A Complete Guide to

Cybersecurity
Table of Contents
Introductioniii

Getting Started With Cybersecurity 1

What is Cybersecurity? 2

Why is Cybersecurity Important?  4

What is Cybersecurity Risk?  5

Most Common Types of Cyber Threats 7

Most Important Cybersecuirty Regulations,

Frameworks, & Compliance Standards 16

How Organizations Can Implement a

Cybersecurity Program 20

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Introduction
This eBook aims to help businesses and organizations understand the importance
of cybersecurity, why the cybersecurity industry is transforming quickly, and how
it impacts many parts of our lives. The goal of this guide is to help businesses
prioritize cybersecurity and learn how they can create an effective cybersecurity
program and protect themselves from potential threats.

For more information on all cybersecurity topics, visit www.upguard.com for

downloadable resources, free instant security ratings, and a free demonstration of
how to begin improving your organization’s cybersecurity posture.

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Getting Started with
Cybersecurity

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

What is
Cybersecurity?

$8T
Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing field that
aims to protect the digital world (computer
systems, networks, mobile devices) and
its data from cyber attacks. In today's
world, technology has become an essential Global cost of cybercrime is
part of our lives, and the amount of data projected to reach $8 trillion by
and information stored and transmitted 2023.1
online has increased exponentially. The
increased reliance on technology has made
it necessary to secure our systems and
data from cyber threats such as hacking,
malware, phishing, ransomware, and other

$4.35M
forms of cybercrime.

The goal of cybersecurity is to ensure

sensitive and critical data remain private
and safe. To do this, both technical
and non-technical measures must be Average global cost of a data breach

implemented using various practices is $4.35 million.2

or technology to ensure the security of

digital assets. Security measures must be
implemented at various levels, including
at the network, endpoint, data, and
application levels.

The non-technical side of cybersecurity

focuses on measures such as implementing
cyber education, creating new security
policies, and building incident response
and disaster recovery plans.

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

277 days
These measures are important to ensure
that everyone is aware of the latest cyber
threats and that they are properly equipped
to respond appropriately to any security
breach. It takes businesses an average of 277
days to respond and contain a data
Because of the growing importance of data breach.3
security and privacy, cybersecurity has
become central to new regulations and
laws for organizations and governments
around the world. Cyber compliance
management is quickly becoming a
priority for many organizations across all

33B
industries, indicating the importance of
maintaining strong cybersecurity practices.

An estimated 33 billion records will

be stolen in 2023.4

1
Cybersecurity Ventures, “Cybercrime To Cost
The World 8 Trillion Annually In 2023” https://
cybersecurityventures.com/cybercrime-to-cost-the-
world-8-trillion-annually-in-2023/

2
IBM, “Cost of a data breach 2022” https://www.ibm.
com/reports/data-breach

3
IBM, “Cost of a data breach 2022” https://www.ibm.
com/reports/data-breach

4
Juniper Research, “Cybersecurity Breaches to
Result in Over 146 Billion Records Being Stolen by
2023” https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/
cybersecurity-breaches-to-result-in-over-146-bn

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

Why is Cybersecurity Important?

Cybersecurity is important because it focuses on protecting and securing all
categories of data from theft, damage, and unauthorized access. The increasing
dependence on technology and the internet have made digital assets and
information more vulnerable to cyber threats. When large amounts of sensitive
information and valuable assets are stored and transmitted online, they become
high-value targets for cybercriminals.

Examples of the most commonly targeted information includes:

• Personal information, including names, • Student loan information

addresses, and emails
• Confidential government
• Biometric data communications

• Social security numbers • Employee or customer details

• Banking and payment information • Intellectual property

• Healthcare data and patient records • Insurance policy information

Without a proper cybersecurity program, organizations cannot defend themselves

from targeted attacks, and the cost of a cyber attack can be extremely detrimental
to the organization itself. As the world continues to move towards global
connectivity and widespread use of cloud-based services, the level of cyber risk
increases along with it.

More importantly, cyber attack methods are quickly growing in sophistication,

which means the attack scope of cybercriminals also drastically increases. Even
governments and large corporations are no longer safe and require a thorough
review of existing policies to stay ahead of potential hackers.

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

Unfortunately, as a relatively new field, many businesses and organizations have

yet to recognize the importance of cybersecurity until after they have experienced
a security breach. Our goal is to help unsuspecting businesses and individuals learn
more about cybersecurity so that they can begin to secure their most valuable
digital assets and systems.

