Cybercriminals aren’t known for putting their feet up on a desk and deciding they’ve done enough. They’re constantly finding new ways to infiltrate organizations, whether it’s through malware, ransomware, social engineering, phishing or something else.
Cybercrime isn’t static, and you shouldn’t be, either. Let’s dig into why your organization should be continually improving its security posture.
What Is Security Posture?
Your security posture is your overall approach to cybersecurity. It’s how well your organization can identify and respond to threats. It encompasses:
- Network security.
- Data security.
- Internet security.
- Vendor risk management.
- Vulnerability management.
- Employee awareness and training.
It may encompass much more, depending on your industry.
Even organizations with great security posture can have blind spots. While your organization may have good security posture, it’s possible you’ve taken a piecemeal approach to security, and haven’t taken a step back to look at the big picture.
What’s Your Security Posture?
Maybe you’re aware of security holes or weak spots in your security posture – or maybe you’re one of the lucky few whose organization’s security posture has them sleeping like a baby.
Either way, there’s room for improvement.
On average, cybersecurity programs actively protect only about 60% of an organization’s business ecosystem. That’s a problem, because 40% of security breaches are indirect, meaning they come through supply chains and other weak links. So you might feel secure, but how do you feel about your vendors? Your partners? Your customers?
What about your visibility into your network? Do you know exactly what devices and applications you have on your network? How long would it take to find out?
Your security posture should be multi-layered, addressing every aspect of cybersecurity to minimize threats.
Even if you feel confident about your security posture, there may be areas worth reassessing and strengthening, and there’s always room for optimization. Cybersecurity isn’t something you start and finish; it’s a continual cycle of assessment, implementation, monitoring and analysis.
If you feel less than confident about your security posture, that’s okay too. Everyone has to start somewhere. There are smaller, more immediate steps you can kick off with, and more thorough processes and implementations you can plan for to create a holistic long-term security plan.
Assessing Your Security Posture
Curious to see how your security posture stacks up? We’ve developed a short security posture quiz. It’s based on our 20+ years of experience in IT security and consulting. We’ve seen the challenges organizations face when trying to build a security framework, and we know how to help.
Ready to find out where you stand? Take our quick assessment to find out.