What do you do if your Cybersecurity resources are limited and decisions need to be made?

1. Prioritize Risks. 2. Simplify Defenses. 3.Train Staff. 4. Leverage Automation. 5. Reassess Regularly. 6. Seek Partnerships.

First, identify critical assets and potential threats. Prioritize protection threats. Implement fundamental security measures. Introduce automated solutions. Implement an effective policy. Consider outsourcing. Stay updated with the industry.

When cybersecurity resources are limited, prioritize risks and focus on the most critical assets. Identify the most valuable data and systems, and apply the strongest protections there. Use a risk-based approach to allocate resources effectively, leveraging industry frameworks like NIST for guidance. Engage in continuous monitoring and educate staff about cybersecurity best practices, as human error often leads to breaches. Consider outsourcing to specialized vendors for efficiency and enhanced security. Finally, stay informed on the latest threats and trends, adapting strategies as necessary to ensure resilience against evolving cyber threats.

Having a limited cybersecurity budget and resources can also be to your advantage, but making quick decisions can put you under stress. Avoiding technical evaluation due to this stress and making decisions based on marketing trends will be your biggest mistake. In such a situation, identify and prioritize risks, and then consult with friends who can provide you with sincere and realistic feedback on the solution of similar problems in your network.

All risks cannot be addressed so it is important to prioritize an organization’s risk. This can be done in a qualitative and/or quantitative way. The results should explain the most critical risks to organization’s data and systems. These results should be taken to management and explained consequences to the organization if the most critical risks are not addressed. Once a decision is made then limited resources can be used to focus on risks that are deemed high priority.

Furthermore, it's essential to recognize that information security isn't solely reliant on technological solutions but also encompasses people and processes. While it may require some effort, certain security controls can be effectively supplemented by training, awareness campaigns, policies, or streamlined processes that incur low costs and have a proven track record of success.

Simplifying the defenses by prioritizing the risk mitigation plan will be very helpful. For example, if we are to deal with endpoint security of laptops, desktops and servers the prioritized risk mitigation plan will be to first implement a good patch management system. Patching is basic security hygiene and should always be practiced keeping systems up to date w.r.t bugs and vulnerabilities. The next important control will be to implement a hardening policy GPO and deploy it uniformly across windows endpoints and also design a shell script for Linux hardening and run the same across all servers. Finally, if we have some more funds left, we should then think about an EDR (EPP and MDR) kind of a solution.

In my experience, Don't be swayed by feature creep. Prioritize solutions that offer the core functionalities you need to address your most critical security challenges.

I think a great analogy here is ID theft. You can purchase endless amounts of monitoring, lock your credit cards in a safe, and have guards protecting you at the grocery store. But is it necessary? Remember that your job is to quickly respond to cyber incidents and not stop the hackers. Yes, having 20 products that all keep hackers out sounds cool (and fails), that is not your job. Pick unified tools that provide the most monitoring options for the buck and pick tools that prioritize auditable incident responses. Everything else is a nice to have, not a need to have.

When resources are scarce, complexity can bog you down. Strive to streamline your cybersecurity defenses for better manageability. This could involve merging security tools or opting for solutions that multitask. Simplification cuts down the demand for niche expertise and shrinks the time needed for upkeep, making your security setup leaner yet potent. A sleek, well-oiled defense often outperforms a tangled, undermanaged one, especially when resources are tight.

These are all important, but you'll actually get the best ROI from an EDR solution that has a 24/7 SOC behind it to provide immediate detection and response.

Even with a tight budget, equipping your current crew with fundamental security know-how can make a big difference. Ensuring all hands on deck can spot phishing, craft solid passwords, and manage data right can majorly dial down your risk factor. You don't need the fanciest gadgets or a bottomless budget for this—just a solid culture of security mindfulness that permeates your whole outfit.

In my experience, Train your staff to identify and avoid phishing attempts, a prevalent social engineering tactic used by cybercriminals. Teach them red flags to watch out for and instill a healthy skepticism towards unsolicited emails. Train your staff on proper data handling procedures. This includes understanding data classification, restricted data access, and secure disposal methods.

