According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), security posture is defined as:
The security status of an enterprise’s networks, information, and systems based on information security resources (e.g., people, hardware, software, policies) and capabilities in place to manage the defense of the enterprise and to react as the situation changes.
So what does that mean? A cybersecurity posture refers to the overall defense against cyber-attacks. In other words, how cybersecurity is practiced throughout your organization and how prepared your organization is for an attack. It encompasses security policies in place, employee training programs, and security solutions implemented. It is the collective security status of all networks, information, and systems, as well as how secure you are as a result of those tools and processes.
A strong cybersecurity posture means that the necessary processes are in place to protect your organization from cyber vulnerabilities and threats. In the digital world we live in, where sensitive data is constantly at risk of being compromised by malicious actors, strengthening your cybersecurity posture is a priority.
Understanding your cybersecurity posture is essential to recognize where you stand by discovering your vulnerabilities and their associated risk. By understanding where your organization is most vulnerable, you can draft a plan for creating a more secure environment; ultimately helping you to be proactive rather than reactive to cybersecurity threats.
It is important to create a habit of regularly monitoring and maintaining your cybersecurity posture because cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to take advantage of the weaknesses in an organization’s infrastructure.
An organization’s cybersecurity posture must not be static. It is constantly changing to respond to new vulnerabilities and threats in the cybersecurity landscape. To maintain a strong cybersecurity posture, your security tools and practices should never stagnate. They must be regularly updated and improved for optimal results. As such, it’s time to transition from outdated security strategies to end-to-end and multi-layered security solutions that can protect against these new constantly evolving threats.
Assessing risk should always be the first step to improving your cybersecurity posture, it helps get the big-picture view of the security situation in your organization. Conducting an assessment helps you understand where you stand in terms of cybersecurity and determines what you need to do in order to strengthen your security posture by identifying all possible vulnerabilities across all assets. In addition, it provides an overall view of your internal and external security by combining all the aspects of cybersecurity practices into one comprehensive assessment.
Cybersecurity posture assessments helps assess and improve your business in the following ways:
To help you evaluate risk and understand your vulnerabilities, we’ve created a cybersecurity self-assessment checklist that’s available for you to download. To get the greatest benefit from the checklist- be honest and thorough. Make sure you and your team have an in-depth knowledge of the networks, information, and systems of your organization as well as the operations, security, and any compliance regulations that may apply.
This simple checklist gives you a quick snapshot of your organization’s security performance and makes it easy to demonstrate your cyber health. Click below to download for free: