IBM Security has released its organizational cyber resiliency report for 2020. This year’s report, based on research from the Ponemon Institute is based on a survey of IT and cybersecurity experts from around the world. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) defines cyber resiliency as a merging of systems engineering, resilience engineering, and systems security. Its goal is to develop systems with the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to an increasingly hostile cyber environment.
Key Takeaways from the Cyber Resilient Organization Report
IBM’s organizational cyber resiliency report is an extremely detailed analysis of the current situation. There are however, many key takeaways that can provide guidance for businesses attempting to critical cyber concerns.
Cybersecurity Incident Response Plans
Most organizations surveyed had suffered business disruptions during the last two years. While it’s impossible to thwart every attack a well developed plan can greatly mitigate the effects. Because the amount of cyber threats has markedly grown, many organizations have implemented Cybersecurity Incident Response Plans (CSIRP). Effective CSIRPs involve all levels of an enterprises. They include regular reporting to C suite stakeholders and incorporate regular reviews. This is consistent with a well developed Information Security Management System (ISMS) such as ISO 27001 or NIST 800-171.
Automated Tools for Cybersecurity
Most participants reported that they had accomplished better resilience by employing automation tools. Organizations that noted effectiveness used more than 20 tools when investigating or responding to a cybersecurity incidents. While these tools can provide security, organizations that used too many tools (over 50) reduced their effectiveness. These tools included technologies such as analytics, automation, AI, and machine learning.
Improved Cloud Service Implementation
More than two-thirds of companies in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States and Canada sited value in the the use of cloud services. These included organizations in healthcare, retail, and public sectors. The leading reasons given for improvement due to cloud services were the benefits of leveraging a distributed environment, economies of scale, and availability of service level agreements.
It is important to note however, that poorly configured cloud services can severely endanger an organizations data security. About a third of respondents reported negative results from investing in cloud services.
Sharing of Threat Intelligence
While a majority of participants agree that sharing intelligence with government and industry peers provides benefit, most do not share information. Among reasons given were a lack of resources and cost.
CVG Strategy Cybersecurity Consulting
CVG Strategy cybersecurity consultants can help you tailor and implement effective CSIRPs that:
- Incorporate all sectors of an enterprise.
- Provide reporting to and participation of executives.
- Identify top threats to your specific industry and assess risks.
- Develop accelerated responses to specific attack types.
- Optimize the implementation of automated technologies.
- Incorporate regular reviews for evaluation and process improvements.
Contact Us today to see how our team of experts can bring their extensive experience to improve your cybersecurity processes on time and on budget.