What is the most important thing you should do to protect your information systems from cyber attacks?

In my experience, very rearely, if at all, have somebody assessed the cybersecurity related risks if you don’t have information about what you are protecting. So the risk assessment starts from identification of what the stake is. What can we loose, what is the most inportant to us? Where it is located? What are the elements that could be compromised? The assets we have and their value.

The most crucial action to safeguard information systems from cyber attacks is to prioritize cybersecurity awareness and training across the organization. Educate employees about cybersecurity risks, phishing attempts, malware threats, and proper handling of sensitive data. Instill a culture of vigilance, emphasizing the importance of strong passwords, regular software updates, and secure browsing practices. Implement robust access controls, multifactor authentication, and encryption mechanisms to fortify system defenses. Conduct regular security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing to identify and rectify potential weaknesses.

Train! Train! Train! It doesn't matter if your castle has a moat, sharks with laser beams, and a thousand guards watching over it if one person let's your enemy in. Make your training interesting, realistic, and test your users. Hold them accountable for when they make mistakes. Train management, every manager should be invested in cyber security at least a little bit. Get them to understand and buy off on the mission. It's important to have them on your side to hold your users accountable for when they make mistakes.

Do not become out of touch with your system. Check logs, do the daily maintenance, understand normal operating conditions. If that's too much, receive reports from those that do. Run quality assurance on their maintenance regularly to ensure it is being done properly. It's important to know when things are not quite right and when things are at risk. If you don't understand the basics, you might miss that you are being attacked at all.

One of the most important steps that is often overlooked. The most important thing here is to take an attackers perspective and not just doing it for the checkbox, but to understand and improve security.

Run realistic drills! When we talk cybersecurity many people think about the technology. The firewalls, IDS, IPS, etc., but it is important to test your team on their ability to respond to an incident. They are the most important part of your defense and response. Don't skip over steps. Ensure it makes sense. Research and read up on recent incidents and use them for inspiration. If you have the opportunity to get a red team involved, take it!

Enhance cybersecurity with comprehensive security policies, regular employee training, and robust vendor management. Secure physical access, manage mobile device security, and prioritize patch management. Conduct frequent penetration testing and employ endpoint protection. Implement cloud security measures and continuously monitor for anomalies. Develop a crisis communication plan and ensure legal compliance. Mitigate insider threats through monitoring and access controls. Foster a strong security culture, adapting strategies to the evolving threat landscape. Regularly reassess and adjust cybersecurity practices for optimal protection.

Here are key components that should be part of your cybersecurity strategy: 1- Risk Assessment: 2- Security Policies and Procedures 3- Employee Training and Awareness 4- Access Control and Least Privilege 5- Regular Software Updates and Patch Management 6- Network Security 7- Data Encryption 8- Incident Response Plan 9- Backup and Recovery 10-Endpoint Security 11-Vendor Security Assessment 12- Continuous Monitoring 13- Compliance with Regulations 14- Security Audits and Penetration Testing

Adicional es necesario dar un continuo mantenimiento y actualización a los sistemas y aplicaciones, establecer contrase?as robustas y cambiarlas periódicamente. Tener un programa de capacitación a los usuarios sobre prácticas seguras en línea y la detección de posibles amenazas. Como parte de un proceso se deben de realizar copias de seguridad regularmente de datos importantes para mitigar pérdidas en caso de un ataque. Implementar políticas de control de acceso para limitar la información a la que cada usuario puede acceder (microsegmentación como parte de ZTNA). Hay que monitorear activamente la red y los registros de actividad en busca de actividades anormales. Contar con un plan de respuesta a incidentes para actuar de manera eficiente