Many institutions find themselves being reactive when it comes to security. They believe they are doing everything they need to, but one day an auditor or examiner walks in and points out previously unknown deficiencies. Worse yet, they find that malware has managed to find its way into the network and perhaps that customer data has been breached. When these types of events occur, valuable IT and management resources are reassigned to react, and other priorities are pushed to the side.
Being reactive is a symptom of a poorly defined cybersecurity program. A strong program, on the other hand, provides clarity to current controls and a roadmap for how to proactively continue to improve. Instead of auditors discovering and pointing out deficiencies, an institution that has a strong program will point out their own deficiencies along with a list of mitigating controls and a remediation plan.
The institution will prioritize these remediation plans alongside other priorities based on risk. Because the program clearly defines how attempted breaches are detected and responded to at various layers, there is much less of a chance that malware will find its way into the network. When an incident does occur, the process for managing it is well defined and helps to quickly minimize the impact.
The challenge for institutions is that the skills needed to build an effective cybersecurity program and to go from reactive to proactive security are in high demand, and smaller institutions simply cannot afford to pay for those skills. It appears that this will just get worse over time as attackers (and skills needed to combat attackers) become more sophisticated.
We have been researching this problem for some time and have found that, while institutions all have different digital footprints, they are also similar in a lot of ways. They all need cybersecurity programs that include strong governance, threat intelligence, incident response, risk management, monitoring oversight, policies, vendor management, business continuity, and training at the user and board level.
Given these similarities, we believe that smaller institutions can realize efficiencies of scale by using shared resources that provide guidance as well as a repeatable cybersecurity framework. We have developed this concept into our CySPOTTM Program.
The CySPOTTM Program provides an affordable cybersecurity governance framework that is repeatable, customizable, and efficient. Instead of needing to hire and retain expensive skilled cybersecurity staff, CySPOTTM features a transparent pricing model that allows the institution to purchase just the modules that best align with their needs and budget. All CySPOTTM customers also have access to a vCISO Specialist to help them through any challenges they are facing.
The CySPOTTM Program begins with the CySPOT Health Index™, a simple assessment that helps us to customize the program to your specific needs. The report that you receive from this assessment is complimentary and will help you to prioritize your cybersecurity focus even if you elect to not sign up for the CySPOTTM Program.
If you are interested in completing the CySPOT Health Index™, please click on the link below. Your responses will be encrypted while in transit and while stored. If you feel more comfortable completing the CySPOT Health Index™ via a phone call, please contact us so that we can set up a time with you!
