Over the 2021-2022 financial year, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) reported an increase of nearly 13% in cyber-attacks in Australia in comparison to the previous financial year – an impact observed by many following a slew of cyber-attacks aimed at corporates, including Optus and Medibank.
Cybersecurity risk can be defined as the loss of sensitive information and the potential use of it against an organisation, resulting in adverse impacts. So the key question is how can organisations better prepare themselves for such an attack?
In our previous article “Is your organisation prepared for a possible Cyber Attack?” we cited that digital risk management refers to a continuous process of identifying, assessing and mitigating risks and since cyber security risk is a pillar of digital security, the same process will apply.
Expanding the digital risk management process, it can focus specifically on cyber security risk which organisations can utilise to develop a management plan to assist with safeguarding themselves against potential cyber attacks in the future.
Steps to develop a cyber security management plan:
1. Identify – Identify the organisation’s valuable assets and record them in a digital footprint, taking note of what type of digital asset it is, and prioritising those that are the most vulnerable.
2. Assess – Audit the assets and understand where the vulnerabilities are by ascertaining:
a. what type of data it collects
b. who uses it
c. where it is stored
d. who can access it
Furthermore, when assessing an organisation’s potential risk exposure it is useful to conduct a security assessment as well as a threat assessment (namely profiling potential hackers and assessing their intentions and how they might cause harm to the organisation).
3. Respond – Once the vulnerabilities have been identified and you understand the extent of the potential threat, respond with a plan that will minimise existing security risks.
4. Prevent- Next is to develop a prevention plan (or incident response plan) so that employees know how to respond to various cyber security threats.
5. Monitor – review the process on a regular basis to ensure to stay abreast of any changes.
In a post-COVID world where more individuals are working from home, exposing organisations to more cyber threats, there has never been a more important time than the present for organisations to have an effective cyber security management plan in place.
Cubility is a management and technology consultancy in Perth that works with businesses to solve operational problems, including the development of cyber security risk management plans. If your business needs any assistance with this, please contact us. We would love to hear from you.