What is Cybersecurity Risk?

Cybersecurity risk is the probability that critical data or information will become
compromised, exposed, or stolen due to a cyber attack. The risk itself is measured
by the potential impact or damage that the loss of data can cause, including
financial, reputational, and operational loss. Cybersecurity programs and risk
management strategies are focused on mitigating cyber risks at all levels of the
organization.

Cybersecurity risks are typically defined by two main components:

• Cyber threats - Any potential method of cyber attack that can lead to
the theft, unauthorized access, damage, or disruption of a digital asset,
network, or device.

• Vulnerabilities - A vulnerability is any weakness or flaw within a system

that cybercriminals can exploit to steal data or gain unauthorized
access.

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

Understanding your organization’s complete cyber risk profile (attack surface +

third-party risk) is critical to securing and protecting systems and networks against
imminent threats. Organizations can conduct risk assessments using external
auditors to determine their cyber resiliency and establish new procedures, such
as incident response or business continuity plans, and begin building up their
cybersecurity posture. Over time, it’s up to the organization to continue improving
its cyber maturity and stay protected against evolving threats.

Cyber risks exist in every industry as long as there are digital assets and technology
involved. Because technology is used in every facet of business and government,
regardless of size or type, cyber protections, and policies must be implemented to
reduce the inherent risks involved.

Examples of common cybersecurity risks include:

• Human error • Malware and ransomware

attacks
• Poor or lack of cybersecurity education
• Social engineering or phishing
• Insider threats
attacks

• Third-party or supply chain risks

• Physical device theft

• Lack of regulatory compliance

• DDoS attacks
measures
• Brute-force password hacking
• Software misconfigurations

• Improperly stored data

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

Most Common Types of Cyber Threats

A cyber threat is any potential form of cyber attack that threatens to gain
unauthorized access, disrupt business operations, or steal sensitive data. Cyber
threats can originate from any party with malicious intent, including foreign
governments, terrorist groups, corporate spies, disgruntled employees, independent
hackers, criminal organizations, or cyber thieves.

The current cyber threat landscape continues to evolve as attacks become more
sophisticated and complex, so it’s important for organizations to quickly identify
their biggest threats and close their security gaps by patching vulnerabilities and
remediating risks. If a threat actor successfully carries out a cyber attack, it could
mean millions of dollars in financial damages, data recovery costs, legal costs, and
reputational repair.

Here are the biggest threats in today’s cyber landscape:

Phishing Malware

Phishing attacks are one of the most Malware attacks are another common
common forms of cyber attacks that aim type of cyber attack that uses malicious
to trick users into giving up sensitive software such as viruses, spyware,
information by posing as a trusted party. It rootkits, Trojans, bots, or botnets to
is a type of social engineering attack that is compromise systems, networks, or
typically carried out through emails, texts, computers and steal valuable data. Most
voice calls, or social media messaging malware attacks are used to launch other
platforms using a variety of malicious types of cyber attacks once systems and
methods such as spoofing, identity theft, networks have been compromised.
typosquatting, or spam.

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

Ransomware Code Injection Attacks

Ransomware attacks are a type of malware Code injection attacks are highly effective
attack that has been increasingly deployed cyber attacks, in which a hacker injects
in recent years. Most attacks involve malicious code into a website, application,
tricking an unsuspecting user to open an or database to steal critical data. Common
infected email attachment or click on a forms of code injection attacks include SQL
malicious link leading to a compromised injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and
website. Once the user or organization has command injection. Code injection attacks
been compromised, malware is installed allow hackers to bypass security controls
on the systems, rendering it useless and and gain unauthorized access to systems
inaccessible until a ransom payment is and networks.
made.
Third-Party Vendor Attacks
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS)
Attacks Third-party attacks usually occur when a
threat actor attacks a third-party service or
DDoS attacks are designed to overload a vendor with the aim to compromise one or
website or server with disproportionate more of its business partners. Many third
amounts of fake traffic, causing the parties have fewer security requirements
website to crash and preventing it from or poor cyber protections, which allows
loading correctly. DDoS attacks are hackers to gain access and have an easier
often carried out using a network of time hacking other businesses.
compromised computers (botnet) for the
purpose of sabotage or extortion. Supply Chain Attacks

Insider Threats Supply chain attacks are cyber attacks that

look for unsecured networks, unprotected
There are two types of insider threats: IT infrastructures, and poor coding
intentional and unintentional. Intentional practices to hack into and change the
insider attacks are from disgruntled source codes. Hackers can hide malware
employees aiming to purposefully expose and malicious code within legitimate
or misuse sensitive information as a form of software to infect all users and vendors
retaliation. Unintentional insider threats are within the supply chain. Successful supply
due to poor employee training and a lack of chain attacks can potentially infect millions
cybersecurity awareness, which can lead of people, highlighting the dangers of
to accidental data exposure or leak. open-source software (OSS).

