Data Security, Platform Security, Software Security
Article | March 29, 2023
Cyber-attacks have become more sophisticated and advanced as the rise in connectivity brought an increase in security gaps. Better connectivity also has led attackers make to create advanced tools making their attacks more sophisticated.
This certainly makes businesses invest more in information security to bridge the gaps. However, most businesses and organizations do not realize the need for it. This is due to the absence of threat awareness among the customers. A major challenge that cybersecurity service providers face is around cybersecurity marketing. Another challenge they face is competition. Businesses do not prioritize cybersecurity as an essential aspect, so marketing security solutions become even more challenging.
However, the cybersecurity product market has grown over the years, especially during this pandemic period. Although the market is growing, it needs a sound cybersecurity marketing strategy to reach actual prospects. The strategy should also aim to educate the prospects on its need, as many do not realize its necessity today.
Let us look into some of the tips for making a sound cybersecurity marketing strategy.
Cybersecurity Marketing Strategy
Especially during this period of the pandemic, cybersecurity solutions and services are facing much competition. Thus, you should have a properly and professionally designed cybersecurity marketing strategy to stand out from the crowd and reach out to top prospects.
As remote workplaces are necessary during this pandemic period, security breaches are also happening like ever before. This has made companies and individuals look for solid cybersecurity solutions and services. However, as the competition is high, your success in reaching out to these companies in time depends upon the unique cybersecurity marketingstrategy you set up.
Below are some tips to make your cybersecurity marketing strategy appealing and robust enough to attract more clients.
Know your Audience
Regarding cybersecurity marketing, understanding your audience is crucial. It is considered the first step towards creating a compelling marketing strategy. Creating marketing personas will make you understand your audience better. Personas give you a picture of your ideal customer, which is fictional. This will also give you practical insights towards which strategy and channels to be used while communicating with them. Even creating a persona of your ideal customer will provide insights about how to communicate with them.
You also have to decide whom do you address in a particular company. Based on the roles, CTO, CEO, CISO, risk managers, CFO, you can make different personas. This is because all of these professionals in companies may be facing different challenges in their pace of work. Understanding them thoroughly will surely help you make a compelling cybersecurity marketing strategy.
According to Matthew Fisch, a cybersecurity consultant, and SVP sales at Magnetude Consulting,
“I’d follow up after in-person interactions with key executives by giving them my GDPR white paper, which they found very useful. Now they know me and trust that I know their pain points on this subject. That makes it a lot easier to let them know what my company does and how our products can help them.”
Push them down the Funnel with E-mail Marketing
For cybersecurity solution selling, awareness and knowledge are natural obstacles. This can make a potential lead take a good amount of time to make a decision, even demand a demo or meet a sales representative of your company. Therefore, your cybersecurity marketing strategy can make a difference by engaging them with your brand and taking them down to the sales funnel. The best way to do it is through e-mail marketing. Your email message should be personalized.
However, the e-mails you send to your prospects should be attractive, informative, and educational. If they do not find your e-mails worthwhile, they may likely delete your emails and block you as they may have a lot of emails in their inbox every day. Therefore, you should be having a creative mind and a good idea of the types of content that can be sent via email to your prospect.
Case studies, reports, and e-books are ideal content types that can educate people about present cybersecurity issues and its need today. Apart from these content forms, you can also focus on sending videos, which would educate them about the importance of cybersecurity. Whatever content yousend to your prospects as part of your cybersecurity marketing strategy, do not forget to link to your blog posts about recent attacks and the latest updates in the industry. You can also include attractive offers in your e-mail, such as free trials that quickly make the prospect sign up.
Urge them to Make it a Priority
As mentioned in the introduction, most customers do not find or are not aware of the urgency of cybersecurity. Thus, as a cybersecurity product and service provider, you should make the effort of creating a sense of emergency among your prospects as part of your cybersecurity marketing strategy. Furthermore, you should take it as a challenge to convince them to take it as a priority in this modern technology-driven world.
There can be many reasons why they do not prioritize cybersecurity in their business process. First, it may be because they are giving importance to their core work. In addition, it can be due to complacency, or maybe they are not aware of the threat. Finally, the expense can be another reason that they do not prioritize cybersecurity.
However, you have to focus on making your messaging right to them. Instead of scaring them with threatening messages, focus on educating them with ample examples from real life.
Summing up
The biggest challenge to cybersecurity marketing is that most prospects are not aware of the necessity of cybersecurity. This is because they are ignorant of the threat businesses are facing. Thus, the first step is to educate them about the urgency of it. Therefore, your cybersecurity marketing strategy should start with this first step.
Apart from this, personalized messages to the decision-makers will help you go forward with your strategy. Sending messages to them continuously will educate them about its need and can push them down the sales funnel successfully.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the prominent challenge cybersecurity marketers face today?
There are a lot of challenges cybersecurity marketers face today. One of the main challenges is that most clients are not aware of the threat they will face in their business process online. Thus, educating them with the need and urgency of it is a significant challenge for marketers.
What are some of the tactics cybersecurity marketers use?
Cybersecurity marketers need an effective cybersecurity marketing strategy. Email marketing, webinars, content marketing, and paid campaigns can be included as effective tactics in the strategy.
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Data Security, Platform Security, Software Security
Article | August 12, 2022
Ransomware is quickly becoming one of the most prominent problems of the cyber world. The ease of unleashing ransomware attacks, a growing attack surface thanks to rapid digitization and the anonymity offered by cryptocurrency payments to hackers have together fuelled this plague further.
But are ransomware attacks preventable? And if yes, what are some steps businesses can take for ransomware prevention? We explore this and more in this blog.
What are ransomware attacks?
