How to Upgrade Your IT Security Strategy in 2022

Companies are generally racing against demands and deadlines. Developers are always working on something. Thus, sometimes cyber security takes a back seat. This can be very costly for your business even if you are not operating in the IT industry. A data breach can destroy your business financially. It will also destroy the reputation of your brand. Thus, you should focus on upgrading your IT security strategy. In this article, we are going to share some tips which will help you in upgrading your IT security strategy.

What is an IT security strategy?

Your IT security strategy is your organization’s plan for dealing with cyber risk and securing your assets from digital threats. These strategies are developed with at least a 3-year vision. However, you need to reevaluate and update these strategies regularly. This is going to be a living and breathing document that will change with time. You must adjust and adapt to the current threat landscape. Always look for the best tools and practices that can help you in protecting your business from threats.

If you want to upgrade your IT security strategy, then you should start by assessing your security risk. An IT security risk assessment is the first step of any cybersecurity strategy. It will help you in understanding the needs of your IT security program. Thus, you can adjust your IT security strategy according to the report generated in this step.

Why you should have a good IT security strategy in 2022?

Your business can’t afford to have a bad IT security strategy in 2022. Security breaches are becoming more common with time. It is not a matter of “if” but instead of “how bad” and “when”. Privacy laws are also becoming stricter. These privacy laws will make you liable. You need to do everything you can for protecting your customer data. If you are not doing this then your customers can hold you legally responsible.

The introduction of cloud-based tools has also complicated IT security strategies. Companies don’t understand the shared responsibility of using cloud platforms. Thus, an effective IT security strategy can help you in achieving cyber resilience. It will help you in protecting your business from security breaches.

How to create a good IT security strategy?

A good IT security strategy will help you in protecting your organization from cyber attackers. It will ensure cyber protection. You can provide instruction to different teams and parties about what they can do in case of a data breach. It will act as a guide for the main stakeholders. This will help them in understanding the importance of cyber defense. You can follow this guide for creating a good IT security strategy.

1. Risk Inventory

This is the most important of creating a good cybersecurity strategy. You should have an inventory of all digital assets, vendors, and personnel. Make sure that you are having an updated list of your assets. This will ensure that you can easily evaluate external and internal threats. It will also help you in finding issues in your current IT infrastructure. You should start by mapping your assets, data, and threat landscape.

Try to classify your data in the following categories:

• Public data: This is the data that you share with the public. For example, this is the public content available on your website. You don’t need to worry about protecting this data.
• Confidential data: This will contain data that you are sharing with 3rd parties. Make sure that the 3rd parties have signed an NDA or Non-disclosure agreement with you.
• IP data: This is the most important business data. If this data is leaked, then your business will lose its competitive edge.
• Compliance data: If you are storing restricted compliance data, then you should separate it. This will ensure that you can easily comply with the security framework.
• Internal use data: This is similar to confidential data. However, this should be shared in your business only.

You should also map all your assets. Use a CMDB for mapping assets. Also, you should track all your users. Track user assignments to assets by using their current function or position. You should also know your stack. Monitor 3rd party vendors or contractors that have access to your network. Try to identify all network entry and exit points. You should ensure that you have access to network layouts. If you are using cloud infrastructure, then ensure that you have access to infrastructure diagrams.

This is the most important step as the rest of the steps will depend on this step. Thus, you should ensure that you are doing this first.

2. Communication

If you want to create a good IT security strategy, then you should ensure that your team is on the same page. Consistent communication is important with every vendor, manager, and employee. You should ensure that there are proper communication channels established. Also, there should be a proper collaboration of data owners. This is a mandatory step before you start working on your IT security strategy. You should ensure that you have enough resources to implement your IT security policy and strategy.

3. IT security framework

If you want to comply with the industry standards, then you should use a proven IT security framework. These IT security frameworks are blueprints of guidelines, goals, and policies that will explain all IT security activities for an organization.

You should adjust the framework according to your organization’s needs. The risk inventory will help you in solving this problem. Some of the common IT frameworks that you can try are:

• NIST framework: This framework consists of the best guidelines for detecting, identifying, and responding to IT attacks. You will find all the actions that your organization can take for protecting your organization from attackers. This is a requirement for all federal agencies. Thus, it is one of the most famous cybersecurity frameworks in the world.
• ISF: This framework was created by the ISF or Information Security Forum. It is completely business-focused. You will get a practical guide that will help you in identifying and managing IT risks. ISF mainly focuses on the most common and emerging IT issues. It will help your organization in developing a good cybersecurity strategy for your business.

