The average business faces nearly 275 cyber threats every three months. That's more than 1,000 threats each year.
It's no exaggeration to say your business faces new cybersecurity challenges daily.
The volume of threats out there may seem overwhelming at first glance. The right risk strategy can help you face them all. By strategizing about security risks, you'll be able to better protect your business.
This quick guide will help you get started with your strategy for mitigating risk. We'll describe the major steps in crafting a strategy that works. We'll also share some tips for effective implementation.
The first thing you'll need to do is decide how you want to handle the threats your business faces. There are a few frameworks for risk management strategies.
The first framework is mitigation. Using this paradigm, your team works to stop threats and attacks already in progress.
The second framework is avoidance. With this strategy, your team works to avoid risks before they become threats. You can think of this as "preventative maintenance" for business risks.
A third framework you can consider transfers. If you adopt this strategy, you'll transfer your risks to another party. For cybersecurity, this includes partnering with a team of security experts.
Many businesses use a mix of all three frameworks. Mitigation isn't the best strategy, but there are times when a threat becomes a full-scale attack. Your team will need protocols and procedures for dealing with this situation.
Avoidance is usually the best option since it stops problems before they become issues. Nonetheless, there will be times when avoidance just isn't possible. This is why it's best to use a mix of management strategies.
The next step in creating a risk strategy for your business is to determine what assets you have. Take an inventory of your network. What devices are on it?
You'll also want to list the software operating on your network. Keep in mind you should list unauthorized devices and software too. Anything could compromise the security of your network.
The next step in risk control for any business is to determine which risks and threats exist. The threat assessment should categorize risks. Preventable risks are actionable, and you can work to avoid them.
External risks are often unavoidable, so your best bet will be to mitigate them.
For cybersecurity, you can also assess risk level. This helps your team determine which threats are a priority and which ones can wait. This keeps security from becoming too overwhelming.
Once you've identified the threats facing your business and where they are on the network, it's time to take action.
Your risk strategy should include procedures for dealing with threats of all types. The cybersecurity team needs to know what they should do when a high-level threat appears. They also need to know how to deal with low-level threats.
Vulnerability management allows you to track, assess, and remediate issues.
Your strategy should also include measures aimed at preventing threats. This includes employee training about cybersecurity threats or controlling who accesses the network.
Once you've designed the strategy, it's time to put it in place. Employee training and education and new software or tools are key to implementation. You may even want to work with a cybersecurity firm to improve your security capabilities.
You can meet today's cybersecurity challenges with the right risk strategy. If you need a hand designing your solution, why not contact the experts? We can help you create the strategy or implement it seamlessly.