Ransomware attacks can be caused by various types of malware which enter into the victim systems, encrypting files and data, until a ransom is paid. Ransomware infection can spread through a network quickly, bringing entire businesses to their knees within minutes.
Considering ransomware attacks can restrict access to business data for days or weeks on end, they can lead to serious loss of business and can have very damaging consequences for an organisation or its customers, going beyond just monetary impact.
As we saw recently in the case of the Colonial Pipeline attack, gas supplies in the East Coast of the US became severely impacted for almost a week. In another gut-wrenching example, one hospital in Alabama, was allegedly sued because apparently a baby died at birth since the hospital wasn't capable of giving it proper care as it grappled with a ransomware attack.
This was the first credible public lawsuit citing a ransomware attack as a cause for death and healthcare negligence.
These examples highlight the far-reaching and severely catastrophic results that ransomware attacks can have on businesses and on individual lives.
The resounding message here? Ransomware prevention is something that businesses and governments need to think about and invest in with utmost urgency.
Ransomware has to be one of the key focus areas of your Incident Response Plan. Further, this plan needs to be rehearsed over and over again, through Ransomware Tabletop Exercises, until it becomes a part of the muscle memory of the decision-makers.
How do ransomware attacks happen?
Ransomware attacks most commonly occur in the form of a phishing attack. This could mean that someone in the organisation has downloaded a malicious attachment from a suspicious email. It could just as well be that someone visited an infected website and malware was downloaded on their laptop or mobile device inadvertently.
Basically, in situations where the end-user awareness is low and there’s a lack of basic cybersecurity education and awareness, chances of ransomware attacks are higher. This makes training every employee in cyber incident planning and response imperative today.
But this is not to say that in cases where employees and/or executives are conversant with cybersecurity hygiene and good practice, mistakes can’t happen enabling hackers to succeed.
Can you prevent ransomware attacks?
At Cyber Management Alliance, we always advise our clients to be prepared for when and not if they will get attacked.
Read that again, when and not if.
However, the story is slightly different in the case of ransomware attacks. As discussed above, ransomware attacks most often happen due to human error, incautious web browsing, weak passwords etc. In the case of Colonial Pipeline, it was ONE leaked password that managed to hold ransom the largest petroleum pipeline in the largest world economy.
So if an organisation takes some basic steps to educate its staff and put in place some good cybersecurity practices, it is indeed possible to prevent malicious actors from blocking your data and locking you out of your own systems.
There are several resources available online such as our Ransomware Checklist which enlists a few basic steps to ensure Ransomware Readiness in your business. You can always invest in our Ransomware Assessment to truly gauge where your business stands in terms of its capability to prevent a ransomware attack or how vulnerable it is to one.
What can you do to prevent ransomware attacks?
First things first, let’s clarify that nobody in the world knows the secret code to avoiding ransomware attacks altogether. If they did, giants like Travelex and Colonial Pipeline would never have succumbed to ransomware attacks and had to pay the ransom.
Yet, there are indeed some steps you can take to enhance your preparedness and bolster your responsiveness to ransomware attacks.
Here are some basic tips for ransomware prevention from Cyber Management Alliance’s CEO & globally-recognised cybersecurity leader, Amar Singh, who has helped many global organisations prepare for and respond to ransomware attacks:
1. Manage your privileged users properly: They need to be taught how to use their privileged credentials and also how to guard them correctly. As we saw earlier, all it takes is one leaked privileged credential to wreak havoc.
Privileged users need to be made aware of their responsibility in the overall cybersecurity strategy of the organisation, and particularly with regards to ransomware attacks.
2. Backups: No matter whom you ask, every cybersecurity expert will tell you that data backups are critical to ransomware prevention.
The logic is simple - if you have exceptional offline backups and are able to protect them from becoming encrypted when ransomware hits your organisation, you can quickly recover your data and bounce back to business in no time.
You don’t have to pay when the hacker demands a ransom and that’s half the battle one right there!
3. Updates: Again, a very basic step but something many of us forget to put into practice. No matter what operating systems you use, security patches and regular updates are essential. You should also avoid using out-of-support OSes.
These steps just scratch the surface when it comes to everything you can do for ransomware prevention in your organisation.
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Data Security
Article | January 29, 2024
Learn the vital risk management strategies for elevated privacy. Secure organizations with the best practices in risk management while being in compliance with the GRC privacy framework in detail.
Contents
1. Legal Governance, Risk and Compliance: What a Company Needs to Know
2. Risk Management within the GRC framework: Concepts and Strategies
3. GRC Cyber Security: Essential Strategies for Modern Risk Management
3.1 10 Risk Management Strategies and Best Practices for GRC Privacy
3.1.1 Understanding GRC in Cybersecurity
3.1.2 Role of GRC, Risk Assessment and Digital Tools
3.1.3 Risk Assessment
3.1.4 Risk Mitigation
3.1.5 Continuous Monitoring
3.1.6 Incidence Response Plan
3.1.7 Training and Awareness
3.1.8 Compliance Management
3.1.9 Vendor Risk Management
3.1.10 Cyber Insurance
3.2 GRC Companies to Consider for All Cybersecurity GRC Needs
3.2.1 AuditBoard
3.2.2 Bitsight
3.2.3 Camms
3.2.4 Fusion Risk Management
3.2.5 LogicGate
3.2.6 Ncontracts
3.2.7 Protecht
3.2.8 Resolver, a Kroll Business
3.2.9 SAI360
3.2.10 Secureframe
4. Risk Management: Future Trends and Impact
In the wild world of business today, Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) stands as a guide along with risk management due to increasing cyber threats. It’s the tool that can help organizations find their way through the thickets of operational challenges, especially those tied to cybersecurity.