You also need to modify these policies according to your business requirements.

4. Security policies

You also need to create your security policies. It is important to enforce your security policies also. Security policies will serve as the rulebook for your business. Most companies only focus on creating an IT security policy. However, they forget about enforcing it. Cyber security policy is for your employees also. It will help your employees in understanding their roles.

A good cyber security policy will ensure that your employees understand the communication and collaboration part. Make sure that you are considering password requirements when you are creating a password policy. Your users should create a strong password policy that will help you in protecting your user accounts. The main aim of your cyber security strategy is to protect the sensitive data of your organization. You should also create an incident response plan for your organization. This will ensure that you can respond to data and security breaches. You should monitor your IT infrastructure for unusual activities.

5. Network security

You need tools for protecting your network from attackers. These security tools should help you in protecting your network perimeter. They should filter out malicious content and unauthorized access from your network. You should also regularly monitor your security controls.

Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can help you in solving this problem. They will help you in monitoring your security solutions. Bleuwire will monitor your network regularly. They will help you in implementing endpoint security solutions. You don’t need to worry about handling your own network security.

6. User Awareness

Your employees should know about the user security policies. This will ensure that they are securely using your system. They should understand the cyber risks. This will ensure that they are doing their best to protect IT infrastructure.

You should engage your employees. This is the best way to improve your IT security posture. In fact, you should aim at ensuring that all your employees know about basic security practices. You should train your employees about phishing and social engineering attacks.

It is a good idea to reward your employees for discovering phishing attempts. This will help you in engaging your employees. If your employees are following the best security practices, then it is very hard to attack your IT infrastructure. Attackers need to use very complex attacks for gaining access to your network. Most attackers don’t have the required skill set to find zero-day bugs. Thus, your business is 99% secure if you can stop phishing and social engineering attacks.

7. Malware protection

Most attacks will start with a phishing email. Employees get duped by these phishing emails mainly due to the sense of urgency that attackers create. If you are training your employees, then it will help you in reducing the probability of a successful attack. You should focus on protecting your company endpoints. This will include all the employee-owned devices and IoT devices that are connected to your network. This is going to be a very important part of your IT security strategy. You should use Managed Detection and response tools for protecting your network. This will help you in creating anti-malware defenses for protecting your organization.

8. Incident Management

An effective cyber security strategy will help you in reducing the need for incident management. However, even the best IT security strategy can’t give 100% protection to your organization. Your organization should be ready for everything. Thus, you should create an incident response plan. Make sure that you are regularly testing your incident management plans. You can provide specialist training to your IT security team members. If you have noticed a criminal incident, then you should report it to law enforcement.

Your organization should know how it can contain and stop a cyber attack. Every anti-virus uses the same advertising gimmick that can stop all hackers. However, attackers can still break through these defenses. You should create an incident management plan. This will ensure that you can deal with attacks.

9. Monitoring

Your organization data is always available. Thus, you need someone who is always monitoring your network. The cybersecurity skills shortage is becoming a huge problem for companies. It is difficult to find talent that can handle your network monitoring. The best way to solve this problem is by working with a good MSP. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire will help you in establishing a monitoring strategy. They will ensure that your network is always monitored. Bleuwire will regularly monitor your network and systems. They will offer various monitoring services to your business. Bleuwire will analyze your logs for unusual activity. This will help you in stopping an attack before attackers can cause any damage. They will also take extra steps for stopping any potential issues.

10. Manage user privileges

If you want to protect your network, then you should ensure that limited users have access to privileged accounts. You should focus on monitoring user activity and limiting user privileges. This will help you in creating a compliant and secure environment. You should also focus on controlling access to audit logs.

Conclusion

Every organization will have a unique cyber security strategy. A security risk assessment will help you in finding the services and tools that you need. Start with an IT security assessment first. This will help you in creating an effective IT security strategy. You should continuously upgrade your strategy with time. The best way to keep up with attackers is by partnering up with a good MSP like Bleuwire. Bleuwire will help you in keeping up with the IT industry. You will have access to the tools that you need for protecting your organization. Bluewire will help you in creating an effective IT security strategy. They will help you in monitoring your network. Thus, they can help you in stopping the attack before it even begins. If you need more information regarding IT security services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.