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 Getting Started with Cybersecurity

DNS Tunneling Brute Force Attacks

In DNS tunneling, hackers use DNS Brute-force attacks use a trial and error
(domain name systems) queries to transmit system to correctly guess user credentials.
malicious data through a compromised Cybercriminals can use password-cracking
domain and server completely undetected. software to guess login information, which
Because DNS is typically a trusted protocol, typically has a high success rate because
DNS queries can usually bypass traditional many users choose weak and easily
security controls, such as firewalls or IDS guessable passwords.
(intrusion detection systems), which do not
monitor DNS traffic. Botnet Attacks

Botnet attacks use a network of

IoT Attacks
compromised computers to carry out
Attacks on IoT (internet of things) devices malicious attacks, such as DDoS, spam,
are increasingly popular because many IoT phishing, or malware attacks. Botnets are
devices are unsecured, unencrypted, and typically controlled by a single individual or
often not updated. Although these devices group of attackers to carry out large-scale
do not connect to the internet directly, they cyber attacks.
are typically connected to the networks
through Wi-Fi, which opens up a potential
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
entry point for hackers to access.
Zero-day vulnerabilities or zero-
day exploits are unpatched security
Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks
vulnerabilities that were previously
MITM attacks are a type of cyber attack unknown to the software developers.
where the hacker intercepts and alters Hackers that learn of the zero-day can
communication between two parties target and exploit organizations using that
without their knowledge. The user assumes software before the developers release a
communication with the application or patch or fix.
website is safe, which allows the hacker to
steal sensitive information or impersonate
a party.

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Best Practices
for Effective
Cybersecurity
Programs

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 Best Practices for Effective Cybersecurity Programs

Best Practices for Effective

Cybersecurity Programs
In order to maintain an effective cybersecurity program, here are our top best
practices to implement to minimize the risk of cyber threats and practice good
cyber hygiene:

Create incident response plans for Upgrade outdated hardware and

every cyber threat technology

Incident response plans are documented Legacy technology and outdated hardware
processes that outline how an organization also poses significant risks since they
responds to an active cyber attack and are are often ill-equipped to defend against
critical to any security program. Incident cyber attacks. Older systems are often
response plans must be detailed and incompatible with newer software, suffer
include delegation of responsibilities, steps from reliability issues, and lack sufficient
for mitigation and remediation, reporting features to defend against the latest cyber
policies, and specific actions to take in threats.
each phase of the incident response
process. Report all suspicious activity

A common best practice is to report any

Keep all software, hardware, and
applications up to date suspicious activity, such as unrecognized
user access, irregular network activity,
Software and applications can be exploited unauthorized file downloads, abnormal
through known vulnerabilities (CVEs) and login patterns, or emails from unknown
risks if they are not patched right away. senders. The earlier suspicious activity is
Keeping software and applications updated reported, the more time there is to deal
is critical for minimizing security risks, as with the issues.
compromised software can compromise an
entire system.

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 Best Practices for Effective Cybersecurity Programs

Practice safe web surfing Avoid opening suspicious emails and

attachments
As a general rule, employees using the
internet should never click on pop-up ads, Emails are one of the most common
unverified links from unknown sources, methods for cybercriminals to steal
or download suspicious applications. sensitive data. They attempt to trick users
Doing so can trigger downloads of viruses into clicking malicious links or downloading
or malware into the computer and the infected links using phishing tactics and
network. social engineering scams. Any suspicious
emails containing links and attachments