GRC isn’t just a fancy term; it’s a strategic plan that aligns IT with business goals, manages risks head-on, and ensures rules are followed. It’s the map that helps businesses navigate the tricky terrain of cyber threats and changing rules.
The power of GRC lies in its ability to spot potential risks, build strong risk management processes, set up compliance guidelines, and boost openness. It gives a clear view of the business landscape, helping to make smart decisions, manage IT and security risks, cut costs, and meet rules.
In the next sections, we’ll dig deeper into the legal side of GRC and how an organization can use GRC strategies to its advantage.
1. Legal Governance, Risk and Compliance: What a Company Needs to Know
1.1 An Approach to GRC Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)
It aligns IT with business goals, manages risks, and ensures compliance with regulations. It includes tools and processes to unify governance and risk management with technological innovation.
Governance refers to the policies, rules, or frameworks that a company uses to achieve its business goals. It defines the responsibilities of key stakeholders.
Risk management involves identifying, assessing, and handling potential risks. Companies use a risk management program to predict potential problems and minimize losses.
Compliance is the act of following rules, laws, and regulations. It applies to legal and regulatory requirements set by industrial bodies and also to internal corporate policies.
1.2 Benefits of GRC in Risk Management
It enables organizations to
Identify risks,
Develop risk management procedures,
Establish compliance guidelines, and
Increase transparency
GRC helps companies manage IT and security risks, reduce costs, and meet compliance requirements.
It improves decision-making and performance by providing an integrated view of risk management. The GRC provides a framework that integrates governance, risk management, and compliance activities, enabling organizations to streamline operations, mitigate risks, and uphold ethical and legal standards.
2. Risk Management within the GRC Framework: Concepts and Strategies
GRC and risk management and Compliance (GRC) is a strategy for managing governance, risk, and compliance. It ensures organizations effectively identify, assess, manage, and monitor risks.
2.1 GRC Risk Management Process
The process involves:
Risk Identification: Identifying potential risks affecting objectives
Risk Assessment: Assessing the impact and likelihood of risks
Risk Appetite: Determining the acceptable level of risk
Risk Tolerance: Quantifying acceptable risk variation
Risk Mitigation: Implementing strategies to reduce risk impact
2.2 Developing Risk Management Strategies
The strategy development process includes:
Identifying risks
Assigning risk severity levels
Developing risk mitigation plans
Monitoring control effectiveness
Communicating risk
Continually assessing and adjusting strategies
These strategies enhance organizational resilience and success within the GRC framework.
3. GRC Cyber Security: Essential Strategies for Modern Risk Management
GRC plays a pivotal role in the success and resilience of an organization’s cybersecurity front. A proactive approach to managing risk in GRC helps boost data privacy and security at all levels.
3.1 10 Risk Management Strategies and Best Practices for GRC Privacy
3.1.1 Understanding GRC in Cybersecurity
GRC in cybersecurity is a structured approach that aligns IT operations with business objectives, effectively manages risks, and meets regulatory needs. It comprises three essential elements: governance, risk management, and compliance.
Governance: It functions as the architect of protocols and standards, laying down the framework for secure operations within an organization.
Risk Management: Operates as the vigilant observer within this framework, detecting threats and vulnerabilities and devising strategies to mitigate or eliminate them.
Compliance: Ensures meticulous adherence to the established rules and standards, verifying that all operations align with the predefined guidelines.
Understanding GRC in cybersecurity is crucial as it forms the backbone of a proactive approach to managing cyber risk, complying with regulations, and fostering a risk-aware culture.
3.1.2 Role of GRC, Risk Assessment and Digital Tools
GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) in cybersecurity is a strategic framework that aligns IT with business objectives, manages risks, and ensures compliance with regulations. It plays a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining processes, and achieving business objectives.
Governance: It guarantees the alignment of corporate activities with business goals. It encompasses ethics, resource management, accountability, and management controls.
Risk Management: It is the process of identifying, assessing, and controlling financial, legal, strategic, and security risks to an organization.
Compliance: It ensures that all operations align with the predefined guidelines.
Digital tools play a crucial role in executing and overseeing cybersecurity strategies. They provide a comprehensive perspective on processes, risks, and compliance across various departments, enable more informed decision-making, efficient risk assessment, enhanced IT compliance, and improved performance. These tools bolster the effectiveness of the GRC cybersecurity framework in addressing security risks.
3.1.3 Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a critical component of the GRC framework in cybersecurity. It involves identifying, estimating, and prioritizing information security risks. Here’s a breakdown of the process:
Identify and Document Network Asset Vulnerabilities: The first step involves identifying and documenting the vulnerabilities associated with an organization’s IT assets.
Use Sources of Cyber Threat Intelligence: Cyber threat intelligence is internal or external information that can help identify cybersecurity risks.
Identify and Document Internal and External Threats: With a full view of its IT assets and an understanding of the major potential threats, an organization can search for both internal and external threats.
Identify Potential Mission Impacts: Different cybersecurity risks have varying potential impacts on the organization.
Determine Risk: At this point in the assessment, an organization has a clear understanding of the various threats and vulnerabilities it faces and the potential impact of each.
A comprehensive risk assessment helps organizations prevent and reduce costly security incidents and data breaches and avoid regulatory and compliance issues. It also helps to create a more risk-aware culture.
3.1.4 Risk Mitigation
Risk mitigation, a crucial strategy in cybersecurity, focuses on reducing the overall impact of a potential cyber threat. It involves a three-pronged approach: prevention, detection, and remediation.
Prevention: This strategy involves applying all available software updates as soon as they become available. Cybercriminals can engineer exploits almost immediately after the release of a patch, making automation crucial.
