What could go wrong on how CISO’s can answer to all the important question
The rising digital literacy of consumers fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic was a trigger for businesses to rapidly scale their digital transformation initiatives. Organizations that took the digital route experienced higher levels of success than those that did not. However, the increased digital penetration opened the floodgates to new challenges on the security front.
In just the first quarter of 2022, studies point to a 25% increase in the number of security vulnerabilities compared to the same quarter in 2021. The alarming fact is that most vulnerabilities, especially in consumer-facing internet applications, are critical and need immediate attention.
Despite the massive disruptions experienced in 2021 because of events like the Solar Winds security fiasco, it is disheartening to learn that nearly half of US businesses in the SMB category are yet to put together a solid cybersecurity risk plan to safeguard their digital assets.
On a positive note, today, enterprise leaders have a better understanding of the cyber threat landscape and know that investments in cybersecurity are critical. As businesses continue to increase their digital spending, the opinion of the CISO is well on the way to becoming an integral part of corporate decision-making.
Along those lines, the important question that CISOs encounter today is what could go wrong in their digital ecosystem while navigating their daily routine. What threats are lurking out there that could hurt them? How can they answer these all-important questions?
The best way to do so is to have complete end-to-end visibility into all facets of digital activity the business engages in. To that end, let's explore how CISOs can establish control over the security of the enterprise technology ecosystem and be prepared to meet even unprecedented threats and risks:
Be Proactive
One of the most significant lessons that must be engraved into the corporate strategy books today is that cybersecurity needs to be a proactive and diligent initiative rather than just a reactive measure that is called in after a threat is detected.
The saying "Prevention is better than cure" holds immense meaning in the context of cybersecurity. CISOs need to deploy monitoring and prevention safeguards, firewalls, and policies to ensure maximum coverage. These methods must be driven by a profound understanding of the entire digital landscape and the extended enterprise tech ecosystem.
Ensure Security Testing Before Every Release
The enterprise tech landscape is now littered with special-purpose and wide-ranging applications. With enterprises leveraging digital as a core customer engagement channel, traditional and new-age applications have transitioned into productized offerings that follow agile development and deployment cycles. While this is a great benefit in terms of flexible development, it is important for CISOs to ensure that every build deployed into production is thoroughly validated for security assurance
In that light, penetration testing must be done to ensure that the application is free from any potential usage behaviour that exposes a vulnerability through which fraudsters can gain access to the network, data, and other corporate assets.
Embrace Automation
It is a fact that manual processes and mechanisms can always be compromised due to biased decision-making or erroneous data and credential management. With security assurance, this is no different. CISOs need to encourage automation as much as possible in security measures.
From end-to-end security testing to monitoring, threat resolution, vulnerability scanning, deployment validations, and much more, automation must be fostered as a cultural aspect in all areas. This will considerably lower risks due to human errors, and cybercriminals will find it hard to enter the corporate network.
Leverage the Best Tools and Platforms
We have noted how automation can help CISOs lower risk and be better equipped to deal with cyber threats. It is equally important to select the right tools and solutions like Darktrace that manage the security aspects of every enterprise's digital landscape.
Be it automation or proactive monitoring to testing and data management, the right choice of tools can help bring more transparency and eliminate risks faster. CISOs can be better prepared to answer the question of what could go wrong if they have the right insights into the core enterprise technology framework. The right tools can help in providing these insights.
Conclusion
Staying vigilant and prepared is the best way to guard against modern cyber threats in the digital space. Following best practices, setting up a seamless roadmap for security assurance, and selecting the right tools and platforms will help CISOs stay ahead of the industry in terms of digital security. However, this is not an easy endeavour as it involves having knowledge of the entire landscape of cybersecurity with expertise in countering the most active and latest threats in the industry.
This is where a partner like Novigo Solutions can help create a huge difference. Get in touch with us to explore our wide range of security offerings tailored to meet the demands of modern digital-first enterprises.
Find out how as a CISO, you can be prepared to answer the million-dollar question of "What could go wrong?" any time.