Cyber Risk Management | Microminder Cyber Security

Ten steps in effective cyber risk management

The first step in effective cyber risk management is understanding the threat landscape. This includes identifying the types of threats that your business is most likely to face, and the potential impact of those threats. Common types of cyber threats include:

Phishing and social engineering attacks, which use deception to trick users into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware.
Ransomware attacks, which encrypt a victim's files and demand payment in exchange for the decryption key.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which overload a website or network with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
It's important to note that the threat landscape is constantly changing, so it's important to stay informed about the latest trends and tactics used by cybercriminals.

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Once you have a general understanding of the threat landscape, the next step is to assess your business's specific cyber risk. This includes identifying potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors and determining the impact that a successful attack could have on your business. Some key areas to consider when assessing your cyber risk include:

Your business's sensitive data and intellectual property, and the potential impact of a data breach or theft.
Your business's critical infrastructure and systems, and the potential impact of a disruption to these systems.
Your business's reputation and brand, and the potential impact of a cyber attack on customer trust and loyalty.

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Once you have a clear understanding of your business's cyber risk, you can begin implementing measures to protect against it. This includes both technical and non-technical controls, such as:

Technical controls: These include measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and endpoint protection software.
Non-technical controls: These include measures such as employee training, incident response planning, and third-party vendor management.

It's important to note that no single measure will provide complete protection against cyber threats. Instead, a layered approach that includes multiple controls is needed to effectively manage cyber risk.

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An incident response plan is a set of procedures and guidelines that your business can use to respond to a cyber-attack or other security incident. This should include clear roles and responsibilities and should be tested and updated on a regular basis. A comprehensive incident response plan should include:

A process for identifying and containing security incidents.
A process for recovering from security incidents.
A process for communicating with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the media.

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One of the most effective ways to protect your business from cyber threats is to educate and empower your employees. This includes training them on how to recognize and respond to phishing and social engineering attacks, as well as best practices for securely handling sensitive data.

It's important to make sure that all employees are aware of the risks and responsibilities associated with their job, and that they are provided with the tools and resources they need to do their job securely.

Phishing and social engineering attacks, which use deception to trick users into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware.
Ransomware attacks, which encrypt a victim's files and demand payment in exchange for the decryption key.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which overload a website or network with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
It's important to note that the threat landscape is constantly changing, so it's important to stay informed about the latest trends and tactics used by cybercriminals.

Read More +

Your business's sensitive data and intellectual property, and the potential impact of a data breach or theft.
Your business's critical infrastructure and systems, and the potential impact of a disruption to these systems.
Your business's reputation and brand, and the potential impact of a cyber attack on customer trust and loyalty.

Read More +

Once you have a clear understanding of your business's cyber risk, you can begin implementing measures to protect against it. This includes both technical and non-technical controls, such as:

Technical controls: These include measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and endpoint protection software.
Non-technical controls: These include measures such as employee training, incident response planning, and third-party vendor management.

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A process for identifying and containing security incidents.
A process for recovering from security incidents.
A process for communicating with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the media.

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Third-party vendor management is an important aspect of cyber risk management, as many businesses rely on external vendors to provide services such as cloud hosting, payment processing, and software development. It's important to conduct due diligence on these vendors to ensure that they have adequate security measures in place and that they are regularly monitoring and testing for vulnerabilities.

When working with third-party vendors, it's important to have clear agreements in place that outline their responsibilities for protecting your business's sensitive data and systems. You should also regularly assess their compliance with these agreements and monitor their performance.

A key aspect of cyber risk management is securing your business's networks and systems. This includes:

Implementing firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention systems to protect against unauthorized access and attacks.
Regularly updating and patching software and operating systems to address known vulnerabilities.
Implementing access controls to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data and systems.

It's also important to regularly monitor your networks and systems for suspicious activity, and to have a process in place for responding to security incidents.

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Another important aspect of cyber risk management is ensuring that your business's data is properly backed up and that you have a plan in place for recovering from data loss. This includes:

Regularly backing up important data and systems.
Storing backups in a secure, offsite location.
Having a tested recovery plan in place in case of data loss or corruption.
By properly backing up your data and having a recovery plan in place, you can minimize the impact of a cyber-attack or other incident on your business.

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Many businesses are subject to various laws and regulations related to cyber security. It's important to understand these requirements and to ensure that your business is in compliance. Examples of relevant laws and regulations include:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, which regulates the handling of personal data.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the US, which regulates the handling of personal health information.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), which regulates the handling of credit card information.

