What are the most common cybersecurity mistakes that Systems Managers make?

Many vendors provide security patches far longer than standard product support. Maintain a database of these software that are used in your deployments and enable pulling the latest version to be deployed on your non-production environments first, let it bake for a finite time and apply them to your production deployments.

Neglecting to secure mobile devices used for work can create vulnerabilities. Failing to assess the cybersecurity posture of third-party vendors and partners can introduce risks through supply chain vulnerabilities. Failing to keep operating systems, software, and firmware up to date with the latest security patches and updates can leave systems vulnerable to known vulnerabilities. Misconfiguring firewalls or neglecting to update rules can result in inadequate network security. Not performing regular and secure backups of critical data can lead to data loss in the event of a cyberattack or system failure, but most of the time reliability of such backups is neglected until crisis comes and find out that a backup is compromised or corrupted.

Research has shown that longer passwords are exponentially harder to break. Consider using passphrases instead of passwords. Many newer products completely eliminate user passwords and use one-time passwords (OTP), Time-based OTPs, Magic links, and external devices like Yubikeys, etc. to eliminate the fear of password inference attacks. Using multi-factor authentication for different types(1/2/3) can add another layer of security to your applications.

A robust backup process should be your front line of defense against ransomware attacks. CISOs' should be able to identify all the "Information" assets of a business. It is just not limited to database and machine/vm backups. While cloud providers offer out-of-the-box backup solutions for storage, logs, images, etc. specialized data crucial to your business use case may require additional backup measures. Ensure extended backup history and consider options for cold storage and offsite storage.

I'll suggest that system managers should never assume every system user will adhere to cyber best practices. Always ensure continuos and up-to-date education and training for users, using creative and innovative approach and also ensure to track the success rate.

Threat Awareness Training is one more important tool in the arsenal of a CISO, but it’s often not effectively utilized. Rather than training the users once just for compliance, it should be an ongoing and evolving exercise. Many intrusions and breaches start as social engineering attacks. Keeping associates continuously trained in new forms of attacks is the key to staying ahead. User awareness assessments measure the effectiveness of these user trainings allowing continuous improvement to the system.

Even with robust mitigation measures, successful attacks can occur. Increasingly CISOs' and CIOs' have started including security incidents preparedness when planning for BCP. Develop playbooks and conduct tabletop exercises and full-scale incident response simulations to prepare your SOC team for effective and organized response.

A comprehensive cybersecurity assessment is an integral part of a complete cybersecurity checklist because it provides an in-depth analysis of an organization's current security posture. It identifies vulnerabilities, risks, and areas of non-compliance within the system, providing a clear roadmap for remediation. Without this assessment, an organization may not fully understand its weaknesses, leaving it exposed to potential cyber threats. Furthermore, the assessment helps prioritize security measures based on the severity of potential impacts, ensuring efficient allocation of resources. Thus, it forms the bedrock of a well-rounded cybersecurity strategy, enabling proactive threat management and strengthening overall digital resilience.