We are always curious about the latest trends in security threats. It creates concern and worries about whether enough is being done to protect the business. Security threats will always be evolving. Businesses want to be prepared for the next curve ball coming their way. Cyber criminals will learn from their mistakes and try to come back harder. What can be done?
Preparedness
Now, apply this to a security breach. A business can have the latest patches in place throughout their network. Penetration testing passed with flying colors. Employees have been trained to watch for phishing emails and the hazards of clicking on malvertising. Everything looks rock solid. And then it happens.
Businesses invest time and effort creating an emergency response plan because they want to ensure continuity in case disaster strikes. They want minimal disruption because they want to be able to serve their customers. Stuff happens and businesses want to remain viable in the wake of a disaster.
Responsiveness
All the best practices can be in place and a business can still be hit with a security breach. A business needs to be prepared with an Incident Response Plan to minimize the disruption to the business and get the network back to being fully functional. This plan ensures that the processes followed are consistent, predictable and measurable. The Incident Response Plan is a living document and needs to be revised as the business evolves.
The Incident Response Plan is not a silver bullet. Security incidents may appear similar in some aspects and different in others. What matters is the recovery of the business operations as quickly and efficiently as possible.
A few key components in managing a security breach is to contain the incident, communicate with who is impacted and learn from any mistakes made. The last item is to assess the impact of the compromised assets.
Reputation
Executing an Incident Response Plan is an exercise of crisis management. If the incident affects customers, management of the incident will be under scrutiny. In the words of Will Rogers, “It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute.”
Businesses work hard to build their reputations to gain loyalty and trust with their customers. A security breach will break that trust. In a report by Gelmato, 64% of customers would no longer do business with a company if their financial or personal information was stolen.
There are laws in place to protect customers from stolen personal information. The Federal Trade Commission promotes data security. They have enacted legislature to protect consumers from businesses that do not enforce a level of reasonableness in protecting consumer information. Aside from federal laws, various states have laws as well. Legal guidance is necessary to ensure the laws are respected.
Responsiveness
Aside from respecting the various state and federal legislation, having an Incident Response Plan and regular backups of data helps to assure a fast recovery of the network. Preparedness is key in preserving the integrity and viability of a business.
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