For business owners and managers everywhere, cybersecurity can be one of the most difficult challenges to navigate. Knowing where to get started on safeguarding your network, what services are necessary, and how cybersecurity should interact with the rest of your company is a complex issue.
Developing an information security strategy is a great way to help you work through these doubts and feel confident about your cybersecurity. Let’s take a closer look at how.
What Is an Information Security Strategy?
An information security strategy (also known as a cybersecurity strategy) is a plan for protecting your organization’s digital resources and IT infrastructure while supporting your business’s goals. Its purpose is to protect and regulate sensitive business information to keep your systems secure and create IT solutions that promote business safety.
The strategy can include everything from implementing new software or switching out hardware to simple best practices you’ll expect team members to follow, like proper password hygiene or MFA. Small, everyday habits like these are emphasized in this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme: Secure Our World.
This October, employees and businesses are encouraged to learn about and implement simple practices to protect their online presence and secure our world one by one. Taking the time to create a robust cybersecurity strategy is an important way you and your team can participate in this movement.
5 Tips for Creating Your Information Security Strategy
In order for your cybersecurity strategy to be most effective, you need to make plans for developing, communicating, implementing, and testing it. These tips are focused on the development stage, but don’t forget the other important aspects of your strategy after you’ve built your plan.
1. Start With Thorough Analyses
The first step in creating a solid information security strategy is understanding what kind of protection your organization needs. You can do this by running a detailed network assessment of your company’s current infrastructure. This will help identify gaps and vulnerabilities that hackers could take advantage of.
A risk analysis is also beneficial, as it can help you identify what kinds of threats businesses in your industry and of your caliber are most susceptible to. All of this information can then act as a guide as you make decisions about what procedures to include in your strategy.
2. Make Goals
A key aspect of cybersecurity strategies is that they align with your business goals.¹ So, just for a moment, set aside cybersecurity and think about the vision you have for your business. What goals have you made related to sales and growth? What do you want your company to look like in five years?
Once you’ve made goals or considered existing ones, look at them in relation to cybersecurity. Consult with your IT team about how your strategy will support these goals, how strong information security will play a role in their realization, and how you can align both general and cybersecurity goals.
3. Don’t Go Generic
After taking the time to identify the specific needs and goals of your organization, don’t settle for a generic, off-the-shelf IT infrastructure—your strategy for protecting your data and other digital assets should be as unique as your company is.
Take into account the results of your network and risk analyses, the goals you set, industry norms, and current cyber trends to design a personalized approach to securing your data and covering every aspect of your network.
4. Remember Compliance
An important part of information security is ensuring that you are meeting legal regulations and industry standards along with your individual goals. When developing your strategy, be sure to incorporate procedures that will keep you in line with current standards to avoid loss of customer trust, fines, and other legal issues.
5. Get Help
Not every business owner is an IT specialist, but every business owner needs a good partnership with one. Building a strong cybersecurity strategy requires the right tools and knowledge, as well as time to dedicate to the project. If you don’t have this luxury, consider recruiting an IT company to help.
IT firms have access to a wealth of experience and resources to make your strategy air-tight. They’re familiar with the threat landscape and can help you run the necessary assessments to get started on your plan. Additionally, they generally have a working knowledge of compliance regulations and industry-specific insights to ensure your plan is comprehensive.
Secure Your World With Brightline
At Brightline IT, we know that the future of your business is bright, and we don’t want you to lose that due to a cybersecurity breach.
When you choose Brightline IT, your data and network will be carefully managed and protected with solutions that are customized, proactive, and effective. You’ll always get a clear explanation of what’s going on with your tech, and you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that your business is prepared for anything.
Ready to secure your world with your information security strategy? Just give us a call.
