You’ve taken many steps to mitigate security risks for your organization. From using firewalls to ensuring that patches and updates are done on time and that antivirus software is running on all workstations, these steps help to prevent attacks and malicious software. But what are the most important policies and procedures to implement in your organization now?
Information security isn’t static. It’s not a once-and-done sort of thing. Emerging threats, changes in attacker behavior, and even things like geopolitical instability can and will increase your organization’s risk level. The right policies and procedures can help.
Apply Policies and Procedures Learned from COVID-19 Immediately
Few companies faced the COVID-19-enforced shift to remote work with equanimity. The reality for many was a frantic scramble to identify new tools, to address shortcomings, and to create redundancies in third-party systems. It’s important to take those lessons to heart – COVID-19 won’t be the last external threat to affect your organization. This includes making BYOD security policies mandatory moving forward.
Pay Attention to Product Security
Leading into this year, attackers exploited security vulnerabilities in several products, ranging from Ring home security systems to Ford’s onboard automotive computer system. Policies and procedures can be implemented to help reduce this risk to your brand by understanding the full attack surface offered by your products or services.
Be Prepared for the Impact of Climate Change
As the climate continues to change more rapidly, organizations must prepare for new risks. This ranges from data center disruption to logistics challenges, workforce distribution, and more. A climate change adaptation strategy is vital, but it’s also important to assess your organization’s risks in different scenarios. Finally, put a policy in place that supports sustainability with a focus on mitigating these risks over the long-term.
Realize You’re at Risk with All Third Parties
Third-party relationships are vital. They’re also fraught with risk. Understand that any security risk that a third party supplier experiences also affects your organization. It’s a cascade – these systems are interconnected and interdependent, so what affects one will affect all. To deal with this, you must first get a grip on all the third-party relationships within your organization. Next, dig deeper. You will ideally go two levels down in terms of those third parties’ third parties, as the risks continue to cascade across the entire spectrum. Finally, adopt a zero-trust policy when it comes to all third-party risk.
Know How New Tech Will Affect Your Organization
Technology is amazing. It’s also incredibly dangerous, particularly when new technology is adopted untried and untested for its impact on your organization. Create policies here that stipulate any emerging tech that might be adopted should be fully researched and vetted first. It’s also important to keep bureaucracy to a minimum, as it will stifle innovation.
These are just a few examples of the policies and procedures that should be in place to help protect your organization against current and emerging threats, as well as long-term risk. The right IT provider can offer end-to-end solutions based on your unique needs, budget, and risk profile.
