More often than not, companies take a reactive approach to security compliance as opposed to a proactive one. Reactive security compliance can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor that also puts the organization at risk. Reacting to an audit notice or security breach is not a sustainable or effective way to run your security team. Security breaches have endless negative connotations that can drive away loyal customers while also damaging your brand. To move from reactive to proactive, there are a few steps organizations can take.
Regular Employee Training
The only way to be sure your employees are aware of security best practices is to teach them yourself. Employee security training can remind employees of how sensitive some of the data they work with is and make sure each and every person is taking the necessary steps to keep that sensitive data private. Regular security awareness training can prevent employee slip-ups, lost credentials, and successful phishing attacks. It can also reduce your risk and insurance premiums. If you aren’t already, start requiring security awareness training on a quarterly basis.
Compliance Requirements
Stay on top of new compliance requirements for all the industries and sectors your work touches. To ensure your organization has the latest security controls and that they’re effective, a process should be in place for monitoring and executing updates. Especially if you work with government agencies or in healthcare, cybersecurity compliance is no joke. Create a schedule for regular compliance guideline reviews and a process plan for updates.
Regular Audits
Instead of waiting for your mandatory audit, put in a regular security auditing process with an outside party. A third party can shine needed light on your current security posture, assess how you meet compliance regulations, and identify critical areas of improvement. Getting this audit completed before you face fines or other repercussions is the smart way to prepare.
Continuous Monitoring
Security teams should already have or at least be exploring continuous monitoring solutions. This should be to monitor the network, systems, applications, and devices facing the internet. Understanding your full security picture can help prevent potential threats.
Regular Risk Assessments
Secure companies have a process and schedule in place for regularly assessing their risks to identify vulnerabilities across the organization. Sometimes you have to play hacker to truly see the vulnerabilities in your security infrastructure. A risk assessment can identify your weaknesses and allow you to patch them before somebody else takes advantage.
A proactive approach to security compliance, rather than reactive, can significantly reduce an organization’s chance of a security breach, improve security posture, save your team time, and even reduce insurance premiums. In addition, an organization can expect greater productivity from their team, focusing on the things that matter most instead of chasing fires. This leads to better security because companies can then address actual risks facing their organizations. Reactive security will leave your teams stressed and scrambling, and will definitely hurt your wallet. Be proactive and see how TCecure can help protect your assets today!
