Let's Think Logically About This: Why Logical Access is so Important to Your Organization

Welcome to the June edition of The Readiness Report!

Imagine you have a new administrative assistant starting at your organization. They get their work computer and login information, activate their email, and do all of the normal first-day-of-work tasks. Now imagine that they are logging into all of the different programs they will need for their job, and they begin accessing data that they have no need or right to.? Being new, maybe they download something sensitive and share it incorrectly. Or maybe they unknowingly abuse their access and it leads to a breach. ?

Instead of only having access to the systems and information they need to see for their job responsibilities, no one considered that they may not need as much access to personal and organizational information as, say, your organization’s IT director. Even if this new employee has the best intentions, mistakes can happen, and with the amount of access they have, those mistakes could be devastating for the organization.?

This scenario is probably an exaggeration to anything that would happen in your organization, but it may not be too far off if companies don’t take logical access seriously. Different access controls and monitoring techniques are vital to the success and security of your organization. That’s why we’ve dedicated this month’s issue of The Readiness Report to logical access essentials.

Logical access is an important aspect of cybersecurity compliance and is required by frameworks like PCI and SOC 2. It makes sense that you would want to have different levels of access within your organization, but one step of logical access that can be easy to overlook is knowing what your assets are.??

To properly restrict and manage access, you have to know what you’re restricting and managing access to. Only using a few logical access controls, such as active directory, password policies, or encryption, can only do so much to protect an organization and their clients’ data. Organizations instead must consider all risks that any and all information assets pose to the business and implement logical access controls accordingly.??

When establishing protections through logical access controls make sure you follow the steps below:??

• Create an inventory of all information assets?
• Restrict logical access to all information assets?
• Identify and authenticate users?
• Manage points of access?
• Restrict access to information assets?
• Manage identification and authentication?
• Manage credentials for infrastructure software?
• Use encryption to protect data?
• Protect encryption keys?

For even more resources on logical access best practices, click here. ?

SOC 2 Academy: Additional Points of Focus for Logical Access

KirkpatrickPrice: Take a look at these logical access controls to make sure your organization is as secure as possible.??

Why the C-Suite Doesn't Need Access to All Corporate Data

DarkReading: Read this article to find out why C-level executives may not always need the highest level of access within your organization.??

Learning How to Build an IT Asset Management Plan

KirkpatrickPrice: Check out this blog to learn how your organization could benefit from building an asset management plan.??

Mobile Credentials for Access Control—Everything Has Changed

Security Magazine: Is your organization taking advantage of these access controls? Read to find out.??

Don’t forget about your physical controls when preparing for an audit. During a thorough audit, your auditor will check your physical access controls as well as your virtual controls. Both are important when protecting your organization’s sensitive information.??

Just as you don’t want unauthorized users having access to electronic files, you don’t want just anyone to be able to get into your office or wherever any physical information is stored.??

Make sure you remain compliant by continuously regulating your physical controls and make sure those controls are working effectively. If you’re not sure what types of controls your organization needs to have in place, connect with one of our experts to find out.??

Recently, one of our IT administrators attended the 2023 RSA conference and learned more about malvertising. He sent out an email to our KirkpatrickPrice team spreading awareness about malvertising and what it can look like since it can be difficult to identify, so we wanted to share some of his helpful tips with you.??

Malvertising is a combination of methods using advertising to deliver malware that could put your organization at risk. Some examples of malvertising include ads that serve up malicious sites, ads in google searches that deliver malicious sites, redirects to sites that serve up malicious code, and malicious downloads. Check out this blog by Imperva to learn more about different malvertising avenues.??

These scams can be easy to fall for, and malvertising numbers are increasing more and more every month. So, what can you do to keep yourself and your organization safe from these types of malicious attacks???

• Don’t click on ads that pop up in the browser. The best solution is to identify the real URL and navigate to the website through the real URL.??
• Check your URL. Pay close attention to spelling and any special characters that may be added. This is called typosquating, and malicious actors will buy domain names that trick you into believing their site is legit.??
• Don’t download software that isn’t essential and reach out to your IT department if you are looking at any new technology.??
• Be vigilant! As a user, you are the first line of defense, so you need to use caution and be suspicious of everything.

This month, Information Security Auditor, Lorna Willard, provided a few helpful facts about logical access that are important to know as you implement access controls throughout your organization. Make sure to check out her full blog here.??

Join us for our upcoming webinar:

Logical Access Fundamentals for Enhanced Security

Speaker: Ron Hallford | CISSP, CISA, PMP, AWS CCP, Azure Fundamentals, ITIL?

Date:?June 28th, 2023?

Time:?2 PM CST?

Protecting your company’s sensitive information can feel like a daunting task, often causing organizations to neglect the essential elements that make up a strong data security program. Logical access is one of those key factors that often gets pushed to the wayside. In this presentation, auditor Ron Hallford will explore the key principles and best practices that can help protect your organization’s valuable information.?

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KirkpatrickPrice is the leader in cyber security and compliance audit reports. Our experienced auditors know audits are hard, so they take complicated audits such as SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST, GDPR, and ISO 27001 and make them worth it. The firm has issued over 10,000 reports to over 1,200 clients worldwide, giving its clients trusted results and the assurance they deserve. Using its?Online Audit Manager, the world’s first compliance platform, KirkpatrickPrice partners its clients with an expert to guide them through the entire audit process, from audit readiness to final report.

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