You have advanced cybersecurity tools, a skilled IT team, modern security measures, excellent cybersecurity training, and a vigilant company ready to prevent cyber incidents.
You're protected against cyber threats... right?
Well, not necessarily.
Taking the time to read this article shows your understanding of the importance of cybersecurity today and making cybersecurity a priority. You're on the right path to securing your business.
But even with the perfect mix of people, processes, and technology, there's something else you should be doing to determine if you're truly ready for a cyber attack: testing your company's cybersecurity posture.
Testing will help you measure how impactful your cybersecurity strategy is at protecting your company and your sensitive data from cyber criminals and emerging cyber threats.
One of the most important aspects of an overall cybersecurity and information security strategy is keeping up with testing and other forms of assessments to ensure that your company's cybersecurity posture is effective. The fact of the matter is that cybersecurity risk changes every day.
Companies are at risk of attack on multiple fronts: malware, phishing scams, ransomware attacks, unpatched vulnerabilities, etc.
If you want to avoid costly cybersecurity incidents, it's critical that you test regularly to see that your cybersecurity strategies are working properly to reduce your cyber risk.
Why is it important to test your cybersecurity strategy?
Testing your cybersecurity strategy gives you an accurate picture of how impactful your cybersecurity measures are at protecting your business.
Companies should perform cybersecurity testing on a regular basis to keep up with the changes in cyber threats and ensure that your cybersecurity strategy is optimal. However, many companies often neglect this important step—and it could cost them dearly.
Here are six reasons why you should perform regular tests to make sure your company's cybersecurity strategy is effective:
- Identify gaps and loopholes in your cybersecurity defenses that cyber criminals can exploit.
- Discover unnecessary or redundant security measures that may be hampering your company's productivity and limiting its bottom line.
- Evaluate how well—or not so well—your cybersecurity strategy is working, given the current threat landscape.
- Assess where you should be investing more money and resources in cybersecurity initiatives to reduce your company's risk of cyber attacks.
- Stay in compliance with industry regulations like PCI, GDPR, HIPAA, and your Cyber Liability Insurance policy.
- Gain the peace of mind that comes from knowing your company is doing everything it can to prevent cyber attacks.
Test your company's preparedness for a cyber attack to quickly identify gaps in your cybersecurity strategy before cyber criminals exploit them and they become severe.
Also, by gaining visibility into where your cybersecurity strategy is strong and where there are weaknesses, you know how to address vulnerabilities and improve your security posture.
The goal is to be proactive and not reactive to cyber attacks.
Learn Why Pay For Managed Services Instead of a Block of IT Support Hours?
How to test your strategy?
There are four categories of security tests we will discuss in this article: cybersecurity risk assessments, penetration tests, cybersecurity audits, and dark web scans.
Each option is designed to help you test different areas within your cybersecurity strategy so that you can improve your security posture. By understanding which areas need improvement, you can take the necessary steps to keep cyber criminals at bay.
Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
A cybersecurity risk assessment helps measure your company's cybersecurity readiness and maturity so you know how likely it is for cyber criminals to attack and what kinds of losses you could face.
A risk assessment is the starting point for all cybersecurity testing, and helps companies prioritize where to focus their cybersecurity initiatives. An outside party specializing in cybersecurity typically conducts risk assessments to identify potential security risks and recommend the best defenses.
A cybersecurity risk assessment consists of a thorough examination of your company's cybersecurity strategy to discover vulnerabilities and understand how they could be exploited by cyber criminals.
There's 3 main components of a cybersecurity risk assessment:
- Identify cyber threats facing your company—including active threats, vulnerabilities, potential attacks, or intrusions.
- Prioritize the most significant risks facing your company based on likelihood and impact, so that you know where to focus your cybersecurity resources.
- Identify actionable steps to improve your company's cybersecurity strategy continuously over time.
What are the benefits of a cybersecurity risk assessment?
By running a cybersecurity risk assessment, you can get an up-to-date picture of where your company's cybersecurity stands. You'll also know what kinds of threats your business faces daily and how likely they are to impact your bottom line.
A cybersecurity risk assessment helps you identify weaknesses, improve your security strategy, and protect your company's reputation from cyber criminals.
What should you look for during a cybersecurity risk assessment?
A cybersecurity risk assessment helps companies identify their security strengths, weaknesses, and potential risks, enabling quick improvements. Since every company is unique, partnering with an external cybersecurity firm familiar with your industry is crucial.
Finally, keep an eye out for cost during the risk assessment process. It might be tempting to go with the cheapest option, but you'll want to focus on finding someone who can give you comprehensive results quickly rather than trying to save a few bucks.
