Every business and IT leader is eager to minimize risk for their organization. Investing in great insurance, establishing a quality assurance program or diversifying your products and services can help safeguard the future of the business.
However, even if you do all these things, cybersecurity remains a huge area of risk. If your technology is outdated, poorly maintained or lacking support, your whole enterprise is in danger.
Fortunately, cybersecurity risk management is one area of support you can count on from managed service providers like Tech Squared.
How Cyber Risk Impacts Your Business
While mitigating any area of risk for your business is essential, cybersecurity risk management is particularly critical. Here’s why.
Older methods are no longer sufficient to prevent an attack
In the past, many organizations relied on firewalls and anti-virus software to feel secure.
Now, cybercriminals can bypass these traditional protections with something as simple as a malicious link in an email that can infiltrate an entire network.
The average cost of a breach in 2022 sits at $4.35 million
That cost includes everything from a ransom to incident response costs. However, it can be difficult to truly project the effect of a breach on future revenue, as the reputational damage and broken trust of customers can have far-reaching impacts that hamper prospective growth.
Ongoing risk can cause compliance issues
If your business is subject to compliance regulations or laws, ongoing cybersecurity risks can put you in danger of non-compliance. This could trigger consequences including:
- Fines and financial penalties
- Lawsuits
- Reputational damage
Take These 4 Steps to Implement a Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy
While solving issues related to cybersecurity risk management may feel complex, there is a reliable process that can help you mitigate risks and feel more secure.
1. Identify
It’s challenging to develop a solution without first recognizing the problem areas. The first step in any risk mitigation strategy is identifying risks across your entire IT landscape.
Go through your technology practices and tools with a fine-tooth comb to identify areas that could negatively affect the business either now or in the future. This makes it easier to build a plan of attack.
2. Assess
Once your team has developed a list of potential cybersecurity risks, the next step is to assess them, then determine their severity and how they could impact your organization in the future.
3. Control
After your team has thoroughly assessed potential cybersecurity risks, develop accurate methods or measures of control.
This step typically involves working with stakeholders across the company, as well as IT experts who can offer advice and support on policies that minimize risk moving forward.
4. Review
Periodically review and update your policies and practices for controlling risk.
Best practices in cybersecurity are continually changing and innovating, and your approach should be reviewed at least once a year to ensure it continues to offer the protection your business needs to thrive.
How Managed Cybersecurity Helps Mitigate Risk
Most cyber risks are hard to spot and missing them could spell trouble.
Mitigating cybersecurity risk is a complex task that requires expertise and experience
That’s why many companies choose to work with a professional organization offering managed cybersecurity services.
Working with the Tech Squared team can help eliminate vulnerabilities, including those you didn’t even know about. We continually test and monitor your system to identify any potential threats before they can be exploited.
From there, we work closely with your internal team to address those issues and eliminate threats that could compromise your organizational security and success.