR requires increased security. If personal data is processed incorrectly or lost, a company can risk large fines and penalties for non-compliance.
When a company reviews the security level, they can further outline what data they need to keep extra control over. This will often be identifying data, where a person's identity can be discerned from the data, such as health data and sensitive personal data. Typically, the additional protection and control will consist of encryption and access control.
One of the most important reasons to have a good level of security is that cybercriminals are constantly finding new and more effective ways to infiltrate systems. That's why companies need to keep their security walls up to date to prevent unwanted guests from entering the software.
How to determine the level of security
Conducting a cybersecurity risk assessment maps out what data you have, what infrastructure is in place, and what the value of the devices you are trying to protect from cyberattacks is.
Some of the general questions to ask are:
- What kind of data do we collect?
- How do we store the data?
- Where do we store it?
- How long do we keep the data?
- How do we protect it?
- Who has access to the data?
- Is the storage location secured well enough?
This can be a time-consuming process for a company's CISO. Therefore, they will often define different parameters that help determine the scope of the process:
- What is the purpose of the evaluation?
- What is the scope?
- Are there parts of the evaluation that should be prioritized over others?
- Who should be contacted for the different elements of the evaluation?
The security of third party cooperation
Another factor to take into account when calculating the level of security is the third parties with whom you collaborate.
More organizations and companies are engaging in collaboration with external parties and outsourcing, for example in strategic planning and organization of the company. This often creates focused planning and organization of the company, which is why many companies use external partners.
As external sources are "invited" into the company, it is important to have a good security assessment of the third parties. This has become a matter of course for many companies - and with good reason. Letting the wrong people into your systems can result in huge losses.
By conducting a thorough investigation of external partners, you can save your company a lot of time and energy, but also a lot of money. Being hit by hacking attacks, as well as espionage from competing companies, is often a costly affair.
The higher the security, the lower the cyber threat
As mentioned, it's important to have the highest cybersecurity as possible. This reduces the number of hacker attacks on your business.
By continuously monitoring the security level, you can keep track of any security breaches and entry points for IT criminals. By making security assessments, you have insight into the company's security level in real time - and not delayed time, which gives hackers the opportunity to vandalize the company's software.
This gives security managers time to monitor security issues should they arise. In this way, the company can ensure a higher level of security - and a lower risk of cyber attacks.
Caroline Preisler
Caroline is a copywriter here at Moxso beside her education. She is doing her Master's in English and specializes in translation and the psychology of language. Both fields deal with communication between people and how to create a common understanding - these elements are incorporated into the copywriting work she does here at Moxso.
View all posts by Caroline Preisler