What do you do if you're an IT executive and need to excel in cybersecurity?

Assess if I or my org has the right skillsets to do a comprehensive assessment. If answer is no, engage with right partner who can not only identify system vulnerability but also create a clear roadmap on end goal, lay down concise implementation plan with milestones and assist in building capabilities.

As an IT executive aiming to excel in cybersecurity, it's essential to focus on both strategic and technical aspects of the field. First, stay informed about the latest cybersecurity threats, trends, and technologies by regularly engaging with industry reports, attending conferences, and participating in professional networks. Developing a strong understanding of key areas such as threat intelligence, risk management, and regulatory compliance is crucial. Building a proactive cybersecurity strategy involves investing in security frameworks, implementing strong incident response plans, and fostering a culture of security awareness within the organization.

Cybersecurity is a constantly evolving field, with new threats emerging regularly. Keep an eye on the latest trends and developments in cybersecurity and be prepared to adjust and adapt your organization's security strategy as needed.

I would say before you go to risk assessments, it is important you thoroughly understand the business you are required to protect. Your efforts must be aligned to the business objectives. Down the road you will need money to implement initiatives it is always easier to get those funding when you can trace your efforts to business imperatives or objectives. Your risk assessments will naturally flow from your understanding the business very well. The SABSA framework speaks extensively about this.

You must take some initial steps to prepare yourself for a risk assessment: start by putting together an inventory of your assets, and ensure that you have proper classification for each asset type. Identify and document your security controls: directive, deterrent, preventative (e.g. AV), detective (e.g. IDS), compensating, recovery, and corrective (e.g. BCDR) controls for asset type & criticality. Armed with this information, a risk assessment can be conducted to identify areas of risk, threats, and the likelihood of occurrence. Create a clear roadmap to address issues based on asset criticality, highest risk, and highest likelihood of occurrence.

Review and update all cybersecurity policies and procedures to ensure they evolve with the changing cyber threat landscape. These living documents should encompass all aspects of cybersecurity, including incident response plans, data encryption standards, and access controls. Educate your staff on these policies, emphasizing the importance of compliance. Regularly scheduled reviews and updates of policies will help your organization stay ahead of new threats.

Policies are the foundation and broad level statements which give you the foundation of cybersecurity in the organisation. When creating policies, make sure that you take help from existing frameworks like NIST CSF etc and prominent personalities in industry. The policies must be updated periodically and also based upon organizational changes, new guidelines from industry, government regulations, recent incidents in organization etc. Policy should be disseminated to all departments/ teams leads to draw lessons for themselves. The policy should be open for comments so as to bring improvements in the policy.

Excel in cybersecurity as an IT executive by maintaining balance in key aspects: informed leadership, coherent teams, solid policies, updated technology, continuous training, commitment, planning and orchestration in incident and problem management.

constantly update polciies, but also have effective mechanisms to ensure that these policies are well supported by detective and preventative controls. too many firms have excellent policy sets, but still have gaps in their controls.

Ciber security policies and standards to be globally defined, strong sponsorship is a must, then enable a strong change management team

Focus on understanding and prioritizing risks while developing and implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, and stay updated on the latest trends and threats (important!), ensuring compliance with regulations and industry standards. Foster a security-aware culture through ongoing employee training and prepare for quick, efficient incident response. Collaborate with other executives and teams for a holistic approach, investing in advanced security tools and technologies. Monitor and report on cybersecurity performance while securing third-party and vendor relationships to maintain strong supply chain security.

I will put it slightly different, invest in #need #based technology solution and dont just blindly invest in technology. Once you have assessed your risks, decided upon your acceptable risk/risk appetite then identify suitable technologies and then invest. i would further go on to say that before investing you must read reviews, seek for free trials if possible and then go for investing. Always see EOL/ EOS when finally deciding about investing technology and have clear understanding of updates/ after sales support.

Makes a sense; it is crucial to ensure you have robust firewalls, reliable antivirus software, and effective intrusion detection systems in place. Prioritize secure cloud storage solutions for data protection. Remember, technology is only as effective as the people managing it, so invest in skilled personnel for proper management. Continuous training keeps your IT staff updated on the latest cybersecurity technologies and practices, enhancing your overall security posture.

Investing strategically in cybersecurity technology is crucial. Choosing technology that aligns with specific business risks and operational needs is essential rather than merely following the latest trends. Integrating advanced tools like AI for proactive threat detection and automation for rapid responses ensures that cybersecurity measures are effective and sustainable. This approach enhances defenses and reinforces a commitment to maintaining the highest level of trust and security.

And if the internal skills are not there yet to implement required technologies, to privilege as a service solutions, to gain speed and reduce risks

In my experience, training staff should not be a "one and done" activity. Cultivating a culture of security awareness must happen on a daily basis. I also think that it should be tailored to individual needs and abilities, incorporate practical applications, and promote a culture of openness and collaboration. Regular assessments and adjustments to the training program based on employee feedback and emerging threat trends are crucial. By reducing human error and empowering employees, we can create an environment where knowledge is power and each employee's skills are active assets in combating digital threats.

