GRC Expert Agrees: Process and Workflow Automation is the Key to an Infallible Cybersecurity Strategy

One industry that wasn’t interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic is cybercrime.?

In fact, changes in the world of work have bolstered room for more sophisticated techniques that have left corporations all the more vulnerable.?

A recent study by Kaspersky painted an alarming picture of the cybersecurity landscape in Saudi Arabia. It was found that 7 million cyberattacks hit the country in the first two months of 2021, with the majority of the attacks targeting protocols used for remote work.?

To add to that, the Saudi Arabia Security Insights Report also found that outdated security is one of the leading breach causes in the region, with respondents reporting an average of 2.4 breaches per year.

These recent figures underscore the importance of improving cybersecurity awareness and adopting stricter infrastructures and processes. We cannot deny that digital transformation has become a need for companies, not only to survive but to thrive.

But deciding to invest in the necessary products and services entails an in-depth analysis of organizational needs and goals. Organizations require a strategy that will empower them to masterfully orchestrate checkpoints that will manage vulnerabilities.?

How is your organization keeping up with the local landscape??

Organizations in Saudi Arabia are ahead of the curve. 90% of the companies in the area have focused on digital transformation programs in the past year. 85% are also re-inventing their business processes to stay relevant in today’s ever-evolving world.

Also, among the CISOs surveyed for the Saudi Arabia Security Insights Report, 43% have reported updating their organization’s security approach and 100% said that they have shifted or are planning to shift to a cloud-first strategy.

In spite of this, a certain percentage of the landscape is lagging in terms of adopting technologies to revolutionize their business.?

Why is this the case??

As with any kind of transformation, some barriers hinder companies from achieving digital success. The Digital Transformation Index 2020 identified one of them to be data privacy and cybersecurity concerns --- the very problem that we are trying to solve.

How, then, can an organization revolutionize the way that it operates without sacrificing data privacy and security??

Nitin Rohilla, a GRC Consultant from Unikomm, one of Saudi Arabia’s leaders in ServiceNow Services and ITSM Solutions, highlights the importance of automation in fortifying the security culture within an organization.

“When viewed traditionally, compliance and risks are managed by specialized groups within the company. Leaders need to realize that most of these teams have common objectives and repeatable processes. All of them need to comply with regulations, policies, and they have to manage their own risk registers.?

They also accomplish their objectives in different ways. Some use spreadsheets while some use point solutions. All these inefficiencies in the GRC environment create a lot of gaps which leads to duplication of effort and controls.?

Automated workflows, frameworks, and risk assessments allow an organization to create a more collaborative approach between security and privacy. They enable an organization to make ethical decisions around privacy and to meet compliance obligations.”

With the right platforms, organizations can minimize manual privacy processes and improve security responses. These tools also improve a company’s capacity to assess existing risks’ impact and to respond in real-time.?

Why should you use GRC tools to address key security and privacy concerns? Here are three main reasons.?

Round-the-Clock Protection with Automated Monitoring and Response

With data privacy laws in place, companies should consistently ensure that they comply with existing cybersecurity regulations.?

Sounds like a heavy time and personnel investment, right??

Not necessarily.?

Automating key processes empowers organizations to keep a watchful eye on proprietary information without bloating costs and spending. It also improves security against cyberattacks and breaches.?

Automation helps ensure an effective response to critical issues and vulnerabilities, allowing organizations to cushion the blow of critical threats.

Nitin Rohilla also adds that using automation solutions like ServiceNow is the key to implementing an actionable and unified GRC program for cybersecurity.? He highlights that ServiceNow “uses automation in security response, particularly against vulnerabilities. It removes mundane processes and frees overwhelmed security teams by utilizing the SOAR approach.?

Automation helps in scaling the teams to address the cybersecurity issues and establishes best practices that improve the organization’s security posture.”

Keeping Cybersecurity on the Agenda

Managing cyber risks should always be one of the key agendas during top-level meetings. However, due to time constraints and various corporate demands, this topic is sometimes overlooked in favor of other operational concerns.?

So, how do you get the main decision-makers to listen??

With the right tools and platforms, security reports and data alignment can be accomplished more efficiently. Doing so allows you to get the buy-in of key decision makers in maintaining the integrity of your security system and ensuring that your organization is protected from potential attacks.?

Rohilla also highlights that automating GRC processes with ServiceNow “enables GRC teams to productively work on higher-value tasks. It improves the risk and compliance posture, which can be effectively communicated across the enterprise. This allows organizations to manage the risk to your business reducing the risk of financial or legal penalties, loss of data, and reputation damage that non-compliance or a breach could cause.”

Prioritizing Critical Threats by Pinpointing Affected Assets?

On top of identifying which risks need to be addressed first, IT and security personnel must work hand-in-hand to address the root cause of the issue.

As with other systems, the magic lies in simplifying and integrating the process.?

Efficient identification of assets at risk makes way for the effective implementation of damage control responses. In addition to quick deployment of necessary security solutions, knowing which part of the organization’s system is vulnerable helps ensure that necessary safeguards are applied to avoid recurrences of the same issue.?

To add, Rohilla says that ServiceNow offers three applications that add value and vigilance throughout the whole risk life cycle.?

“ServiceNow Risk Management detects and assesses the likelihood of risk events, all while orchestrating the solutions and responses to critical changes in the risk posture.??

The Advance Risk (Operational Risk) product, on the other hand, rolls up to enterprise risks for reporting purposes and uses the provided lifecycle to assess operational risk using Risk Control Self Assessments and automated means.?

To close the loop, the ServiceNow Audit Management eliminates recurring audit findings, enhances audit assurance, and optimizes resources and productivity of internal audits. This significantly reduces costs and allows for timely responses from external auditors.”

Scale Up your Company’s Security Culture with ServiceNow?

[CLICK TO TWEET] Data privacy and cybersecurity have always been a top concern but today’s highly digital way of life has escalated it to top priority. Learn more from one of our @unikommME GRC experts

For Nitin Rohilla, “The world around us has been changing at the pace that we’ve never seen. Phishing attacks have increased by a whopping 25% in the past year alone. More than 44,000 malicious websites were also flagged in the second half of 2020. Even big companies like Cognizant and Accenture were exposed to reputation and financial losses due to cyberattacks.

Every organization is unique in terms of its processes, business systems, and the pace of its digital transformation. Executives need visibility into their security posture, particularly, of their assets and systems. A well-thought-out cybersecurity strategy is important. Weak points and vulnerabilities must be addressed to reduce the likelihood of any future financial and reputational damage. “

With the ServiceNow GRC applications, safeguarding your organization is possible with instant access to insights that you need to make risk-informed decisions.? Connect with Unikomm to learn how you can transform siloed security processes into a unified risk solution.