Your company's network security is at risk. How can you prevent major issues from affecting your boss?

Assess the risk , Analyze impact To mitigate risks, lock down individual access rights by defining roles, templating access privileges and implementing zero-trust controls. Also monitor for dormant identities, overly permissive accounts, shared passwords and service account sprawl. Awareness makes your people awareness about recent cyber security frauds and keep them updated about best practices Perform risk treatment like: (a) Identify appropriate controls for treatment of risk ; (b) take approval from senior management for implementation of identified security controls; (c) over- see implementation of information security controls.

1) Assess the vulnerability, exposure risk and current compensatory controls in place. 2) Engage and increase visibility on risk tagged assets with appropriate use case scenarios in SIEM, SOAR. 3) Ensure current security configurations on the vulnerable perimeter devices are best suited to your environment, brand and business critical corporate data transactions. 4) Align parallel security layers while remediation of vulnerabilities in place. 5) Ensure that all business and organization stakeholders are notified of the vulnerability and controls to fix the same.

To strengthen the network security, it's smart to start with a risk assessment. Think of it like taking inventory of what’s most important to the company—what data and systems are crucial for keeping things running smoothly. Then, figure out what kinds of threats could potentially target those assets. This means understanding where the sensitive information is stored and checking how well it's currently being protected. From there, take a look at the existing security measures to protect these data. Are they actually protecting against the risks you’ve identified? This way, you can spot any weak points and decide where to focus your efforts. It’s all about prioritizing what needs attention most.

Prioritize the risks based on likelihood and make strategic decision to minimize or reduce the impact and potential losses. Ensures that you remain proactive and well-prepared.

Training your staff is one of the most effective defenses against cyber threats. By tailoring training to specific risks, using real-world simulations, fostering a culture of awareness, and promoting strong password hygiene, you can empower employees to recognize and respond to attacks. Regular updates, interactive learning, and a no-blame reporting culture reinforce this knowledge, turning your workforce into a powerful line of defense. With continuous education and support, your employees become proactive allies in safeguarding your organization against evolving cyber risks.

Awareness training is incredibly important but should not be the 'fix'. If a user is capable of clicking a link and taking down your entire infrastructure, it's not the fault of the the user who clicked the link, its your infrastructure for being less resilient

Cyber Security is everyone's responsibility but our teams should be made aware about the responsibility and also trained on how to react in case of any incident. Incident Reporting and Response should be made very clear at each levels of hierarchy. People and Technology should go hand-in-hand to improve the prevention and protection of Assets

Absolutely! Training staff is the frontline defense against cyber threats, transforming employees from potential targets into vigilant defenders. With cybercriminals becoming more sophisticated, it's crucial for everyone to be aware of phishing schemes and other deceptive tactics. By regularly training your team to spot suspicious emails, unusual links, and odd requests, you reduce the risk of a costly breach. Encouraging strong password hygiene and fostering a culture of proactive cybersecurity awareness turns your workforce into a human firewall. This not only protects sensitive data but also strengthens the overall security posture of your organization.

Patch Management should be built in the process for Infrastructure and Software Teams. Effective Patch management process can prevent 70% - 80% of the attacks for the known vulnerabilities and thereby reducing the attack surface

Updating software and applying patches are critical in defending against cyber threats. Patches fix security vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit, while updates often improve functionality and address newly discovered risks. Without timely updates, systems become easy targets for cybercriminals, increasing the risk of data breaches, malware, and unauthorized access. Regular updates are essential for maintaining a secure and resilient network.

It's important to be aware of how each patch and update effects critical infrastructure, as well as recognize and evaluate what old vulnerabilities are being fixed and what new ones may be introduced.

Having a strong CTI program allows us to: - Prioritise the systems update based on vulnerability with higher risk. - Tailor patch management based on the organisation's risk profile to address the most pressing security issues with high impact on the network. - Identify vulnerabilities that are used by hackers, related to the organisation and monitor them closely. - Provide temporary controls for a zero-day vulnerability until a patch is provided by the vendor. A proactive approach is key to avoid breaches on the network.

Patching and vulnerability monitoring are key aspects to prevent compromised systems caused by exploited vulnerabilities. Monitoring (as part of Vulnerability Management) of the vulnerable software packages, evaluation of the threats (based on CVE and CVSS), and patch delivery/installation shall be a continous process.

Monitoring access is vital for maintaining security, as it helps ensure only authorised individuals can enter sensitive areas or systems. By keeping a close watch on who has access and when, organisations can quickly detect unusual or unauthorised activities, reducing the risk of insider threats or data breaches. It's a key element in safeguarding critical information and maintaining compliance with security policies.

It is important to not only audit who has access but also *what* as there is a growing number of cloud services using RESTful or SOAP APIs to replicate sensitive data. It should also be important to make clear the security process is an on-going process that *attempts* to mitigate risk but should never be treated as "assured" security. As to MFA, with the increase in phishing attacks it should be stated that products that directly or indirectly support FIDO based authentication should be the long term goal of more organizations.