It's important to regularly assess your business's compliance with relevant laws and regulations and to have a process in place for addressing any non-compliance issues.

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Cyber risk management is an ongoing process that requires constant vigilance and attention. By understanding the threat landscape, assessing your business's cyber risk, and implementing effective controls, you can help protect your business from online threats. It's important to regularly review and update your cyber risk management measures to ensure that they remain effective in the face of changing threats and technologies. With the right approach, you can help protect your business from the damaging effects of cyber-attacks and keep your sensitive data and systems secure.

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Advantages of Cyber Risk Management

1
Identifying and assessing potential threats and vulnerabilities, allowing for proactive measures to be taken to protect against them.
2
Minimizing the impact of cyber-attacks on the business by reducing the likelihood of a successful attack and having a plan in place for responding to incidents.
3
Protecting sensitive data and intellectual property, which can be crucial for the business's operations and reputation.
4
Complying with relevant laws and regulations, which can help to avoid legal and financial penalties.

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Microminder’s frameworks for performing a Cyber Risk Management

Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the CSF is a widely-used framework for managing cybersecurity risk. It provides a common language and a structured approach for identifying and managing cyber risks and is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the unique needs of different organisations.

This is an international standard for information security management, which provides a comprehensive framework for managing cyber risks. It includes a set of best practices and guidelines for implementing an information security management system (ISMS).

This is a framework developed by ISACA, an association of information security professionals, to help organisations manage IT governance and IT management. COBIT 5 provides a comprehensive approach to IT governance and management, including the management of cybersecurity risks.

The SOC 2 framework is developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for service organisations, it focuses on controls related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards created by the major credit card companies to protect against credit card fraud. It provides a framework for organisations that handle credit card information to secure their systems and protect sensitive data.

Modern cyber security threats faced by organisations today

Ransomware

This type of malware encrypts a victim's files and demands payment in exchange for the decryption key. Ransomware attacks have become increasingly sophisticated and targeted and can cause significant disruption to an organization's operations.

Ransomware

Phishing and Social Engineering

Phishing attacks use deception to trick users into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware. Social engineering attacks use similar tactics but may also involve impersonation or manipulation of trust. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect and can be devastating when they are successful.

Cloud Security

As more organisations move their data and applications to the cloud, they are facing new security challenges. This include, misconfigurations, data breaches, and unauthorized access to cloud resources.

IoT Security

The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming increasingly popular, but it also creates new security challenges. Many IoT devices are poorly secured and can be easily compromised, and once an attacker has access to one device, they may be able to move laterally to other devices on the network.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)

APTs are a type of cyber-attack that is typically carried out by a well-funded and highly skilled attacker. These attacks are often targeted and stealthy and can remain undetected for long periods of time. APTs can be used to steal sensitive data, disrupt operations, or compromise critical systems.

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What are some of the cyber threat vectors?

Cyber threat vectors refer to the methods or pathways through which cyber threats can enter and compromise an organization's systems and networks. Some common cyber threat vectors include:

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Phishing is the practice of using deception to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware. This can include email phishing, where attackers send emails that appear to be from a legitimate source, or spear phishing, where attackers target specific individuals or organisations.

Malware is a type of malicious software that is designed to cause harm to a computer system. This can include viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, which can be delivered through infected email attachments or malicious websites.

Remote access threats include unauthorized access to an organization's systems and networks from remote locations. This can include attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in remote access software or attacks that leverage stolen credentials.

Network-based attacks include those that target an organization's networks and systems, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.

The Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming an increasingly popular attack vector. IoT devices are often poorly secured and can be easily compromised, and once an attacker has access to one device, they may be able to move laterally to other devices on the network.

Microminder’s methodology of performing a cyber risk management

Identifying Risks: The first step in our cyber risk management is to identify what risks your organization is exposed to. This will include risks from external sources such as malicious actors and hackers, as well as internal risks such as employee negligence.