Penetration Testing
A penetration test involves hiring ethical hackers or a cybersecurity firm to simulate a cyberattack on your company's systems and networks. This helps identify vulnerabilities that cyber criminals could exploit.
The ethical hackers will use the same tools and techniques used by black hat hackers to break into your company's network. This lets you know how quickly cyber criminals can access your systems and how much damage they can do once inside. They will also work together with your company to fix any vulnerabilities before cyber criminals can target them.
What Does a Penetration Test Involve?
An outside cybersecurity company with extensive experience in penetration testing conducts a penetration test.
The goal of a penetration test is to act like real hackers and find weaknesses in your company's networks, apps, software, and systems. It mimics cyber attacks to see if someone could steal important information, like credit card numbers, customer records, or other personal details.
The testers employ tactics like:
- Social engineering to trick people into sharing login details.
- Cyber warfare uses specialized software to breach your company's systems.
- Security exploits to identify and leverage weaknesses in your company's systems.
What are the benefits?
- Stops cyber criminals before they can cause damage or steal sensitive data.
- Guides employees through hacking steps to recognize and avoid real cybersecurity threats.
- Reveals how hackers could attack your company, allowing you to fix vulnerabilities before they become costly issues.
- Identifies weak spots like unchanged passwords, outdated software, weak encryption, or old security systems.
- Shows how vulnerable your systems are to attacks, helping you strengthen your cybersecurity defenses.
Cybersecurity Audit
Cybersecurity audits help assess the effectiveness of a company's cybersecurity policies, procedures, and controls to identify vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity audits provide a thorough evaluation of all information systems, including networks and hardware. They also look at how your employees access and use data and applications.
By examining all aspects of your company's cybersecurity strategy, the audit will identify any issues that could lead to cyber attacks or data breaches so you can take the necessary precautions before it's too late.
How is it Conducted?
A cybersecurity audit checks how safe your company's computer systems and information are. Here's what it involves in simple terms:
Checking Rules and Plans: Auditors look at your company's cybersecurity rules and plans to see if they work well and keep things safe.
Talking to People: They talk to employees and tech staff to learn how they handle data, what rules they follow, and what their jobs are.
Looking at Equipment and Systems: They check your company's computers, software, networks, and even outside services (like cloud providers) to spot any weak points.
Testing for Safety: They test how well your rules protect against cyberattacks to see if they really work.
Giving Advice: At the end, the auditors share what they found. They tell you how risky your systems are and suggest ways to make them safer.
What are the benefits?
Clear Insights: Experts show you how strong or weak your cybersecurity is and suggest what to fix.
Not a Hacking Test: Unlike tests that try to break into your systems, audits review your cybersecurity plan to find what needs the most work.
Better Protection: Follow the auditors' advice to improve your cybersecurity and lower the chance of cyber attacks.
Dark Web Scans
A dark web scan is an automated process that looks for your company's sensitive data on the dark web. It can track down stolen information like passwords, usernames, and social security numbers—anything that cyber criminals could use to hack into your business.
A dark web scan checks if your company's sensitive information, such as financial data or account credentials, has been exposed to cyber criminals. It involves searching for domain names linked to your business that may be soliciting personal information.
Cybersecurity experts typically perform these scans using specialized tools to explore the dark web, where stolen data like email addresses and passwords is bought and sold.
The scan examines internal and external websites, cloud infrastructure, endpoints, mobile devices, file servers, and other potential access points for vulnerabilities or leaked data.
What are the benefits of dark web scans?
Shows Data Exposure: Dark web scans reveal if your business’s sensitive information, like passwords or customer data, is on the dark web, where cyber criminals can find it.
Prevents Cyber Attacks: If your data appears in dark web search results, you can fix the issue before hackers use it to attack your company.
Catches Leaks from Various Sources: Sensitive data can end up on the dark web from cyber attacks, lost devices like phones or laptops, or large data breaches.
Fixes Weak Security: Scans help find stolen or weak login details, which are a top cause of data breaches, according to a Verizon report, so you can secure them.
Reduces Future Risks: Regular dark web scans lower the chance of future data breaches by keeping your information safe.
How often should you test your cybersecurity strategy?
Test your cybersecurity plan regularly to keep your business safe. At a minimum, do it once a year, but every three months is better. This helps you find and fix weak spots before hackers can take advantage of them.
Cyber attacks happen fast, so you need to stay updated on the tricks hackers use to target businesses like yours. Hackers are always coming up with new ways to break into systems, steal sensitive information, or lock your data until you pay a ransom.
If your security isn’t up to date, they could cause major problems, like shutting down your systems, stopping your business from running, or preventing you from serving customers.
To stay safe, work with a trusted cybersecurity company that uses the latest tools to test your systems regularly. This proactive approach helps you spot and fix issues before they turn into big problems.
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