Building a Cyber Security Program Pt. 7

With my last article overviewing a cyber security team with structure and function, for this article I wanted to touch on baseline controls that can provide good defenses for new organizations looking for a starting point. My top few areas of starting points are: IAM (How to users and non-human identities access your technology, MFA, Least privilege access, and central management to ensure controls are in place), Logging and monitoring (centralize logging for a SIEM, know where your technology is and what it is doing, threat intel and governance), Policy (guard rails and essential for compliance, cyber insurance, and other logistical areas), Endpoint detection and response tool (anti virus on steroids and very effective for response capabilities), Disaster recovery and business continuity (are you prepared if your main systems go offline?), and encryption where it is important based on your organization (at rest, in motion and in use). These are just a few starting points and will vary based off risk appetite, regulatory requirements and more. There are foundational level controls to start with, then adding in more as maturity evolves. Cyber defense is a culture shift for an entire organization and is not just a cyber team that stops hackers. Partner, collaborate, educate, and bring in the business in all roles to understand what the vision and mission are. Show them how cyber enables a business and partner to create a cyber defense culture. Share this article if it helped you or provided value. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more. Have a great day!