Every organisation faces risk.
You may already have passwords, antivirus software, backups and other security measures in place. But are those measures addressing the risks that are actually relevant to your organisation?
Last week, we looked at understanding what your organisation needs to protect. The next step is understanding what could put it at risk.
Cyber Security Risks Can Come From Anywhere
Cyber risk isn’t limited to hackers or sophisticated attacks.
Human error, lost devices, inappropriate access, third-party suppliers and outdated systems can all create potential vulnerabilities.
Every organisation operates differently, which means the risks it faces will differ too. Understanding where those risks lie can help ensure that security efforts are focused on what matters most.
Understanding Your Risks
Knowing risks exist is one thing. Understanding which ones matter to your organisation, and how they should be approached, is another.
This is where having a structured approach to information security becomes important.
At Cyber Strategies, our existing security policy approach includes a Risk Register and Treatment Plan as part of the documents supporting an Information Security Management System. Cyber Strategies Security Policies also explains that the level of support needed can vary according to an organisation's experience and knowledge.
This is where we purposely wouldn't suggest that every organisation should simply download a generic document, fill in a few boxes and consider the job finished.
Your risks need to reflect your organisation.
Where Does an ISMS Fit In?
Risk management isn't something that should sit separately from the rest of your information security.
Understanding risk can influence the policies you introduce, the way access is managed, how employees are trained, how you prepare for incidents and the security measures you choose to implement.
An Information Security Management System (ISMS) brings these different areas together into a more structured approach.
Cyber Strategies' current security policy offering, groups an Information Security Statement, Information Security Policy, Information Asset Register, Risk Register and Treatment Plan, Incident Management Policy, Business Continuity and Recovery Plan and other documents within its ISMS offering.
Instead of information security becoming something you think about only when there's a problem, an ISMS helps make managing it part of the way your organisation operates.
Prevention Starts With Understanding the Risk
Effective prevention starts with understanding where your organisation may be vulnerable. Knowing your risks helps you focus your security efforts where they matter most, before an incident occurs.
Turn Cyber Risk into a Manageable Process
Understanding your risks is one part of developing a stronger approach to information security.
Cyber Strategies can help you develop an ISMS appropriate to your organisation, bringing together the policies, documents and processes required to manage information security more effectively.
Already using measures such as Cyber Essentials? An ISMS can help you take a broader approach to how information security is managed throughout your organisation.
Next Week: Information Security Policies Your Business Will Actually Use:
We'll look at why having security policies isn't enough and why the policies you introduce need to work in the real world, not simply exist as documents nobody reads.
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