Avoid non-HTTPS websites from unknown sources should be avoided

at all costs.
Websites not secured with HTTPS
protocols do not have secure connections Never leave physical devices
and are at risk of having data transmissions unattended
intercepted and stolen. HTTPS-secured
websites ensure that connections are Physical devices (laptop, mobile device,
encrypted and verified. Avoid unsecured flash drives) should never be left
websites by checking the URL for HTTPS unattended in case of device theft or
or a lock next to the browser URL search loss. If physical devices are lost or stolen,
bar. criminals have an opportunity to steal
critical data, especially if the devices are
unencrypted.
Avoid connecting to public unsecured
Wi-Fi networks
Create strong, unique passwords
Connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks
is highly advised against because hackers Password security is one of the first line
can access your information through of defenses against unauthorized access.
unsecured connections without you Weak passwords are often subject to
noticing. They can also expose your brute-force attacks or are easily guessed
computer to viruses and malware due to by threat actors to gain access into an
lack of encryption. Common places with organization’s systems. Compromised
unsecured Wi-Fi networks include coffee passwords are one of the most common
shops, airports, and libraries. causes of a data breach.

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 Best Practices for Effective Cybersecurity Programs

Implement two-factor (2FA) or multi- Conduct regular business risk

factor authentication (MFA) assessments

Authentication processes verify the identity Risk assessments can help organizations
of the user, even if their password is stolen. identify their biggest risks and security
It can prevent criminals from gaining gaps, review security policies, and
access by requiring two or more methods determine the impact and likelihood of
of verification, such as through text, email, certain cyber risks. Risk assessments
third-party app, or biometric scanning. should be conducted regularly to ensure
that the organization and its third parties
Provide cybersecurity training and continue upholding strong security
education practices.

Providing cybersecurity training and

Conduct regular security audits
education for all users and employees can
help enforce cybersecurity best practices Cyber audits are a common practice for an
and be knowledgeable about the latest external auditor to review an organization’s
or most common cyber threats. Teaching security posture from a fresh perspective.
employees about the importance of Auditors will be able to assess incident
cybersecurity can greatly reduce the risk of response plans, security controls,
a cyber attack. regulatory compliance, IT teams, and
overall security hygiene.
Maintain regular data backups
Implement network segmentation
No matter how strong a company’s
cybersecurity defenses are, it’s impossible Network segmentation is a more advanced,
to completely protect an entire attack costly approach to stronger cybersecurity,
surface. Maintaining data backups ensure but it can be highly effective. It involves
that even in the event of a security breach, dividing a main network into multiple
the organization can continue to operate subnetworks to prevent hackers from
by installing the data backups. Data should moving within the system freely in the
be backed up at least once a week for best event of a cyber attack.
results.

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 Best Practices for Effective Cybersecurity Programs

Use role-based access control or Implement data encryption processes

privileged access management
Data encryption processes encode data
One way to protect against unauthorized
so that it is inaccessible or unreadable
access is to implement role-based access
to unauthorized parties. Encryption can
control, which prevents employee access
increase the security of data transmissions
to data unless it is vital to their role. This
and prevent it from being accessed even
method can also prevent employees from
if the data message has been stolen or
sharing information with each other, or if
intercepted.
login credentials are stolen, the data they
have access to will be severely limited.
Use VPNs (virtual private networks)
whenever possible
Perform vendor due diligence during
the procurement process VPNs masks data traffic and IP addresses
and protects it from external access, so
Vendor due diligence is the practice of
potential threat actors are unable to view
fully evaluating a potential third-party
your activity. VPNs route data through
vendor on their overall security posture
secure networks to servers in remote
and determining if they meet minimum
locations, allowing you to browse the
requirements for the business partnership.
internet anonymously.
It is up to the organization to determine if
it can tolerate the risks involved during the
Perform regular security tests
assessment process.
Cyber defenses should be tested
Install basic network and device regularly using penetration tests, ethical
security software hacking, or sandbox testing to ensure
that the organization’s cyber protections
Basic network and device security
can withstand the latest cyber threats.
practices include installing firewalls,
Regular security tests can also help
antivirus, and anti-malware software to
identify immediate security gaps in the
better protect computers and systems.
organization’s attack surface.
Firewalls manage incoming and outgoing
traffic to prevent unauthorized users from
gaining access. Antivirus and anti-malware
help detect and remove malicious code
from computers.

