why cybersecurity?
Employees are the first line of cyber security defense within any organization. Clear and concise cybersecurity-related policies and standards must be created and followed in any organization. Developing policies and standards is critical to a successful cybersecurity program. The cybersecurity world terms assets for the things to be protected. Assets are the individual systems, entire process or intellectual property. Even employees and facilities of the organization can be termed as assets. So the first step is always to identify and create the list of assets. After that, a classification of importance must be assigned. Performing a risk assessment helps in this.
Various steps to go through
Based on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the asset, the rating is done. Thus accomplishes the risk assessment. It is crucial to clearly define the different levels of importance to ensure that the asset is evaluated objectively. To create policy, try to understand from an objective point of view how critical each asset is to the overall success of the organization. This defines how to protect assets. The availability and integrity of an asset can be a vital component to the safe operation of equipment in control systems. When performing an evaluation, safety concern is a must to consider.
After assigning a level of importance to each asset within the organization comes the next step. An understanding of threats those assets might face must be developed. Hacktivists, malware, espionage or data exfiltration are the common threats. Other commonly overlooked possibilities can be a disgruntled employee, natural disasters or power failures. After the identification of threat, the next step is to try to understand their likelihood. The organization should build policies and standards to protect against the threat most likely to occur.
Threats identified and prioritized once assets are documented and classified. The next step is to create the policies and standards detailing how the organization will protect against those threats. Logically categorize and group the security controls. Similar security controls should be grouped together in one policy. Developed policies define in detail those the organization wishes to achieve. Specific password length/complexity or backup frequency and backup retention targets are examples. Then creates the standards or procedure documents. It defines exactly how the organization wishes to achieve the objectives of its policies.
From an operational standpoint, it is important to keep policies and procedures separate. In many organizations, upper management should approve changes to the policy, whereas procedures or standards do not. By following these basic steps in place, you will be more prepared to develop a successful cybersecurity program within your organization.
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