Identifying and Managing Cybersecurity Risk and Vulnerabilities

Security vulnerabilities in the network security architecture of your company can pose a significant threat to your business assets and operations. These vulnerabilities are found in computers, servers, networks, and procedures that criminals can exploit to capture information and attack a company. Your IT team must understand the gaps in your security environment and test the infrastructure regularly for security vulnerabilities that might post a future threat.

Identifying Security Vulnerabilities and Cyber Risks

To identify cyber vulnerabilities and risks in your organization, you can buy cybersecurity software or perform cyber risks testing in-house. You can even outsource your cyber risk management to a managed security service provider. Vulnerability scanning and penetrating testing are effective assessments that your business can continuously perform.

Moreover, it’s important to have an accurate inventory of your network’s assets as well as operating systems and software such assets run. This will let you identify vulnerabilities from obsolete software and known program bugs in certain types of operating systems and software.

Cybersecurity Risk Management

IT departments depend on a combination of techniques, technologies, and user education to protect an organization against cybersecurity attacks. These attacks can compromise systems, steal sensitive company data, and damage a company’s reputation. Cybersecurity risk management involves identifying your risks and vulnerabilities and applying administrative actions and comprehensive solutions to keep your company protected.

Before you set up a cybersecurity risk management system, you must determine what assets you should protect and prioritize. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for organizations because they vary in technology infrastructures and possible risks. But, every organization must take cybersecurity in a way that follows a layered approach, with extra protection for the most significant assets like corporate and customer data. Also, companies must fully document and implement procedures for their activities that may create cybersecurity risks.

When developing your company’s cybersecurity risk management plan, you must consider that everybody in the company plays a part. This is because security incidents are mainly caused by human errors. Thus, distributing responsibility across departments play a vital role in maintaining a low-risk environment. With the right tools and training, employees will understand how to distinguish between real and malicious emails.

Company culture plays an important role in developing a cybersecurity risk management plan. This involves executive team members setting good examples for others and practicing what they preach. For example, they should take part in security training and practice good cyber hygiene.