Cyber security controls secure information assets through a wide range of technologies and tools
Birmingham Consulting implements the right cyber security controls to protect your organization and reduce risk. All while maximizing your existing resources to increase your overall information security.
In today’s digital world, organizations face an ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats. From phishing scams and ransomware attacks to hidden backdoor infiltrations, hackers are becoming more sophisticated and persistent. The cyber security controls you once relied on may no longer be enough to protect your data and systems. As businesses rely on third-party vendors, your attack surface expands, making it more challenging to safeguard sensitive information.
What are cyber security controls?
As a subfield of information security, cyber security controls consist of the technologies and tools your organization uses to protect sensitive data and systems from cyber threats. These controls are designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate risks associated with your network and digital assets. As cyber threats grow in sophistication, your cyber security controls must evolve to keep pace.
Whether you’re looking to safeguard your network, comply with regulations like PCI (Payment Card Industry), NIST 800-53, or simply improve your organization’s security hygiene, the right cyber security controls can provide a robust defense against emerging threats.
Optimize your information security with the right cyber security controls – book a consultation with us today!
You can trust Birmingham Consulting to cover all the bases of your overall information security with the best protective measures for your business. Book an information security consultation with us to find out how our services can augment your plans, tools, procedures and policies. Click below or call (289) 895-8948 to schedule.
FAQ’s about cyber security controls and more:
Information security is the inclusive management of technical, physical and administrative processes and tools.
People often use the terms information security and cyber security interchangeably, but key differences exist between the two.
Information security, also known as InfoSec, is managing risk to the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information through Administrative, Physical and Technical controls. It involves the processes and tools implemented to safeguard information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. Therefore, it encompasses a variety of security tools, solutions, and processes designed to safeguard information across devices and locations. Together, these help businesses and individuals defend against cyber attacks and other forms of cyber incidents.
Whereas, cyber security is a subfield of information security that focuses only on the technical controls involved in defending computer systems and networks.
This means that information security is crucial because it addresses all aspects of protecting a business from both the occurrence and the impact of a cyber incident. For instance, ensuring that a business’ cyber insurance coverage and premiums correctly match their risk profile.
Therefore, by implementing strong information security, including compliance with your own policies and procedures, you can significantly reduce your cyber risk.
Learn more: What is information security
The benefits of implementing strong cyber security controls
When your organization implements the right cyber security controls, the benefits go beyond just improving security. Here’s how the right controls can positively impact your business:
- Enhanced Protection Against Cyber Threats: By focusing on the most effective cyber security controls, you can prevent attacks before they happen, minimize the impact of those that do occur, and quickly recover from breaches when they do happen.
- Improved Regulatory Compliance: The right cyber security controls help you comply with industry regulations like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR, making it easier to meet legal requirements and avoid penalties.
- Reduced Risk and Financial Impact: Identifying and mitigating risks early can prevent costly data breaches, downtime, and reputational damage. With continuous monitoring and reliable data, you can keep your organization safe while minimizing financial losses.
- Stronger Vendor Relationships: With tools like EVA, you can securely collaborate with your vendors to reduce the risk of third-party breaches. This enhances your relationships with key partners by demonstrating that your organization is taking proactive steps to secure sensitive data.
Choosing the right cyber security controls for your organization
Choosing the right cyber security controls, to support your information security, is a critical decision that requires careful consideration. To make informed choices, follow these best practices:
- Know What You’re Protecting: Understand your organization’s most valuable assets and the sensitive data you need to protect. Prioritizing these assets will help you focus your security efforts where they’re needed most.
- Prioritize Based on Sensitivity: Different types of data require different levels of protection. Rank data sensitivity and allocate resources accordingly to maximize the effectiveness of your controls.
- Engage Senior Leadership: Gain buy-in from executives and the board to ensure sufficient budget and resources are allocated to your cybersecurity program.
- Understand Your IT Environment: Assess your full attack surface, including cloud services, vendor networks, and remote work environments. This complete visibility helps you identify risks and choose the most appropriate cybersecurity controls for your organization.
- Empower Your Workforce: Your employees play a critical role in cybersecurity. Provide training and enforce policies to reduce human error and minimize risks like shadow IT.
IT and information security overlap but they are distinctly different in how they decrease your cyber risk.
It’s understandable for executives to go to IT to discuss security measures. Cyber security, as a subfield of information security, has a lot of overlap with IT. For example, IT frequently oversees the implementation and establishment of technical security controls.
So, IT needs to ensure your business is running as efficiently as possible. But, they generally don’t:
- Develop and implement an incident response policy, asset management policy, or other administrative policies that directly support the security of your data
- Or ensure that risk levels are documented and effectively communicated to board members and executive management on a regular basis
- Or evaluate potential vendors for any cyber risk they could pose to your business
Because information security encompasses all protective aspects of your data and information assets, businesses also need to be mindful that you still need effective corresponding administrative policies.
Our information risk assessments help you respond to identified cyber risks
Following an assessment, organizations are given a score outlining vulnerabilities identified. They are also provided recommendations on how to strategically respond to each of those risks, through:
Avoiding the risk: Completely eliminate the risk.
Mitigating the risk: Reduce the probability or impact of the risk.
Transferring the risk: Shift the risk to a third party, typically through Cyber Liability Insurance.
Accepting the risk: Acknowledge the risk and choose not to address, transfer, or mitigate it.
How can you determine where to invest in information security?
The likelihood of something happening
X (Multiplied by)
The impact on the organization.
Therefore, something that is high-risk means that it has a high likelihood of happening and would have a big impact. So you should invest in avoiding, transferring, or mitigating it. Whereas a low-risk might be something you simply accept.
Brace for financial impact with our Cyber Liability Calculator
Estimate the financial impact to your business from a cyber incident with our free and anonymous Cyber Liability Calculator.
Results include email fraud, ransom demand, downtime cost, remediation cost per industry statistics, 1st-Party liability, number of Personally Identifiable Records, Third-Party liability, legal costs associated with Third-Party liability and more!
