Here's how you can lead your cybersecurity team to effectively prevent data breaches.

My view is, Effectively utilize following three core essential things in security. 1. People 2. Process 3. Technology As most of them mentioned strong technology or hydergine controls alone cant stop these breaches, Continuous monitoring through skilled professionals with strong Governance policies, audits and framework with new cutting edge technologies would help in preventing data breaches, and user awareness also much needed and ensure they should feel cyber security in everyone's responsibility.

Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify weaknesses in your systems and network. Prioritize risks based on the likelihood and impact of a potential breach. Consider threat intelligence to stay updated on the latest hacking tactics.

How can you assess risks if you have no clue what the current risks and future trend of risk for your organisation or industry or peers? Threat hunting and intelligence is very important and where to start. Only then you can say you are cognizant of the emerging risks and can now infer its trajectory.

Conduct comprehensive security assessments and audits of your organization's systems, networks, and applications to identify vulnerabilities and gaps in security controls. Regularly review and update security policies, procedures, and configurations to address emerging threats and compliance requirements. Proactive Threat Intelligence and Monitoring: Implement proactive threat intelligence gathering and monitoring capabilities to detect and mitigate potential threats before they escalate into data breaches. Leverage threat intelligence feeds, security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, and intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for suspicious activities and indicators of compromise.

Training is important but must be well tailored and presentation made in the most effective formats in terms of design and delivery. Otherwise you will have people clock in and clock off with no impact. Timing is key too. No distractions. Trainings must be engaging and as participatory as possible. Training assessments should be serious enough to test attentiveness and consequence management necessary to discourage training apathy.

Implement a comprehensive security awareness training program to educate employees on cybersecurity best practices, including identifying phishing attempts and password hygiene. Conduct regular training sessions to keep employees informed of evolving threats. Simulate phishing attacks to test employee preparedness.

Employees are both an organization's greatest strength and weakness. Clicking on links, visiting non-secure sights, giving away credentials, etc. are the quickest ways for bad actors to gain access to confidential and proprietary information. This can result in financial losses in many ways and different scenarios. Constant training and even testing your staff on a regular basis is a key defense in thwarting privacy events. Rewarding staff for avoiding threats is a good incentive and shows that management takes the training seriously.

Control Design and Effectiveness is very important here. You must understand how controls will work before implementing them. What are the residual risks after control implementation? That's a very important question. Controls must also factor in defence on depth.

Enforce strong password policies and implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security. Segment your network to limit access to sensitive data. Encrypt data at rest and in transit. Regularly patch systems and software to address vulnerabilities.

So why monitor? To ensure preventive and detective controls work, right? This will depend on interoperability and visibility of monitored areas and the degree of freedom you have to do this. In most cases, better to have a SIEM or SOAR system for this. Monitor and report and ensure alerts are reviewed timely. Clear false positives and have a systems in place to ensure you do not miss true positives. That's effective monitoring!

Continuously monitor your network for suspicious activity using security information and event management (SIEM) tools. Implement user activity monitoring (UAM) to detect unusual behavior. Regularly review logs and security alerts to identify potential threats.

All these would not work out fine without having a responsible approval line for urgent approvals and actions. Senior management must be carried along for their approval and response operationalization.

Have a well-defined incident response plan that outlines the steps to take in case of a security breach. Practice your incident response plan regularly to ensure a smooth and effective response. Communicate effectively with all stakeholders during a breach.

En la mayoría de los casos el vínculo entre el área de ciberseguridad y los usuarios está roto o es inexistente. Eso ocurre porque lo único que reciben los usuarios son las indicaciones de que está prohibido hacer. Eso algunas veces quita agilidad en su trabajo y los controles tecnológicos también lo enlentecen. Por lo que si se quiere fomentar la cultura para que denuncien primero tiene que haber una comunicación abierta BIDIRECCIONAL entre el área de ciberseguridad y los usuarios puesta en marcha para que luego sea natural reportar este tipo de filtraciones. Creo que la clave está en explicar el POR QUé de cada medida de ciberseguridad considerando al usuario como un aliado clave para evitar este tipo de filtraciones.

Make security a top priority within the organization. Encourage employees to report suspicious activity. Recognize and reward employees for their contributions to cybersecurity.