Building a Cyber-Resilient Business - A Three-Step Approach - Step 1

Step one

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Assessing Your Cyber Security Defences

The first step towards building a robust cyber security framework is conducting a thorough assessment of your existing cyber security measures.

This process involves a meticulous examination of your defence strategy, which includes but is not limited to, your network security, application security, endpoint security, data security, identity management, database and infrastructure security, cloud security, mobile security, and disaster recovery and / or business continuity planning.

The objective of this assessment is to identify potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber threats. This includes:

• analysing your firewall efficacy;

• intrusion detection systems;

• anti-malware and anti-virus programs; and

• the overall network security architecture.

It’s also important to consider the human factor in your cyber security defences, as human error can often be a weak link in cyber security.

Data Review

The next crucial step is to create a comprehensive catalog of all data stored and processed by your business.

In the era of big data, businesses often handle vast amounts of data, ranging from employee details and customer information to intellectual property and trade secrets. It’s essential to understand what data you have, where it’s stored, who has access to it, and how it’s protected.

A key aspect of this process is prioritising the protection of Personal Identifiable Information (PII). PII can include anything from names and addresses to bank details and other sensitive personal information.

Ensuring the security of PII is not just about protecting your business and its reputation, but also about compliance with data protection regulations. In many jurisdictions, businesses are required to protect PII and can face severe penalties for data breaches.