Cybersecurity – Is a holistic approach enough!

The global average cost of a data breach increased by 10% in 2021, reaching USD 4.2 million, up from $3.8 million in 2020, according to the Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021 released by IBM and the Ponemon Institute.

To counter a perennial threat over the shoulder, cybersecurity needs a holistic approach that encompasses risk assessment, implementation of the right measures, combined with effective monitoring and remediation tactics.

A key trend being observed across organizations and industries today is creating cybersecurity programs and policies with a holistic approach. In a dynamic world that’s under continual flux due to threats and attacks, several organizations are spending huge money on a wide range of activities like capability building, external advisors, and control systems to counter cyber risks. However, they lack an integrated approach to building and monitoring/managing cyber risk resilient infrastructure and ignore a very important aspect of human threat.

Moving away from the traditional approach

The IT team and tools deployed cannot be responsible for the safeguarding of the digital assets of the organization. A cybersecurity plan needs to be in place backed by a strategy. One that covers the gamut of people, processes, and technology cyberattack challenges could be experienced from any corner.

As we move into the 4th industrial revolution, connectivity and digitization will continue to blitzkrieg at a frenetic pace. The technological progress also ushers bigger security challenges across multiple occasions and impacts.

Traditionally, cybersecurity began with an antivirus program that escalated into a range of software programs that could arrest possible malware attacks. Unfortunately, technology and attacks have both grown in intensity and complexity.

A holistic approach is the need of the hour. An effective and powerful approach that can circumvent typical gaps that organizations face:

• A robust overview of key performance indicators as well as risk indicators.
• A report that fails to clearly outline implications of the organization’s risk status. Technical jargon must be avoided so that senior executives assimilate the risk scenarios comfortably.

Departments within the same company can have a different understanding and use several assessments to evaluate multiple aspects of cyber risk. Adopting a holistic approach shifts the needle from cybersecurity towards cyber resilience.

This approach commences through an accurate overview of the risk landscape—a governing principle that requires accurate risk reporting. This enables the organization to focus its defense on the most critical risk scenarios and strike a balance between effective resilience and efficient operations. Tight controls are applied only to the most crucial assets.

The holistic approach can be executed across three phases:

Risk Assessment:

Together with the top management the chief risk and information security officers create a list of critical assets, known risks, and potential new risks. In conjunction with this effort, top management and the board establish the organization’s appetite for the risks that have been identified.

Once the risks and threats have been identified, internal and external experts need to evaluate each risk with regards to the likelihood of occurrence and potential impact, including, as applicable, regulatory, reputational, operational, and financial impact.

Implementation of Measures:

Once risks have been identified and prioritized according to likelihood and impact, the risk owners and the risk function should work together to create an overview of all initiatives undertaken to mitigate the top cyber risks. Implementing the right solutions with an integrated approach is the key to having effective secured infrastructure.

Monitoring and Remediation:

One of the most important instruments is to continuously monitor the security and risk measures to provide assurance and identify any potential attacks. Building a resilient cyber-safe infrastructure is about having the right strategies for attack identification and remediation.

Allied Digital Services is a leading player when it comes to building and managing cyber-resilient infrastructure for its customers. It can holistically discover and identify gaps within the tech-security posture by deploying cybersecurity frameworks that exceed industry benchmarks.

The author Amit Kulkarni is Executive Vice President – Cybersecurity at Allied Digital Services