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 Best Practices for Effective Cybersecurity Programs

Hire a CISO or similar cybersecurity Utilize third-party risk management

leader tools and services

Hiring an experienced IT role such as a TPRM services like UpGuard Vendor Risk
CISO or CIO can significantly improve help organizations gain better visibility into
the overall outlook of an effective their third-party vendors’ security postures.
cybersecurity program. Having a leader Organizations need to know how well their
in the IT department can ensure that vendors can defend against cyber threats
cybersecurity is prioritized and that as compromised third parties put the entire
security risks are kept to a minimum. organization at risk. TPRM tools like Vendor
Risk can also determine vendor regulatory
Utilize attack surface management compliance and track remediation efforts
tools and services for an overall more effective security
program.
ASM tools and services like UpGuard
BreachSight can help organizations
remediate their most critical risks and
gain a better understanding of their
security postures. ASM services can also
continuously monitor for data breaches and
data leaks using real-time data and help
businesses achieve strong cybersecurity
practices and build customer confidence.

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Most Important
Cybersecurity
Regulations,
Frameworks, &
Compliance Standards

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 Most Important Cybersecurity Regulations, Frameworks, & Compliance Standards

Most Important Cybersecurity

Regulations, Frameworks, &
Compliance Standards
Although cybersecurity regulations are subject to change at any moment to adapt
to the changing threat landscape, compliance standards are common across most
industries to regulate data handling, customer privacy, and cyber attack prevention
measures. In addition, cybersecurity frameworks help provide a roadmap for
organizations to follow to better protect their data.

Here are the most important regulations and laws that govern data security today:

HIPAA
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is specific to
US healthcare organizations that handle PHI (protected health information), such
as patient or medical records. This law also applies to any business associates,
service providers, or vendors that may work with the institution and handle sensitive
medical information.

HECVAT
HECVAT (Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit) is a security
framework designed to help higher education institutions to manage their third-
party vendor risk. These colleges and universities may work with dozens or
hundreds of vendors that require a standardized method to properly assess risk
and security awareness. Although HECVAT is not mandated at the federal level,
many schools are establishing it as a requirement when determining business
partnerships.

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 Most Important Cybersecurity Regulations, Frameworks, & Compliance Standards

NIST
Perhaps one of the most widely used frameworks for up-and-coming organizations,
the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Cybersecurity Framework
(NIST CSF) is a set of general guidelines, standards, and best practices to mitigate
cyber risks. NIST compliance is completely voluntary but provides an excellent
framework for businesses to build stronger IT infrastructures and security policies.

GLBA
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) is a US data security and privacy law that
requires financial institutions to implement and disclose their data protection
policies. The data security program must include the nature and scope of its data
handling activities and identify all risks involved in the institution’s operations.

FISMA
FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002) is a US federal
law that requires all federal agencies to develop an adequate information security
program to protect any sensitive data that it collects and handles. FISMA also
applies to state-level agencies administering federal programs and third-party
providers contracted by federal agencies.

ISO/IEC 27001
ISO 27001 is a global standard for information security management and defines
a framework for implementing, maintaining, and improving an organization’s
information security program. ISO 27001 helps organizations establish policies and
procedures to better manage and protect sensitive information. This framework is
often used to meet compliance requirements of other cybersecurity regulations.

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 Most Important Cybersecurity Regulations, Frameworks, & Compliance Standards

PCI DSS
The PCI (Payment Card Industry) DSS (Data Security Standards) is a global
information security standard that regulates all businesses that handle credit card
transactions. The aim is to reduce and prevent credit card fraud by securing the
three stages of credit card data: processing, storage, and transfer.

GDPR
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) regulates data privacy and
protection for all countries within the EU (European Union) and European Economic
Area. It is the official legal standard that applies to any business or organization that
collects identifiable data of an EU citizen for professional or commercial purposes.
The GDPR framework has also been adopted in many other non-European countries
around the world.

IT Act of 2000
The Information Technology Act of 2000 is India’s largest landmark cybersecurity
law, governing all data security practices and cybercrime punishments. Since
2000, many amendments and acts have been written to include new security
requirements, define cybercrime, determine which entities are affected, and
establish a legal framework for cybersecurity.

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How
Organizations
Can Implement
a Cybersecurity
Program

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 How Organizations Can Implement a Cybersecurity Program

How Organizations Can

Implement a Cybersecurity
Program
Having a strong cybersecurity program can separate great organizations from good
ones because it demonstrates a commitment and willingness to invest in an area
that many corporations and small businesses alike have not prioritized.

Businesses and organizations that need to revise or implement a new

cybersecurity program can follow these steps:

1. Conduct a Security Risk Assessment

Before implementing any security measures, organizations need to conduct
a risk assessment to determine the scope of their attack surface. Risk
assessments allow organizations to better understand the areas with the
highest risk, the impact of potential cyber threats, the likelihood of successful
attacks, risk appetite, and the assets of the highest value.

