By: Dr. Angela Orebaugh
As the calendar turns from December 31 to January 1, it is time to embrace new goals and resolutions. In the world of cybersecurity, this is a great time to refresh your organization’s cybersecurity program. The new year will bring innovative emerging technologies, more connected devices, and more sophisticated attacks. It’s no longer a matter of “if”, but a matter of “when”, a cyberattack will impact your organization. Organizations must remain cyber resilient to continuously operate in the face of cyber disruptions and attacks. Proactive prevention and detection capabilities, streamlined responses, and rapid recovery will help to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your organization’s data.
SHINE Systems would like to share these tips for your cybersecurity goals and resolutions:
1. Policy: Take time in January to review your cybersecurity policies and procedures. Do any changes need to be made to the current policies? Are there any gaps that require new policies? Updating your inventory of physical devices, systems, software, and applications will help identify these gaps. January is also an important time for leadership to renew their commitment to cybersecurity within the organization and launch a new cybersecurity awareness campaign.
2. Practice: In February, review your cybersecurity practices to identify gaps in people, processes, or technologies. Are your security tools up to date? Do you have a holistic view of your threat landscape? Are there gaps in your practices to protect and defend the organization’s assets? February is also a great time for collaboration and information sharing both internally and with external stakeholders.
3. Posture: Once your policies are refreshed and your practices are renewed, use March to assess your security posture. Perform vulnerability assessments and cultivate or contract threat hunting expertise to discover hidden threats on your systems and networks. March is a great time to perform risk assessments and simulations to test your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans.
Creating cybersecurity goals and resolutions for the new year will help your organization maintain resilience in the face of inevitable cyber disruptions and attacks. Cheers to a safe and secure new year!
For more information about creating a cybersecurity policy that is customized to your organization, or if you simply need help with an initial assessment, contact: aorebaugh@shinesystems.com.
About the Author
Angela Orebaugh, Ph.D. is a technologist, educator, researcher, and author with a broad spectrum of expertise in information technology and security. She synergizes her 20 years of hands-on strategic and technical experiences within industry, academia, and government to advise clients on information technology and security strategy, management, and technologies.