Detection: This strategy requires using modern operating systems that enforce signed software execution policies for scripts, executables, device drivers, and system firmware. Allowing unsigned software can provide cybercriminals with an entry point.
Remediation: Crafting a disaster recovery plan (DRP) is key to effectively mitigating cyberattacks. A DRP should address data protection, data restoration, offsite backups, system reconstitution, configurations, and logs.
Implementing these strategies can significantly reduce an organization’s exposure to cyber threats and ensure a robust cybersecurity defense.
3.1.5 Continuous Monitoring
Continuous monitoring is a critical strategy in risk management for cybersecurity. It involves the constant surveillance of IT systems and networks to detect security threats, performance issues, or non-compliance problems. This approach aims to identify potential problems and threats in real time, allowing for quick resolution.
The goal of continuous monitoring is not just about identifying threats but also about understanding the health of each component and operation within an organization’s IT infrastructure. It provides a comprehensive perspective on processes, risks, and compliance across various departments, leading to more informed decision-making and enhanced IT compliance.
Continuous monitoring is a proactive approach that transitions organizations from a reactive to a proactive cybersecurity stance. By continuously monitoring cyber risks, organizations can foresee potential threats and address them preemptively. This strategy is crucial for all stakeholders involved in an organization’s IT infrastructure.
3.1.6 Incidence Response Plan
An incident response plan (IRP) is a critical strategy in modern risk management. It is a set of procedures that help security teams identify, respond to, and recover from a cybersecurity incident. NIST and SANS developed the two most well-respected IR frameworks.
The NIST framework includes steps such as preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery, and post-incident activity. The SANS framework, while similar, differs slightly in wording and grouping.
Having an IRP in place is crucial, as it allows for quick and uniform responses to any type of external threat. It ensures that responses are as effective as possible, reducing the potential impact of a cybersecurity incident.
3.1.7 Training and Awareness
In cybersecurity, training and awareness play a significant role in knowledge sharing and implementation. They equip employees with the knowledge to understand cybersecurity risks and how to mitigate them. Engaging employees in various security awareness situations, whether conducted online, in person, or a combination of both, achieves this.
Effective training educates employees about the existing cybersecurity threats against the organization, helps them understand potential vulnerabilities, and teaches them the appropriate habits for recognizing signs of danger and avoiding breaches and attacks. It also guides them on what to do if they make a mistake or have any doubts.
In essence, training and awareness form the backbone of a proactive approach to cybersecurity, managing cyber risk, complying with regulations, and fostering a risk-aware culture.
3.1.8 Compliance Management
Compliance management is a critical strategy in cybersecurity risk management. It involves managing an organization’s responsibilities under laws, regulations, and standards. This includes identifying compliance responsibilities and closing compliance gaps on an ongoing basis.
At its core, it means adhering to standards and regulatory requirements set forth by some agency, law, or authority group. Organizations achieve compliance by establishing risk-based controls that protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of information.
Compliance management is not just a checkbox for government regulations but also a formal way of protecting an organization from cyberattacks. It’s an ongoing effort since the digital attack surface is always expanding. Remember, compliance failures can carry significant financial penalties and even the revocation of core business functions.
3.1.9 Vendor Risk Management
Vendor risk management (VRM) is a crucial strategy in cybersecurity risk management. It involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating the cybersecurity risks associated with third-party vendors.
In the modern digital landscape, organizations often rely on third-party vendors for various services, including IT products and cloud solutions. However, these relationships can introduce new vulnerabilities into an organization’s cybersecurity infrastructure.
VRM is about managing these risks effectively. It combines objective, quantifiable data sources like security ratings and data leak detection with subjective, qualitative data sources like security questionnaires to get a complete understanding of each vendor’s security posture.
According to a 2020 Ponemon survey, the average enterprise has 5,800 third-party vendors, with 90% of them using some sort of cloud service. In 2019, IBM reported that the average time to identify a data breach was over six months.
Given these statistics, it’s clear that VRM is not just a good-to-have but a must-have strategy for modern organizations. It’s about being proactive, not reactive, in managing vendor-related cybersecurity risks.
3.1.10 Cyber Insurance
Cyber-insurance is a key strategy in cybersecurity risk management. It covers financial losses from cyber incidents like ransomware attacks and data breaches. Just like car insurance covers vehicle damage, cyber insurance pays for damaged computer systems, lost revenue, legal expenses, and other cyberattack costs.
According to IBM’s report, 83% of organizations have had more than one data breach, costing an average of USD 4.35 million. As the risk of cyberattacks grows, cyber insurance becomes increasingly essential. It can significantly mitigate the impact of data compromise, loss, or theft on a business, ranging from losing customers to reputation and revenue loss.
A cyber insurance policy can protect the enterprise against cyber events, including acts of cyber terrorism, and assist with security incident remediation. In essence, cyber insurance is a proactive measure to mitigate the financial impact of cyber threats, making it an indispensable part of modern risk management strategies.
3.2 10 GRC Companies to Consider for All Cybersecurity GRC Needs
3.2.1 AuditBoard
Founded in Los Angeles, California, AuditBoard offers the following essential features:
Cloud-based platform: AuditBoard is a leading cloud-based platform that is transforming audit, risk, and compliance management.
Suite of software solutions: The company offers a suite of software solutions designed to simplify and automate complex processes for auditors, risk managers, and compliance professionals.
Flagship products: Its flagship products, such as SOXHUB, OpsAudit, and RiskOversight, integrate critical auditing workflows.
Risk assessment: The platform includes features for risk assessment.
Document management: Document management is a key feature of the platform.
Reporting: The platform facilitates reporting.
Real-time collaboration: AuditBoard facilitates real-time collaboration across teams.