Prioritize training on fundamental cybersecurity principles and practical skills applicable to daily tasks. Focus on phishing awareness, password security, and basic network hygiene. Utilize cost-effective online resources, such as free courses and tutorials, supplemented by periodic quizzes or simulations. Emphasize the importance of vigilance and reporting suspicious activities. Encourage continuous learning and knowledge sharing within the team. Regularly review and update training materials based on emerging threats and organizational needs. Efficient training ensures staff competency while optimizing limited resources for maximum impact and resilience against cyber threats.

Experiential learning, like real-life phishing security tests, is the best way to train staff in cybersecurity awareness. It helps employees understand and retain how to recognize and respond to threats through practical experience. This method not only educates but also assesses the organization's cyber resilience, identifying vulnerabilities for targeted improvement. Engaging and practical, this training approach enhances the organization's defense against actual cyber threats.

Automation is sometime seen as the silver bullet to solve cyber security issues at scale. Automation will be helpful in many aspects to speed up cyber security. For example, to deploy Linux CIS benchmark hardening scripts for hundreds of linux containers when we cannot use CIS AMI images is to use ansible scripts to deploy hardening at scale.

Another option is to hand that off to a third party (MSP/MSSP) so as to free up your internal staff for tasks that are more directly beneficial to business operations. It can actually be cheaper!

In my experience, Automate routine tasks like patch deployment and vulnerability scanning. This frees up your team to focus on investigating and remediating critical vulnerabilities.

In a scenario of limited Cybersecurity resources, leveraging automation is essential to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Automated systems can swiftly detect and respond to threats, reducing manual intervention and enabling faster decision-making. By automating routine tasks such as patch management, network monitoring, and incident response, resources can be allocated more strategically, focusing on critical areas that require human expertise. This approach optimizes resource utilization, mitigates risks promptly, and fortifies overall security posture amidst constraints.

-> Implement Continuous Monitoring: To bolster your cybersecurity strategy, incorporate continuous monitoring of your systems and networks. This ongoing vigilance allows you to detect potential security breaches or vulnerabilities in real time, enabling quicker responses to threats. By constantly monitoring your digital environment, you can identify unusual activities or changes that may signify emerging threats, ensuring that your cybersecurity measures remain robust and up-to-date.

In my experience, Periodically re-evaluate your cybersecurity risks. As the threat landscape changes, the relative risk of different threats might evolve. Adjust your security measures accordingly.

-> Although you may lack financial resources, you can still collaborate with a partner by contributing your experience, knowledge, time, contacts, or services. This approach helps overcome financial or resource limitations by shifting towards an alternative source of value. -> View partnerships as investments that offer medium to long-term value.

Also take advantage of free resources, there are a plethora! This can range from open-source tools and software to "freemium" apps to public data feeds from groups like Cymru.

One such arrangement can be outsourcing to specialized service providers which involves contracting out services or job functions to external entities on a contractual or ongoing basis. However, a lot of considerations are required prior to outsourcing which is why vendor risk assessments are conducted too. Even though outsourcing may allow companies to focus on core aspects of their business while delegating non-core activities to specialized providers. In some cases (especially the financial sector), there may be regulatory approvals as well that may be required prior to approving any outsourced engagements.

If you cannot accommodate adequate cybersecurity tools and in house skilled personnels you can consider having contingency plans like having cyber insurance plans,pre-paid or outcome based incident response services which might help you gain normalcy faster. Identifying the most vulnerable assets within the organisation can also help with strategy for eg if data is the most priced asset going with a robust data backup solution might also help. Partnering with organisations which share threat-feeds and can do risk assessments and audits will also be beneficial.

Cybersecurity is a bottomless rabbit hole - there's no end to how much money you can spend and yet even with unlimited funds you can never be truly secure! Cybersecurity is the art of risk quantization and management just as much as anything else, perhaps moreso...

AI in cybersecurity boosts threat detection and response by analyzing data quickly, identifying anomalies, and adapting to new threats. Key uses include detecting unusual behavior, automating incident responses, enhancing endpoint security, analyzing network traffic, and managing vulnerabilities. AI helps overcome resource constraints in cybersecurity, enabling faster and more effective defenses against cyber threats.

This is every security program ever and is what the job as a security leader is. Prioritize what's important, see what you can simplify or not do, focus on automating anything repeatable and train people inside and outside security to spread responsibility and also to enable them to help themselves. Communicate what isn't getting done and how that translates to residual risk so that there's clarity upwards as to tradeoff between the current resource levels and the risk the business is taking on.