This blog is part of a series to help organizations of any size optimize their security. Our experts provide insights and recommendations based on common security use cases, customer questions, and security software developer needs.
Assess. Address. Repeat. This is key for mitigating cyber risks such as malware and ransomware in any industry and for any organization. Surprisingly, regularly assessing for risks is not always prioritized because it can be tedious, repetitive, and time consuming for security teams that are stretched thin and often face competing priorities.
While assessments and health checks of cybersecurity technology and processes may not be able to stop every threat, they help identify and stop possible security vulnerabilities and gaps and go a long way towards keeping your environment secure.
Why should assessments be a regular part of your security operations?
Identifying potential vulnerabilities through assessments helps organizations prioritize security investments, identify gaps in security coverage, and improve their overall security posture. Reasons to include assessments as part of any security program include:
- Cyber threats are constantly evolving as threat actors are becoming more organized and sophisticated with their attack practices.
- Security compliance requirements for some industries necessitate regular assessments to meet legal, compliance, or industry standards.
- Critical risks to information systems and data can form over time as technology is updated, replaced, or changed.
- Third-party vendors may make changes that need to be continuously assessed to ensure continued vigilance and to mitigate new security gaps.
- Regular reviews of incident response plans and playbooks can help organizations maintain staff’s knowledge of protocols and processes in the event of a breach, threat, or attack.
- Maintaining a strong security posture helps organizations build trust and a positive reputation with customers and employees.
Regularly assessed cybersecurity controls are critical for the overall identification and management of risk and to help organizations maintain a strong security posture.
What are the areas that should be assessed regularly in any technology environment?
Assessments should look for a range of security measures and practices to help protect against cyber threats. The following are key areas to include in assessments.
- Access controls: Authentication and authorization controls must be configured through a mature identity and access management program based on Zero Trust practices to limit access to data and systems with the principle of least privilege.
- Network and system security: Unauthorized access must be mitigated through firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, VPNs, proxies, and encryption for data in transit and at rest.
- Incident response and disaster recovery: Plans and procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents must be realistic, documented, tested, and communicated with staff often to maintain knowledge and vigilance.
- Data protection: The processes that ensure the protection of sensitive data and encryption, data storage, and data backup and recovery – including the proper configuration and diligence for common breach points such as application programming interfaces (APIs).
- Vendor risk management: Managing risk by ensuring third-party vendor due diligence, contract review, and ongoing monitoring.
- Employee training and awareness: Ongoing training program for employees that communicates security policies and best practices.
- Compliance: Adherence to regulatory and industry security requirements and standards such as those outlined by ISO 27001, NIST, and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
Assessments can also help organizations monitor attack surface expansion and prioritize preparedness processes for possible breaches or ransomware attacks.
What are some vulnerabilities that may go undetected without regular assessments?
Everyday operations may not provide regular opportunities to discover security gaps. Assessments help organizations mitigate vulnerabilities that may otherwise continue in their systems undetected.
- Zero-day vulnerabilities are those that haven’t yet been discovered or patched by software vendors and are exploited by threat actors through unusual behaviors or patterns.
- Misconfigurations such as weak access controls, improperly set permissions, open ports, default configurations, or copied code or APIs.
- Hidden malware or backdoors such as malicious scripts provide unauthorized access or facilitate unauthorized activities.
- Insider threats such as malicious or negligent actions by employees or other authorized individuals within an organization with suspicious user behaviors or data exfiltration.
- Vulnerable third-party integrations such as insecure APIs, improper data handling, or weak security controls.
- Social engineering weaknesses such as susceptibility to phishing and employee awareness of and adherence to security policies.
Who should perform security assessments for my organization?
Regular assessments should be provided by an outside vendor to provide objectivity and an unbiased perspective that’s not influenced by internal politics or preconceived ideas.
The specialized expertise an outside vendor brings can help expedite the assessment process since they often have experience working with organizations across different sectors and have insights into common vulnerabilities and emerging threats.
In addition, some compliance and regulatory standards require that assessments be performed by a third party for the reasons above.
Learn more about security for your unique environment
If you’re not sure about your security posture or the level of vulnerability in your organization’s IT environment, a security assessment can help you develop a clear view of your current state and the possible remediations needed. You can also rehearse real-time scenarios and threat-hunting through our Cyber Defense Simulation service. Visit the Professional Services for Security resources section for overviews of the different types of assessments available, and contact us at [email protected] to learn more.
For more support, read the other blogs in this series which include tips for building up cybersecurity skills, a review of the cybersecurity mesh architecture framework, and practical ways to secure APIs.
