Key Points

• Continuous improvement will aid in creating a flexible framework to address emerging cyber threats.
• A proactive approach is essential, from planning to taking action as threats arise.
• Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, not something contained to a single department.

How do you keep pace with the rising threat of vulnerabilities in your tech infrastructure?

Cybersecurity is still a top concern in businesses around the world, something that is only going to grow in prevalence in the coming years.

That said, there isn’t much in place for continually improving your processes when it comes to the likes of risk mitigation, issue remediation, and detection.

By taking some of the principles behind methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, and Agile, we can create a flexible framework that is suited for tackling cybersecurity threats as they arise.

Today, we’re looking at how to create a culture of continuous improvement in your security, to make a leaner, more adaptable workforce that can handle brand-new threats without skipping a beat.

Planning

As you work toward establishing a culture of continuous improvement around cyber threats, you’ll need to come up with a game plan of sorts. At the start, this should include a complete inventory of all assets in your business campus, ranked from most valuable to least. This gives you a starting point on which targets should be hardened, based on how critical an asset is to your overall infrastructure.

Another key point to hone in on while planning is a current assessment of the threat landscape. Threats are emerging daily, and there is no shortage of vetted databases that give an up-to-date evaluation of current threats and whether any remediations have been developed.

Additionally, you’ll want to pinpoint vulnerabilities in your infrastructure. With large enough organizations, you’re going to have a vast amount of surface area to cover. Locating the likely points of entry is going to come in handy as you start developing your cycle of improvement.

Policies and Goals

Policies are a must-have when it comes to building any semblance of cybersecurity at your organization. Ideas like frequent password changes with strong requirements, data handling protocols, and adherence to the principle of least privilege are going to greatly reduce the possible threats that come about from sheer negligence.

Additionally, setting long-standing goals for your organization’s security to strive for is going to be key. You want to define what secure looks like for your organization and establish actionable metrics to perform analytics and track overall progress regularly.

Implementation

With a plan in place, it’s time to start putting controls and other items in place. This might include changes to existing processes. Just about any shop around is going to have a method of doing things, but if done improperly can lead to further issues down the line. Take time to review how your department operates, and put in necessary controls where needed.

This includes things like regular patches and software updates. Operating systems like Windows have regular fixes released, given how widespread it is throughout the business world. For servers running alternative operating systems like Linux, you’ll want to schedule downtime to patch whatever vulnerabilities might be present.

Employee Training

In addition to updating controls and software, this is a prime opportunity to conduct cybersecurity training for the rank and file in your organization. The most likely point of entry is due to negligence, with unaware employees accidentally clicking on malicious links, attachments, or falling for social engineering schemes.

Training to recognize and avoid these threats is key. It should be a regular part of the process for any onboarding initiatives. Additionally, you’ll want to conduct training regularly. This isn’t a once-off process, but rather a continual means of making sure you’re running a tight and secure ship.

Threat Hunting

Having a solid threat hunting model in place is also a key attribute of any worthwhile security department. You want to operate under the assumption that a breach has or will occur, and actively seek out signs of intrusion, tampering, or other suspicious activities. Even if a breach hasn’t occurred, this keeps your team sharp, aware, and fully cognizant of the methods of entry.

Developing a solid means of combating threats is crucial for the daily operation of any organization. Make sure you have an effective, proactive model in place. You don’t want to act upon things that have already happened. Instead, you want to make it a nightmare for bad actors to even gain a foothold in your infrastructure before you’ve shut the approach down entirely.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Preparing for cyber threats can feel like a game of hurry up and wait. However, this is where you’ll want to take those established metrics and start monitoring the overall status of your infrastructure. Regular monitoring of network traffic, user activity, and system logs on individual workstations can point out anomalies in daily operations in no time at all.

Audits and Penetration Testing

In addition to regular monitoring, you’ll want to conduct periodic security audits. When it comes to preparedness for cyber threats, internal and external audits can readily identify vulnerabilities that might not have been noticed.

You might also want to engage the services of a penetration tester. These are individuals geared towards black hat activities, simulating a full-blown cyber threat to evaluate vulnerabilities and weaknesses in your infrastructure. The results can be illuminating and will readily highlight where you need to focus your activities.

Incident Response Review

After security incidents, you’ll want to thoroughly review what has transpired. This is a great opportunity to determine whether proper actions were taken, if existing processes for containing and remediating attacks are working, and what needs improvement for the future.

Acting

The final phase of implementing a culture of continuous improvement toward cyber threats is acting upon the insights gained in the previous stages. You want to take corrective, proactive measures to enhance your overall security standing.

This might involve automating basic security tasks, like regular vulnerability scans and patch deployment. Automation reduces the chances of human error and frees up security teams to focus their efforts elsewhere.

Additionally, you’ll want to build a culture that fosters security. Cybersecurity isn’t just the responsibility of the security department, but everyone in the organization. Employees should be encouraged to report suspicious activity without fear of reprisal or punishment.

Refining Policies and Procedures

Security policies should be regularly updated, based on insights gained. Incident response plans should be regularly updated. Finally, you’ll want to regularly adjust employee training materials to reflect what has been learned. Cybersecurity and the threats it addresses rarely remain static, and this is a prime opportunity to get the workforce used to a culture of continuous improvement.

Remediating Vulnerabilities

This goes without saying, but any vulnerabilities detected during your audits should be immediately addressed. Changes to remediate vulnerabilities must be documented. This helps to maintain accountability and transparency for any changes made.

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

Looking to start the work week right? You might want to take a closer look at how you can leverage the Theory of Constraints in software development. Writing software is all about speed and efficacy, and eliminating bottlenecks is a sure-fire way to supercharge your department’s output.

Additionally, you might want to take a closer look at how Value Stream Mapping is being adapted for modern industries. The business world rarely stays still for very long, and the emergence of new technologies means an adaptation of the tools of the trade.

Conclusion

A culture of continuous improvement to address cyber threats isn’t just an ideal, but a must-have for any organization. Threats only continue to grow more sophisticated with each passing month, and having an organization that is well-adapted toward combating these threats is worth its weight in gold. Don’t wait, get started today.