Gone are the days when businesses could get away with antivirus programs and firewalls as their prime defences against cyber threats. Today, defending against these risks requires a more comprehensive approach capable of scaling alongside cybercriminals and their evolving tactics.
Modern businesses need to constantly measure the effectiveness of their security controls to pinpoint potential vulnerabilities, system weaknesses, compliance matters, and other issues. Establishing the effectiveness of security controls is always a walk in the park.
In addition, company leaders are interested in understanding more than just how these tools mitigate cyber security risks. They want to learn the value the security solutions deliver and whether they provide enough ROI to foster continued use.
Why You Need to Measure Security Controls
Cyber-attacks, such as scams and viruses, can cause devastating damage to businesses. Therefore, it makes sense to protect your organisation’s data, customer, and employee information. Risk management teams across various industries have been prompted to implement security controls to keep their systems in check.
Moreover, it’s almost impossible to avoid the web when doing business in today’s modern world. For this reason, business leaders implement safety protocols to monitor and protect confidential material. So how do you evaluate the effectiveness of these security solutions in reducing the chances of your business data being accessed by unapproved people? Here are a few tips for measuring security controls.
Understand the Effectiveness of Automation
Automating your security systems can help reduce false alarms and remediate cyber threats. Furthermore, automated tools can capture attack information from various sources and send it to a single dashboard for evaluation.
This helps to rectify specific threats before even reaching a defender. Subsequently, automation improves incident response, allowing instant detection of threats so they can be prevented from spreading across the network.
Monitor Incident Response Outcomes
One of the reasons why businesses evaluate security effectiveness is to understand if their security systems work. The best way to know this is by tracking incidents, documenting response times and outcomes, and assessing the response.
Incidents occur in different forms; maybe a company computer has been corrupted, the server has been attacked, or a worker is locked out of their email account. Once an incident is reported to the management reporting teams, it should be immediately assessed to establish a more robust protocol to avoid such risks in the future.
Conduct Security Audits against Company Servers
Running a cybersecurity audit on your business will help detect any vulnerabilities or weak points in the server that cyber attackers can exploit. Many cybercriminals use malware tricked as web links or emails to manipulate data or get unauthorised access to an organisation’s server. Cybersecurity audits are fake attacks on your company, often run by the risk management team to pinpoint entry points and remedy weak areas.
Conduct Employee Training
Most successful cyber-attacks are associated with employee errors. While employees are an excellent resource for the company’s safety and security, they are the most vulnerable if they lack proper knowledge. Hackers exploit naïve, unsuspecting victims to get their way to servers or networks. Employee training is a great way to empower your team and reduce these vulnerabilities.
Bottom Line
Prevention has always been better than cure. Cyber threats these days don’t just focus on big companies. Every business is at risk, so it’s essential to implement appropriate protections and have the necessary resources to measure their efficacy.
If you wish to learn more about information security consultation, we are ready to assist you at Next Practice. We will provide the best in class coaching and consulting services to help your business grow exponentially. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with our team of professionals.