User-friendly interface: The platform receives praised for its user-friendly interface.
Scalability: AuditBoard is scalable, making it suitable for organizations of different sizes.
Actionable insights: The platform provides actionable insights that help organizations manage risks more effectively and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
3.2.2 Bitsight
The major features of Bitsight include:
Cybersecurity Risk Assessment: Bitsight revolutionizes the way organizations assess and mitigate cybersecurity risk.
Leader in Cybersecurity Ratings: As a leader in cybersecurity ratings, Bitsight provides comprehensive, data-driven insights into the security performance of companies and their potential cyber risks.
Data Analysis: Bitsight analyzes vast amounts of data on security incidents, practices, and behaviors.
Dynamic and Objective Rating System: It offers a dynamic and objective rating system that enables companies to benchmark their cybersecurity posture, identify vulnerabilities, and prioritize remediation efforts.
Global Clientele: It serves a global clientele.
Pivotal for Risk Management: Bitsight’s platform is pivotal for risk management, cyber insurance, and merger and acquisition due diligence.
Informed Decision Making: It helps stakeholders make informed decisions based on cybersecurity risk assessments.
3.2.3 Camms
The primary characteristics of Camms in GRC risk management are:
Integrated Risk Management (IRM): Provides a comprehensive platform for managing risk, strategy, projects, and people.
Risk Assessment Tools: Offers tools for assessing and managing risk.
Incident Management: Provides capabilities for managing incidents.
Strategic Planning: Supports strategic planning processes.
Global Clientele: Serves clients across various sectors worldwide, including healthcare, finance, and government.
Innovation: Continuously evolves its product suite to meet the dynamic needs of risk and compliance management.
User-Friendly Interfaces: Emphasizes on creating interfaces that are easy to use.
Actionable Insights: Provides insights that can be directly applied to improve business performance and compliance.
3.2.4 Fusion Risk Management
The major features of Fusion Risk Management include:
Cutting-Edge Software Solutions: Offers advanced software solutions to help businesses anticipate, manage, and respond to operational disruptions.
Business Continuity: Specializes in maintaining systems of operation during a disruption or disaster.
Disaster Recovery: Provides solutions for recovering or continuing technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster.
Risk Management: Offers tools and strategies for identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks.
Cloud-Based Solution: Integrates critical functions into a single, cloud-based platform.
Resilience Through Proactive Planning: Enables organizations to achieve resilience through proactive planning and strategic response mechanisms.
Minimizing Impact of Incidents: Focuses on minimizing the impact of incidents and ensuring a swift recovery.
Support Across Various Industries: Supports clients across various industries in safeguarding their operations against unforeseen challenges.
3.2.5 LogicGate
The key features of LogicGate:
Cloud-Based GRC Platform: Offers a cloud-based governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform that enables organizations to automate and manage their risk and compliance processes effectively.
Risk Cloud Platform: Provides a versatile platform that allows for the customization and scaling of GRC applications to meet the evolving needs of businesses.
No-Code Application Framework: Leverages a no-code application framework, empowering businesses to visualize and mitigate risks, streamline workflows, and foster a proactive risk management culture.
Proactive Risk Management Culture: Fosters a culture that emphasizes proactive risk management.
Helps Navigate Regulatory and Risk Challenges: Dedicated to helping organizations of all sizes navigate the complex landscape of regulatory and risk challenges.
Transforms GRC Processes: Aims to transform GRC processes from a reactive to a strategic stance.
3.2.6 Ncontracts
The key features of Ncontracts include:
Risk and Compliance Management Solutions: Provides comprehensive solutions tailored for the banking and financial services industry.
Vendor Management: Offers services for managing vendor relationships.
Risk Management: Provides tools and strategies for identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks.
Compliance Assurance: Ensures compliance with industry standards.
Audit Management: Provides solutions for managing audits.
Streamlined Governance and Operational Processes: Aims to streamline governance and operational processes for financial institutions.
Monitoring Regulatory Changes: Offers tools for monitoring changes in regulations.
Managing Third-Party Relationships: Provides solutions for managing third-party relationships.
User-Friendly Solutions: Dedicated to delivering integrated and user-friendly solutions.
Navigating the Complex Regulatory Landscape: Supports financial organizations in navigating the complex regulatory landscape.
3.2.7 Protecht
The key features of Protecht are:
Risk Management Innovation: An Australian company at the forefront of risk management innovation.
Comprehensive Suite of Software and Services: Offers a comprehensive suite of software and services that enable organizations to understand, manage, and mitigate their risks.
Enterprise Risk Management: Provides solutions for managing enterprise-level risks.
Compliance: Offers tools and strategies for ensuring compliance with regulations and standards.
Operational Risk: Provides solutions for managing operational risks.
Event Management: Offers tools for managing events.
Flexible and Scalable Solutions: Provides flexible and scalable solutions that can be tailored to fit the unique risk profile and requirements of each organization.
Embedding Risk Management: Emphasizes embedding risk management into the operational processes of an organization.
Enhanced Decision-Making and Improved Business Outcomes: Aims to enhance decision-making and improve business outcomes through better risk intelligence.
3.2.8 Resolver, a Kroll Business
The key features of Resolver include:
Integrated Risk Management Software: Offers software designed to empower organizations to protect their employees, operations, and data.
Advanced Analytics and Advisory Services: Enhanced its offerings to include advanced analytics and advisory services following its acquisition by Kroll.
Comprehensive Approach to Risk Management: Facilitates a comprehensive approach to identifying, assessing, monitoring, and mitigating risks.
Corporate Security, Compliance, and Incident Management: Provides solutions across various domains, including corporate security, compliance, and incident management.
Global Client Base: Serves clients globally across various industries.