Identifying Risks: The first step in our cyber risk management is to identify what risks your organization is exposed to. This will include risks from external sources such as malicious actors and hackers, as well as internal risks such as employee negligence.
Assess Risks:Once risks have been identified, they need to be assessed in order to determine their severity and likelihood of occurrence. This step will help you prioritize the risks and decide which ones should be addressed first.
Develop Mitigation Strategies:After assessing the risks, the next step is to develop strategies to mitigate them. This will include implementing security controls such as firewalls and antivirus software, as well as developing policies and procedures to ensure best practices are followed.
Monitor and Review:Once the mitigation strategies are in place, we monitor them and review them regularly to ensure they are working as expected. This step also helps identify any new risks that may have arisen.
Respond to Incidents:No matter how many precautions you take, incidents can still occur. Therefore we put a detailed plan in place for how to respond to incidents in order to minimise the impact and damage.
Report and Document: Finally we document all activities related to cyber risk management, as this will help you understand the effectiveness of your strategies and identify areas for improvement.
Educate Employees: As part of this phase, we ensure all your employees are aware of the risks and how to handle them. This will include providing training on cyber security best practices and ensuring that policies are being followed.
Develop a Contingency Plan: In the event of a cyber-attack, we ensure you implement a plan to ensure the organisation can continue to operate. This will include having a backup of data and systems, as well as establishing procedures for restoring them.
Test the System: Regular tests will be carried out to ensure that any security measures and procedures are working properly. This will include penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and other security tests.
Review Regularly: Cyber risk management is an ongoing process. Regular reviews will be conducted to ensure that all your risks are being managed effectively and that any new risks are identified.

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Reasons why businesses consider cyber risk management

1
Protect customer data and maintain customer trust: Cyber risk management helps protect an organisation’s customer data and build customer trust by reducing the likelihood of a data breach.
2
Reduce the cost of responding to a data breach: Cyber risk management helps reduce the cost of responding to a data breach by providing the best security practices and technologies.

1
Protect customer data and maintain customer trust: Cyber risk management helps protect an organisation’s customer data and build customer trust by reducing the likelihood of a data breach.
2
Reduce the cost of responding to a data breach:Cyber risk management helps reduce the cost of responding to a data breach by providing the best security practices and technologies.
3
Comply with data privacy and security regulations:Cyber risk management helps organisations comply with data privacy and security regulations by providing the necessary security measures.
4
Avoid potential financial losses due to a data breach:Cyber risk management helps organisations avoid potential financial losses due to a data breach by proactively managing security risks.
5
Increase operational efficiency:Cyber risk management helps organisations increase operational efficiency by providing the right security measures and processes.
6
Enhance brand reputation: Cyber risk management helps organisations enhance their brand reputation by demonstrating a commitment to protecting customer data.
7
Improve security posture: Cyber risk management helps organisations improve their security posture by implementing the latest security technologies and best practices.
8
Detect and respond to new threats: Cyber risk management helps organisations detect and respond to new threats by providing up-to-date security technologies and processes.
9
Strengthen risk management capabilities: Cyber risk management helps organisations strengthen their risk management capabilities by providing the necessary resources and expertise.
10
Enable better decision making and risk management strategies: Cyber risk management helps organisations enable better decision making and risk management strategies by providing the necessary tools and data.

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"The next big thing in cyber risk management is not a technology, it's a process."

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Microminder: Alfanar's Top Choice for Penetration Testing Services

"After engaging and experiencing multiple Penetration Testing vendors, we highly recommend Mincominder services to companies looking to enhance their security measures. Their expertise and commitment to delivering outstanding results make them a reliable choice for securing your organisation."

Syed Murtuza Haneef

IT Security Manager

Moby2

"We had the pleasure of working with Microminder Cybersecurity for infrastructure pen testing and firewall configuration review, and I have to say, their work was nothing short of splendid. Firstly their onboarding process was so quick, the pre-requisites and availability of testing was agreed on the same day..."

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Viktor Dimitrov

Product Owner - Moby2

Amsel and Wilkins

"Microminder's in depth and broad scope pen testing truly provided us with some valuable insights that uncovered key business risks and highlighted necessary actionable intelligent changes that needed to be implemented within our business to combat any potential cyber-attacks from adversaries and prevent any breaches. This exercise helped us to enhance our cyber security posture and test our system’s resilience. We are quite pleased with our engagement with Microminder."

Claire Lee

Practice Manager - Amsel and Wilkins LLP

InfinityBlu Dental

"Microminder's 24/7 managed security services got deployed with such ease and immediately gave us an eagle eye view into our security logs and events, highlighting any indicators of compromise, effectively automated our response and correlated the incidents with full context, thereby triaging and eliminating all false positives. Our team are amazed at the speed and accuracy of Microminder’s Open XDR technology and skilled staff."

Julie Cockbill

Head of Operations - InfinityBlu Dental

Dental Beauty

"Our priority is business continuity and security, especially considering our operations across our 30+ practices. Microminder helped us with a tailored managed security services that aligned with our business needs. Their technology is at the forefront of the industry and that allows us to fully put our trust in their cyber security experts. We are glad to have Microminder as an extension of our technology team!"

Tina Patel

Head of Integrations – Dental Beauty Partners