By determining the above factors, organizations will be better prepared to

allocate appropriate resources to secure those areas and understand what they
need to achieve sufficient data security or meet compliance requirements.

2. Develop a Risk Management Plan

After conducting a risk assessment, your organization can select an appropriate
cybersecurity framework as part of the risk management process that matches
your business. Frameworks help provide a checklist and roadmap to meeting
specific policies related to your industry. In some cases, multiple frameworks
can be chosen to meet different requirements.

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 How Organizations Can Implement a Cybersecurity Program

Risk management plans should address how specific policies and procedures
can mitigate threats and how they align with business objectives. All assets
should be categorized by value, so the organization knows which areas they
need to secure first, which threats to mitigate, and how to prioritize risk
remediation processes.

3. Determine Which Cybersecurity Tools to Use

In most cases, implementing a cybersecurity program involves contracting
with cybersecurity service providers specializing in certain areas, such as a
managed security service provider (MSSP) or third-party risk management
service (TPRMS). Many of these services provide around-the-clock monitoring,
automated workflows, instant security alerts, and security assessments to make
the entire process more efficient.

Although contracting a service or tool may seem costly, using manual

security processes can prove to be inefficient and ineffective. Many services
are adjusting their offerings to include SMBs to help all businesses and
organizations manage their cybersecurity.

4. Implement New Security Controls, Policies, and

Procedures
Once the risk management plan has been determined and the necessary tools
have been selected, organizations should begin creating and implementing
the new controls, policies, and procedures as soon as possible. These
procedures should include cybersecurity best practices to ensure that the new
cybersecurity program is able to stay current and relevant.

These new controls need to apply to all aspects of the business that handle
important data and have a risk of becoming compromised or breached. This
includes securing networks, endpoint users, software and applications, and
computer systems.

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 How Organizations Can Implement a Cybersecurity Program

5. Train Employees & Determine Hiring

After controls have been implemented, all employees need to be educated
on the new policies and any additional training that is necessary (use of new
technology, devices, or software). Employee training should be provided on a
regular basis to enforce strong data security practices.

Additionally, businesses need to determine if they need to hire additional IT

staff to help manage organizational security or outsource security management.
Hiring dedicated IT teams with a CISO may be out of budget for smaller
companies but can prove to be extremely beneficial in the long run.

6. Maintain Continuous Monitoring & Conduct Regular

Testing
Most security assessments only track the security posture at a point in time.
However, cybersecurity must be maintained consistently around the clock.
Continuous monitoring is a must to track suspicious network and user activity.
Additionally, some tools like attack surface management or vendor risk
monitoring can help immediately identify potential security breaches and quickly
determine remediation workflows.

Regular testing of security protocols should be implemented as part of the

program to ensure it is protected against the latest cyber threats. Tests or audits
can occur annually or bi-annually to ensure policies, procedures, and controls
are not outdated.

7. Conduct a Gap Assessment

Gap assessments can be extremely helpful in determining how far your
organization is from meeting industry standards. Questions to consider include:
does your organization have enough personnel to manage all security internally?
What areas of the security framework have not been met yet? Where are my
cyber defenses currently lacking due to the prioritization of other measures?
Who can be considered a model for the best overall cybersecurity in the
industry?

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 How Organizations Can Implement a Cybersecurity Program

8. Establish Future Goals & Milestones

The final step of a cybersecurity program should be establishing future
goals and milestones for continuous improvement and maturity. Part of the
cybersecurity maturity model involves tracking progress and cyber resiliency
capabilities over time to see definitive improvement.

One popular maturity framework that many organizations use is the Capability
Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), which businesses can use to track their
progress (maturity) in developing better cybersecurity and risk management
practices over time. While the model is designed to help organizations
improve their processes, it can also be used as a strategic tool to measure
implementation efficiency and effectiveness over a period of time.

These goals and milestones will also set the future business goals as a whole.
Program reevaluations may be necessary to determine its effectiveness, or
maybe organizations want to make the entire process more streamlined and
efficient to match company scaling. Budgets may need to be readjusted to meet
the demands of a revamped cybersecurity program, or maybe some services
become redundant.

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Level Up Your Cybersecurity with
UpGuard
Find out how you can take your cybersecurity to the next level with UpGuard, whether you're
managing your internal attack surfaces or managing third-party vendor risks.
We're here to help, shoot us an email at sales@
upguard.com

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data and prevent breaches?

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