Informed Decision Making: Committed to providing solutions that enable businesses to make informed decisions.
Proactive Risk Management Culture: Aims to foster a proactive risk management culture within organizations.
3.2.9 SAI360
The key features of SAI360 include:
Risk, Compliance, and Sustainability Solutions: Globally recognized provider of solutions in these areas.
Broad Range of Products: Offers a wide array of products designed to improve decision-making and operational efficiencies.
Regulatory Compliance Management: Provides tools for managing regulatory compliance.
Risk Management: Offers solutions for managing various types of risks.
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS): Provides solutions for managing EHS efforts.
Sustainability Efforts: Offers tools for managing sustainability efforts.
Integrated Approach: Enables organizations to adopt a holistic view of risk and compliance.
Culture of Resilience and Ethical Business Practices: Fosters a culture that emphasizes resilience and ethical business practices.
Innovation and Customer Success: Committed to innovation and ensuring customer success.
Support Across Various Industries: Supports organizations across various industries in navigating the complexities of the modern business environment and achieving their sustainability and governance goals.
3.2.10 Secureframe
The key features of Secureframe:
Information Security and Privacy Certifications: Streamlines the process of obtaining and maintaining certifications such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance.
Automated Compliance Workflow: Its platform automates the compliance workflow.
Continuous Monitoring: Offers continuous monitoring tools.
Employee Training: Provides employee training tools.
Policy Management: Offers policy management tools.
Vendor Risk Assessment: Provides vendor risk assessment tools.
Simplifying Compliance: Simplifies the path to compliance, enabling companies to focus on their core business.
Industry Standards and Regulatory Requirements: Ensures that company data and processes meet industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Dedicated to Manageable and Accessible Compliance: Dedicated to making complex compliance processes more manageable and accessible for businesses of all sizes.
4. Risk Management: Future Trends and Impact
4.1 GRC Risk Management Trends
Risk Appetite and Tolerance: Only 33% of organizations have articulated their risk tolerance levels. This understanding is crucial for effective risk management.
Digitally-Transformed GRC: Digital transformation is reshaping GRC with the use of AI tools, GRC platforms, and risk maturity models.
Third-Party Risks: As businesses become more interconnected, managing third-party risks has become a priority.
Non-Financial Risks: Quantifying non-financial risks like reputational or operational risks is increasingly important.
4.2 Impact of GRC on an Organization’s Cybersecurity Posture
Integrated Approach: The need for cybersecurity to be integrated into GRC frameworks has increased due to persistent cyber threats and growing regulations.
Proactive Compliance: Organizations need to maintain regulatory compliance by being aware of updated regulations and emerging risks.
Managing Third-Party Cyber Risks: GRC frameworks are integrating vendor and third-party risk management to evaluate and reduce cyber risks.
Improved Security Posture: By integrating GRC functions, leveraging technology, and staying compliant, organizations can strengthen their cybersecurity posture.
These trends highlight the importance of a holistic approach to GRC and cybersecurity for navigating the digital world, mitigating risks, and ensuring robust cybersecurity.
As we say goodbye to 2024, it’s clear that risk management isn’t just a strategy anymore; it’s a game plan for success. It’s shown us that taking risk isn’t about courting danger but about seizing opportunities. Companies that have jumped on board aren’t just getting by; they’re flourishing, turning what could have been weaknesses into their greatest strengths.
Mixing high-tech risk management tools with a clear vision for the future has opened up new levels of agility and resilience. Businesses have discovered that adaptability and innovative thinking are their most valuable assets during challenging times. The past year has highlighted that in the high-stakes game of risk and reward, the boldest strategies, supported by robust risk management, are the ones that achieve success.
This year has given risk management a makeover, showing us that it’s the bedrock of sustainable growth and a lighthouse guiding us through the choppy waters of global business. The 2024 risk management game plan is a shining example of the power of embracing risk as a stepping-stone to success, setting a new gold standard for years to come
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Data Security
Article | February 12, 2024
Discover data security tools to elevate encryption at all levels and find a comprehensive range of tools to suit various business requirements. Understand data protection priorities and stay informed.
Contents
1. Data Security Tools: The First Line of Defense
2. Better Encryption with Data Security Tools
3. The Encryption Escapade: What Lies Ahead
1. Data Security Tools: The First Line of Defense
Database security software, data center security solutions, data-centric security software, data loss prevention (DLP) software, data masking software, encryption key management software, mobile data security software, and secrets management tools are some examples of data privacy tools that can help prevent unauthorized access, modification, leakage, or destruction of data. These tools help comply with regulatory standards and best practices for data protection. Data security tools are not only important for businesses and organizations but also for individuals who value their privacy and personal information. As new cyberattacks become more sophisticated and frequent, cyber security tools are indispensable for safeguarding one's digital assets and reputation.
However, these tools alone are not enough. They should be supplemented with user education, password hygiene, and backup strategies. Data security is a dynamic concept that requires constant vigilance, updates, and innovation to counteract evolving cyber threats. Investing in the right data security tools is vital to protecting digital assets and reputation. Don't let hackers steal your company’s data; start investing in the right data privacy and protection tools.
2. Better Encryption with Data Security Tools
Data is invaluable in our data-driven world today. Protecting and encrypting it is crucial. Here, we present a list of top-notch encryption and information security software options. They guard against unauthorized access, ensuring a company’s personal or business data stays secure. Dive in and see how these tools make the digital world safer.
Assure Security
Assure Security, a comprehensive IBM i security solution, offers the following features:
Complies with cybersecurity regulations and strengthens IBM i security.
Prevents breaches by detecting, blocking, and alerting to unauthorized access.
