In companies of all sizes, with the threat of cyber attacks looming large, businesses must have guaranteed security in place to keep their data safe. Enterprise security, however, is a challenging and comprehensive issue. To minimize and remove the possibility of unauthorized access to information technology systems and data, one needs to have a comprehensive plan that secures all entries and endpoints.
Enterprise security administration involves various business units, staff, personnel, and officials working together to secure the digital properties of a company, prevent data loss, and safeguard the company’s integrity. Enterprise security operations should follow the regulatory standards, culture, and administration techniques of the company. Enterprise security activities include performing checks for vulnerability and risk analysis that are intrinsic to the company. It is also about devising processes and strategies that can secure the physical assets of the organization.
Why is Enterprise Security Important?
Business and information security are part of a company’s two key goals: making a profit and satisfying its customers. When a cyberattack occurs in a business, both the company’s finances and customer relationships may be adversely affected. It can be uniquely challenging, and even impossible, for consumers to continue to do business with a business that has not taken measures to protect their confidential information. In today’s online world, without an efficient enterprise security infrastructure, an organization would inevitably find itself a victim of cybersecurity attacks.
For a company, the primary reason why enterprise security is important is that it helps them to establish trust with their clients and ensure that their data is private and secure. A threat to data resulting in the compromise of sensitive user data is a surefire way for businesses to lose loyal customers.
Approaching Security in Enterprises at a Strategic Level
The truth is that in enterprise security, there are countless moving pieces. Since enterprise security is so complex, it can be counterproductive to commit technical, organizational, and financial resources to one particular strategy. One aspect that remains constant is that every cyberattack, like data breach, ransomware, and others, is carried out by human beings. They do it by considering the fluid condition that regulates market forces and recent innovations in IT/OT infrastructure.
They can function only within limits dictated by human nature, regardless of the attackers’ motivations and methodologies, be it rogue actors, business rivals, corporate insiders, organized crime syndicates, or nation-states. To counter possible insider risks effectively, every employee, client, and contractor should be fully visible to companies.
Below are some strategic moves that companies could take to strengthen their security infrastructure.
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Alignment of Security Strategy with Business Goals
A security strategy that aligns closely with the organization’s business goals is the most effective one. The security program must have clear objectives and policies to support the goals. These objectives must be measurable, realistic, and well-communicated to all stakeholders, ensuring it is directed toward the right direction. Security policy serves as the foundation for the strategy, outlines the strategy processes, and acts as a guide for employees and stakeholders to follow. On the other hand, the implementation plan should break the program into phases with clear timelines, resources, and milestones. A company can execute the program successfully with this approach while remaining aligned with the broader business goals.
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Threat Modelling
Threat modelling is the practice of identifying risks and threats associated with the various business areas. It should be a routine practice for the entire organizational network, and whenever a new technology or web application is developed through the Software Development Lifecycle.
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Software Updating
Updating software is one of the most common ways of reducing vulnerabilities within an organization. When a business is dealing with a large volume of data, security vulnerabilities are bound to exist. So, whenever there are such vulnerabilities in software, the developer releases patches to solve the issue. An organization must have a process for recognizing and implementing these patches to keep the system secure.
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Maintain Password Hygiene
A secure password comes as the first line of defence in network security within an organization. Hackers can easily decode weak passwords using modern password-cracking software. However, by ensuring password hygiene, this issue can be prevented to a large extent. Password hygiene refers to creating a mandatory password policy that specifies the type of passwords users must create.
Although industry standards vary, the minimum standard for creating a strong password is that it should have at least 8 characters, 1 uppercase and lowercase character, 1 number, and 1 special character. It is recommended to increase the password complexity by increasing the length to at least 10 characters for administrative accounts and other sensitive business accounts.
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Following 2FA
In the 2FA or ‘two-factor authentication’ process, organizations must follow two of the three authentication forms to prevent hackers from compromising your accounts.
- What do you know?
- What do you have?
- What are you?
This means adding either authentication form 2 or 3 with the traditional username and password to add extra layers of security. This can be in the form of a software token, usually generated through a software application, for example, Microsoft Authenticator. However, it can also be biometrics, a hardware device, or others.
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Security Awareness Training
Employees in a company must know how to execute their jobs securely. Empowering them with the required knowledge about various security attacks and the ways to prevent them can help them prepare for the potential threats they might encounter while performing their job functions. Understanding phishing emails, the danger of downloading file attachments, navigating suspicious websites, and enabling macros are some of the basic trainings that organizational employees must get. They must also be trained on how to handle customer-sensitive information by adhering to regulatory and accessibility policies.
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Information Sharing
The security strategy related to information sharing involves protecting sensitive information shared within a company or with third parties. This information is often subject to cyber attacks and requires the implementation of effective cyber security protocols. This is to ensure the information is only shared with the people who need that information to do their jobs. This is crucial from a security as well as a compliance perspective and requires data classification to understand the level of sensitivity of the information.
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Being Informed
To ensure security in an enterprise, organizational leaders must be well-informed about the ongoing cybersecurity trends, innovations, and technological solutions crafted to battle cyber attacks. Hence, the enterprise security magazines are a must-read for business owners to remain updated about the latest security challenges. It will also help them to stay ahead of their competitors.
Let’s take a look at a few enterprise security magazines and the importance of enterprise security for an organization.
Some popular media publications on enterprise security
There are many enterprise security magazines available that provide the latest news on cyber threats and security trends. Let us have a look at them.
- Enterprise Security Magazine: Enterprise Security Magazine is published in both digital and print form, featuring insights from security professionals and security companies sharing their expertise, and solutions that influence the security industry.
- Infosecurity Magazine: It is a free UK-based digital magazine that closely observes cyber security issues across enterprises. Infosecurity’s cutting-edge content has engaged readers for decades. It unveils the statistics and events about the growing threats to the digital world, contributing to the empowerment of businesses against cyber attacks.
- Security Magazine: It provides security industry news and trends on video surveillance, cybersecurity, security guards, physical security, risk management, and access control. It is one of the most followed enterprise security magazines available today.
The CEO Views is a technology and business magazine and is available in both online and offline modes. The magazine’s future editions will focus on technological advancements in Cloud, AI, IoT, Big Data, Enterprise Security, and more.