Cultivating a culture of security awareness, providing regular training, and conducting simulated phishing exercises are essential strategies to empower employees, reduce human error, and strengthen an organization's cybersecurity defenses. By investing in employee education and awareness, organizations can enhance their overall cybersecurity posture and protect against potential cyber threats more effectively.

Adding to the need to get your employees involved and be part and parcel of the cyber defense strategy, create Cybersecurity team on the technical side and make it their responsibility to implement the above strategy as well as update and secure it. In my view it's risky to outsource vulnerability assessment when you do not have a good team on the ground to advise you.

Of course, tools give us a huge opportunity to improve our processes. However, let’s not forget that humans are the weakest link in the cybersecurity process. To ensure continuous improvement, training is crucial. It’s essential to understand who needs training and what areas require focus. This should be an ongoing process with scheduled training sessions. Additionally, based on your business nature, you must continually enhance this process with a skilled team. It’s part of the assessment process, and a proper assessment will cover all training-related activities

Training staff is essential for building a strong cybersecurity culture within your organization and empowering employees to recognize and mitigate security risks effectively. Here are some steps you can take to train your staff in cybersecurity: 1. Identify Training Needs 2. Develop Tailored Training Programs 3. Cover Key Cybersecurity Topics 4. Provide Hands-On Exercises and Simulations 5. Promote a Security-Conscious Culture 6. Offer Continuous Learning Opportunities 7. Reward and Recognize Security Champions By investing in comprehensive cybersecurity training for your staff, you can empower them to become your organization's first line of defense against cyber threats and contribute to a more secure and resilient environment.

We invest heavily in monitoring tools to ensure the company's data security. I implemented the Datadog tool to ensure real-time monitoring of the company's main applications.

Implement robust monitoring tools and protocols to continuously monitor your organization's networks, systems, and applications for suspicious activity or anomalies. Utilize security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to identify potential threats and intrusions in real-time. Prompt detection enables swift response and containment of security breaches, minimizing their impact on your organization.

Prioritize continuous system monitoring. Utilize network monitoring tools to detect suspicious activities in real-time. Regularly review logs for signs of breaches or attempted attacks. This proactive approach enables swift response to threats, minimizing damage and downtime. Remember, being prepared to act swiftly is as important as preventing attacks.

Being reactive does not always solve cyber threats anymore. Once you discover a breach, it's probably too late. Companies need to change their approach and implement pro-active monitoring or analytics to identify trends that can lead to a breach. Implement threat level monitoring so you can get alerts when certain critical actions or commands are executed especially in large organizations.

Engaging with external cybersecurity experts is a proactive and strategic investment that can significantly strengthen an organization's cybersecurity defenses, enhance its resilience against cyber threats, and provide peace of mind that it's doing everything possible to protect its valuable assets, data, and reputation.

One thing I have found helpful is to include the best experts from the industry. Usually the risks are known and categorised for the industry types, it is the execution of the best products and processes that make the biggest impact. According to me, the professional help is one of the best ways to strength the security posture.

Its important that you collaborate with external cybersecurity experts, consultants, or managed security service providers (MSSPs) to augment your organization's capabilities. These experts can offer specialized expertise, threat intelligence, and support in areas such as penetration testing, incident response planning, and security operations. By leveraging external expertise, you can enhance your cybersecurity strategy and better defend against sophisticated cyber threats.

-Cybersecurity cannot operate in isolation. It must be seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the business. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to embed security practices throughout the value chain. -Incorporate security considerations from the outset of any digital initiative. Whether it’s developing new applications, adopting cloud services, or implementing robotic process automation (RPA), security should be a fundamental part of the design process. -As companies build application programming interfaces (APIs) for external customers, they must identify vulnerabilities arising from interactions between APIs and services. Establish and enforce standards for secure API development.

Engaging right experts with deep domain, industry and technical expertise is must. You must have team of experts to design, support and strengthen organization security posture. These experts shall preempt the risks and align the program to future needs of the organization.

Team Building and Training and Regular Audits: Conduct regular security audits to evaluate the effectiveness of existing controls and identify areas for improvement and also assemble a skilled cybersecurity team and empower them with resources and training and support to effectively manage security measures ????

What can truly help excel cyber security is collaboration at various levels. Cyber security is not an isolated activity and one cant handle it well based upon own knowledge/skillset/technology only. Collaboration can significantly improve cybersecurity by leveraging collective knowledge, resources, and expertise to identify, prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats more effectively. You need to follow CERT, government bodies, forums for threat intelligence information sharing etc to be proactive while preparing for robust cybersecurity for own organisation.

Acredito que acima do investimento em seguran?a ou tecnologia, autoridades, as empresas e os gestores devem investir primeiro em pessoas, pois s?o elas que movem o mundo e fazem o uso da tecnologia.

Personally, I would prioritize continuous learning in cybersecurity to stay updated on trends, technologies, and best practices. Pursue certifications and training, enhance leadership and strategic skills, and engage with peers for knowledge exchange. The key is to remain adaptable and proactive in addressing emerging challenges to protect organizational assets and ensure resilience against evolving cyber threats.