Automates and integrates security controls for constant, enterprise-wide visibility into security policy compliance.
Protects privacy against theft and exposure of customer, partner, and employee data with state-of-the-art encryption and anonymization technologies.
Defends against malware and ransomware with robust, multi-layered defenses.
Enforces strict security policies to protect systems and data with effective, automated control over every level and method of access.
Establishes and automates deep, continuous visibility into security issues and generates clear, actionable alerts and reports on IBM i system activity.
Offers a common enterprise monitoring dashboard and scripted failover integration with Precisely’s Assure MIMIX and Assure QuickEDD high availability solutions.
This makes Assure Security an efficient solution for enhancing data security.
Bitdefender GravityZone Datacenter Security
Bitdefender GravityZone Datacenter Security, a comprehensive datacenter security solution, offers the following features:
Enforces security parameters to prevent unauthorized access.
Protects servers, data center infrastructure, and information from a variety of attacks and malware threats.
Provides some level of encryption of information, protecting sensitive data while it exists within the data center.
Facilitates system and network security by identifying and remediating vulnerabilities.
Provides high-quality and wide-scope in-cloud and offline data security capabilities.
Detects unauthorized access and use of privileged systems.
Detects anomalies in functionality, user accessibility, traffic flows, and tampering.
Provides multiple techniques and information sources to alert users of malware occurrences.
Supports compliance with PII, GDPR, HIPPA, PCI, and other regulatory standards.
Provides a centralized console for administration tasks and unified control.
This makes Bitdefender GravityZone Datacenter Security an efficient solution for enhancing data security.
Centripetal CleanINTERNET
Centripetal CleanINTERNET, a comprehensive cybersecurity solution, offers the following features:
Operationalizes threat intelligence from over 250 providers and 10 billion indicators of compromise (IOCs).
Provides real-time protection from every known threat.
Automates enforcement of intelligence based on dynamic policies.
Offers scalable analysis by an elite team of highly skilled intelligence operations analysts.
Provides reporting on key findings of threats, suspicious activity, and historical data.
Reduces the risk of a cyber incident immediately with a flexible and scalable cloud-centric solution.
Applies over 100 billion indicators of compromise from real-time intelligence feeds, which are updated every 15 minutes.
Provides the fastest packet filtering technology on the planet, applying millions of threat intelligence-based rules to incoming and outgoing data streams with zero latency.
This makes Centripetal CleanINTERNET a perfect solution for enhancing data security.
Coro Cybersecurity
Coro Cybersecurity, a comprehensive cybersecurity management platform, offers the following features:
Logs endpoint activity, analyzes anomalies, and automates threat resolution.
Scans and remediates email threats.
Adds military-grade protection to devices.
Secures remote access.
Reduces data breach risk and protects sensitive information.
Detects malware and unusual data requests.
Aligns strategies with policies, streamlines operations, and increases profits.
Offers ease of use, modular nature, and cost-effectiveness.
This makes Coro Cybersecurity an efficient solution for enhancing data security.
Delinea Secret Server
Delinea Secret Server, an enterprise-grade password management solution, offers the following features:
Enhances data security by storing privileged credentials in an encrypted format.
Implements role-based access control.
Integrates with Windows systems for privilege escalation management.
Provides detailed audit logs and reports.
Supports automated password management and multi-factor authentication.
Integrates with tools like Active Directory and Microsoft Azure.
Aligns strategies and operations with established plans and policies.
This leads to improved operations, enhanced security, and increased shareholder value.
Egress Intelligent Email Security
Egress Intelligent Email Security, an AI-powered tool, offers the following features:
Provides a robust defense against advanced threats and reduces human-activated risk.
Features an adaptive security architecture that dynamically adapts policy controls to assess human risk and stop threats.
Uses AI models to detect phishing threats, data loss, and data exfiltration.
Prevents misdirected emails and files, thereby reducing human-activated risk.
Ensures data security with encryption in transit and at rest.
Seamlessly integrates into Microsoft 365 to augment its native security.
Defends against advanced inbound and outbound threats and reduces human-activated risk.
Increases user productivity, reduces the administrative burden, and provides enhanced visibility into threat trends.
This makes Egress Intelligent Email Security an invaluable asset for decision-makers.
FireEye Data Center Security (Trellix)
FireEye Data Center Security, a comprehensive solution to protect an enterprise’s most critical assets in the data center from advanced malware and targeted attacks, offers the following features:
Enforces security parameters to prevent unauthorized access.
Protects servers, data center infrastructure, and information from a variety of attacks and malware threats.
Provides some level of encryption of information, protecting sensitive data while it exists within the data center.
Facilitates system and network security by identifying and remediating vulnerabilities.
Provides high-quality and wide-scope in-cloud and offline data security capabilities.
Detects unauthorized access and use of privileged systems.
Detects anomalies in functionality, user accessibility, traffic flows, and tampering.
Provides multiple techniques and information sources to alert users of malware occurrences.
Supports compliance with PII, GDPR, HIPPA, PCI, and other regulatory standards.
Provides a centralized console for administration tasks and unified control.
This makes FireEye Data Center Security an efficient solution for enhancing data security.
Illumio
Illumio, a comprehensive solution for user behavior analysis and risk mitigation, offers the following features:
Provides visibility into application communication and network protocols.
Blocks specific protocols and attacks.
Offers monitoring capabilities.
Secures organizational data.
Automates policy writing.
Controls inbound and outbound traffic.
Operationalizes threat intelligence from over 250 providers and 10 billion indicators of compromise (IOCs).
Provides real-time protection from every known threat.
Automates enforcement of intelligence based on dynamic policies.
Offers scalable analysis by an elite team of highly skilled intelligence operations analysts.