La implementación de controles de acceso rigurosos es fundamental para proteger los datos confidenciales y asegurar que solo las personas autorizadas accedan a la información necesaria para cumplir sus funciones. El uso de autenticación multifactor (AMF) añade una capa adicional de seguridad que es crucial en entornos donde las amenazas cibernéticas son cada vez más sofisticadas. Además, es recomendable utilizar herramientas de monitoreo continuo que permitan detectar cualquier intento de acceso no autorizado, tanto interno como externo, lo que ayuda a mitigar riesgos de amenazas internas.

CTI can provide valuable insights to strengthen access monitoring. - It keeps the organisation updated on the TTPs that allow hackers to bypass access control. - It provides context on who may target the organisation's network, potential insiders, and compromised accounts. - It also helps to detect unusual login attempts or access patterns. Nowadays we must adopt a poractive approach in monitoring access.

Access monitoring is core to avoid any kind of unauthorized access, and shoud be a basic and basic process one of the pillars of cyber security process

Incident response is crucial in cybersecurity, as it allows organisations to quickly react to security breaches or attacks. By having a well-structured response plan, you can minimise damage, reduce downtime, and recover more efficiently. It ensures that threats are contained, investigated, and mitigated promptly, helping to protect valuable data and maintain business continuity. A swift and effective response is key to limiting the impact of cyber incidents.

La planificación y preparación para la respuesta a incidentes es un componente crítico en cualquier estrategia de ciberseguridad. Un plan bien diseñado no solo detalla los pasos para identificar, contener y erradicar una amenaza, sino que también establece protocolos claros de comunicación y notificación, tanto dentro como fuera de la organización. Esto asegura que las partes interesadas, incluido el liderazgo, estén informadas en todo momento. Además de los pasos para mitigar el impacto de un incidente, es fundamental que el plan de respuesta incluya pruebas regulares, como simulaciones de ciberataques, para garantizar que el equipo esté preparado para actuar de manera rápida y efectiva.

Reacting to an incident in a structured way is important. The incident response plan allows for quick detection, containment, communication, and recovery after the incident. However, the post-incident activity is equally important, as addressing feedback and issues raised during the incident helps refine and improve the plan. A plan is always iterative, and perfection does not exist, which is why it is important to take into account all issues during the incident (documentation, communication, tools, updates)

It is essential to have a structured response plan in place: 1. Preparation: Develop a response plan, train the team, and establish communication channels. 2. Identification: Detect and report incidents such as suspicious activity and system alerts. 3. Containment: Isolate affected systems and prevent further damage. 4. Eradication: Remove malware and restore systems. 5. Recovery: Restore data and return to normal operations. 6. Post-Incident: Conduct lessons learned and improve the response plan. Regularly review and update the plan. A solid communication plan is crucial to safeguard your organization's reputation and trust. This includes both internal and external communication with customers, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies.

Incident response is part of the risk analisys, there is risk detection and treatment without risk analisys. The analisys of the risk will grant that the it security team is able to do a incident response From backup, to restoring user pc and data, grant that the data is with Cypher to grant the confidentiality. Incident response is crucial to try to grant that all possible attack scenarios are covered

Secure connections such as VPNs and SSL are essential for encrypting data in transit, and preventing unauthorized access or interception. VPNs create secure tunnels for remote access, protecting sensitive information when working offsite. SSL ensures encrypted connections between web servers and clients, securing online transactions. These technologies help maintain data confidentiality and integrity. By reducing the risk of breaches, they play a crucial role in protecting sensitive communications and maintaining trust within the network.

A secure network connection is vital to protect data from being intercepted or compromised. For example, in public Wi-Fi settings, such as coffee shops, unencrypted connections can expose sensitive information like login credentials or financial details to hackers. Using secure methods, like a VPN or encrypted networks, ensures that data remains protected, preventing unauthorised access and safeguarding privacy. Without this, both personal and business information can be at serious risk.

El uso de conexiones seguras, como TLS (sucesor de SSL), es clave para proteger los datos en tránsito frente a interceptaciones. Además, en redes públicas o no seguras, es recomendable usar VPN para asegurar la información. Implementar y actualizar estas medidas de cifrado es esencial para mantener la seguridad de la red.

Data communication doesn't end at the network edge. This means data transfer to external and internal network entities needs to be protected to achieve: C - confidentiality: Only legitimate communication partners can read/decrypt transfered information. This will be achieved by applying secure ciphersuites in TLS/SSL with strong encryption algorithms. I - integrity; All data has to be protected against modifications. Peers can detect modified data based on modern HMAC or Authentic Encryption (AEAD) algorithms and drop any modified packages. A - Authenticity Peers have to be authentic. Is the communication peer trusted? This can be achieved by digital certificates and root of trust. Mutual authentication shall be used, if applicaple.