Cyber Resilience: How a Robust Security Architecture Can Save You Money and Headaches in the Long Run

Cyber resilience helps modern organisations maintain proactive awareness and readiness about their data security posture. It is the foundation of every robust cyber security architecture and strategy and includes resource allocation prioritisation, risk mitigation, automated incident response, and threat detection. Let’s read on to learn more below.

After the crashing of software developed by the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike disrupted multiple systems globally, companies realised the fragility of globally connected technology. Airlines, banks, hospitals, and other organisations worldwide chose CrowdStrike to protect their computer systems from hackers and all it took was a single data breach to shatter their trust from a software update. DevSecOps depends on threat intelligence and cyber resilience is important because it ensures operational stability for businesses.

By 2031, it is estimated that ransomware will attack organisations every two seconds which means it is necessary to avoid unnecessary downtimes, minimize business disruptions, and mitigate emerging threats.

Statistics

Cybercrime rates are surging as the world becomes more interconnected and reliant on digital technologies. Here are some revealing statistics:

• The average data breach costs an organisation USD 4.45 million. Email is the most common attack vector employed by adversaries. (Swanston)
• Most organisations worldwide fail 55% of the compliance checks set by CIS Critical Security Controls. (CIS)
• The manufacturing and industry sector is experiencing the most number of ransomware incidents, with 45% of extortion attacks taking place in the United States. (Brenna)

Keep Your Cyber Defences Tight with a Consolidated Security Architecture

1. Lower Operational and Maintenance Costs

• Cyber architects can help you minimise the risk of data security breaches by designing a robust and resilient security architecture.
• Make data-driven business decisions, reduce overheads, and get ahead of your competition.
• Cover revenue losses due to reputational damages and unforeseen security incidents by investing in cyber insurance policies.

1. Disaster Recovery and Business Resilience

• Rapidly recover from major security incidents, create automated backups, and navigate unforeseen challenges.
• Disaster recovery integration helps businesses reduce downtimes, preserve stakeholder trust, and ensure transparency during incidents.

1. Enhanced Security Architecture Compliance

• Good security controls ensure smooth audits, streamline compliance, and prevent policy violations.
• Organisations can prevent costly lawsuits by ensuring that their data governance controls satisfy the required regulatory benchmarks.

How to Build a Robust Cyber Security Architecture and Future-Proof It

Organisations should take the first step of conducting risk assessment and threat modelling before designing their security architecture. A fundamental aspect of building such a system involves restricting access to sensitive information. Here is what businesses can do:

Support Business Objectives:

Businesses can take a top-down approach to designing their enterprise security architecture. Various frameworks such as COBIT, Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA), and The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) can help align their business objectives with cyber security needs.

Focus on addressing relevant threats:

Security must be embedded with workflows and the focus has to be on proactive risk management. Cyber terrorism can cause widespread social disruption and the human element is a critical factor to consider when dealing with emerging threats. Organisations need to adopt a multi-layered defence strategy to fight against social engineering, ransomware, malware, DDoS attacks, and other adversarial campaigns. It is a good strategy to combine user policy management with robust security awareness training and mitigate third-party data risks.

Plan for failure, build for resilience:

Skilled hackers can quickly exploit vulnerabilities and gaps in the existing infrastructure. It is important to plan for failures, especially during updates and migrations. AI-powered solutions can serve as a personal cyber security analyst and deliver insights by logging security data from multiple sources and analyzing it.

Shifting security left:

Shift left security can identify potential integration issues early on and remove misconfigurations that may arise through handoffs. It increases visibility and accountability across the entire application lifecycle, including security and compliance. DevSecOps teams can shift left security by introducing security automation into business processes and employ testing methodologies such as IAST, DAST, and SAST.

Final Words

Broad preventive measures like continuous monitoring and reporting, long-term threat containment planning, and automating security patching and software updates can help. The best way to improve cyber resilience is via collaboration, automation, and by fortifying digital realms. It is important to align security workflows with business goals and design a proper cyber incident response and prevention strategy for best results.

References

1. CIS. “Center for Internet Security.” Wikipedia, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Internet_Security. Accessed 21 July 2024.
2. Osborne, Charlie. “Global Ransomware Damage Costs Predicted To Exceed $265 Billion By 2031.” Cybercrime Magazine, 1 June 2024, https://cybersecurityventures.com/global-ransomware-damage-costs-predicted-to-reach-250-billion-usd-by-2031/. Accessed 21 July 2024.
3. Swanston, Brenna. “Cybersecurity Stats: Facts And Figures You Should Know.” Forbes, 28 February 2024, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/it-and-tech/cybersecurity-statistics/. Accessed 21 July 2024.
4. From Chaos to Confidence: The Indispensable Role of Security Architecture. (n.d.). ISACA. Retrieved July 20, 2024, from https://www.isaca.org/resources/news-and-trends/industry-news/2023/from-chaos-to-confidence-the-indispensable-role-of-security-architecture
5. Intelligence, T. (2024, January 4). Security Architecture: What it is, Benefits and Frameworks. Threatintelligence.Com.

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