Provides reporting on key findings of threats, suspicious activity, and historical data.
Reduces the risk of a cyber incident immediately with a flexible and scalable cloud-centric solution.
Applies over 100 billion indicators of compromise from real-time intelligence feeds, which are updated every 15 minutes.
Provides the fastest packet filtering technology on the planet, applying millions of threat- intelligence based rules to incoming and outgoing data streams with zero latency.
These features make Illumio a great tool to enhance data security.
Keyfactor Command
Keyfactor Command, a cloud-based certificate management tool, offers the following features:
Ensures identity security.
Discovers certificates and monitors expiration dates.
Automates certificate deployment, renewals, and revocations.
Offers granular permissions for assigning roles.
Provides templates and custom reports.
Provides visibility, orchestration, and automation across the PKI and certificate landscape.
Prevents outages, reduces risk, and helps meet compliance requirements.
Features advanced multi-OS data loss prevention capability.
This ensures data privacy and regulatory compliance.
LiveRamp
LiveRamp, a data collaboration platform, offers the following features:
Unites data, offering real-time responsiveness and data operations.
Executes data products through micro-databases.
Provides data connectivity.
Offers data validation, cleansing, and dynamic data masking.
Supports various data architectures.
Its unique approach to data management enables organizations to elevate their data.
This makes organizations disruptive and agile in their markets.
Lookout
Lookout, a comprehensive security platform, offers the following features:
Safeguards devices and data from threats across various operating systems.
Provides robust protection against threats on devices and networks.
Ensures safe web browsing by blocking malicious websites.
Protects data during Wi-Fi sessions by detecting unsafe networks.
Scans for personal identity threats and alerts users.
Helps locate lost devices and protect their data.
Provides a secure environment for organizations by protecting against device and network threats, ensuring safe browsing and Wi-Fi sessions, and preventing phishing.
This makes it ideal for companies with a large field workforce.
Netwrix Auditor
Netwrix Auditor, a visibility platform for user behavior analysis and risk mitigation, offers the following features:
Complies with cybersecurity regulations and strengthens IT security.
Prevents breaches by detecting, blocking, and alerting to unauthorized access.
Automates and integrates security controls for constant, enterprise-wide visibility into security policy compliance.
Protects privacy against theft and exposure of customer, partner, and employee data with state-of-the-art encryption and anonymization technologies.
Defends against malware and ransomware with robust, multi-layered defenses.
Enforces strict security policies to protect systems and data with effective, automated control over every level and method of access.
Establishes and automates deep, continuous visibility into security issues and generates clear, actionable alerts and reports on IT system activity.
Offers a common enterprise monitoring dashboard and scripted failover integration with other solutions.
This makes Netwrix Auditor a great tool to enhance data security.
Thales CipherTrust Data Security Platform
Thales CipherTrust Data Security Platform, a comprehensive data security solution, offers the following features:
Enforces security parameters to prevent unauthorized access.
Protects servers, data center infrastructure, and information from a variety of attacks and malware threats.
Provides some level of encryption of information, protecting sensitive data while it exists within the data center.
Facilitates system and network security by identifying and remediating vulnerabilities.
Provides high-quality and wide-scope in-cloud and offline data security capabilities.
Detects unauthorized access and use of privileged systems.
Detects anomalies in functionality, user accessibility, traffic flows, and tampering.
Provides multiple techniques and information sources to alert users of malware occurrences.
Supports compliance with PII, GDPR, HIPPA, PCI, and other regulatory standards.
Provides a centralized console for administration tasks and unified control.
This makes the Thales CipherTrust Data Security Platform ideal for enhancing data security.
TokenEx
TokenEx, a tokenization platform, offers the following features:
Discovers and protects sensitive data from leakage and helps maintain compliance with standards like HIPAA, SOC 2, etc.
Quickly integrates to detect sensitive data in over 100 file types, including images.
Provides a real-time perspective on enterprise operations and data security.
Manages more databases than all cloud vendors combined and supports data architectures like data mesh, data fabric, and data hub.
Provides AI-native data leak prevention capability that automates security tasks and only alerts on critical events.
Virtru
Virtru, a security platform for data privacy, offers the following features:
Email encryption and access control options are available to protect email content and attachments.
Control of shared files to revoke access, expire files, or watermark files.
Audit trails for monitoring access to emails and attachments to track who, when, and where data is accessed.
Data security enhancement and compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, etc.
Secure environment for data sharing across applications such as Gmail, Outlook, Google Drive, etc.
User-friendly interface and seamless integration with applications to make data protection intuitive and easy to adopt.
3. The Encryption Escapade: What Lies Ahead
The process of transforming data into an unintelligible form with encryption that can only be decrypted by authorized parties has witnessed dramatic changes recently. As technology evolves, so does the complexity of encryption algorithms. Some of the emerging trends in encryption technology are homomorphic encryption and post-quantum cryptography. Homomorphic encryption is one of the advanced cryptographic techniques that allows computations on encrypted data without revealing the plaintext, enabling privacy-preserving applications such as cloud computing and machine learning. Post-quantum cryptography aims to secure data against the potential threats and cybersecurity incidents posed by quantum computers, which could break some of the current encryption schemes.
However, these new technologies also face challenges in areas such as efficiency, scalability, standardization, and interoperability. Despite these hurdles, they present opportunities for enhancing data security and fostering innovation in a rapidly changing digital world. Encryption is not only a technical matter but also a social and political one that affects fundamental rights and freedoms. Companies need to keep up with the latest encryption trends and technologies to elevate the overall data security while keeping up with their data resources. Consistent efforts like attending cybersecurity events, keeping on top of data security trends, and referring to a comprehensive data security buyer’s guide are the keys.
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