The Importance of a Cyber Assessment

February 9, 2023

Why You Need Cybersecurity

In today’s world everyone relies on technology to store information, whether that be on a computer, smartphone, tablet, or third-party network system. Unfortunately, every piece of technology that an organization adopts adds risk to the organization if that piece of technology fails or is misused by an employee or malicious outsider. Cybersecurity is the practice of understanding and managing the risk associated with all categories of technology including networks, devices, and data to ensure that the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information is maintained.

The Importance of Conducting a Cybersecurity Assessment

A cyber assessment is like an annual check-up at the doctor’s office. When you go to the doctor you are paying for an in-depth private medical examination. Examinations can be very expensive, but you still have them every year in hopes that they do not find anything. The value of a proactive health assessment is inherently understood; finding a problem now is much better than finding it after symptoms appear when it may be too late to do anything about it. The importance of a cyber assessment is the same: finding problems before there are symptoms of a gap in your cyber program is much better than finding them afterwards. Essentially you are paying for something not to occur, which is the goal of a cyber assessment.

Outside of this ephemeral best practice, there are very explicit reasons to conduct a cyber assessment including legal obligations, changes in the environment, and reacting to a cyber breach. Let’s dive in deeper.

Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

Compliance and Regulatory requirements such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Safeguards rule require annual assessments. HIPAA is a federal law designed to protect sensitive protected health information (PHI) from being disclosed without patient consent. The HIPPA Security Rule not only enforces HIPAA requirements, but it requires covered entities and their associates to conduct an annual risk assessment. This assessment is used to identify threats and implement the necessary security measures to ensure the safety of PHI.

Similarly, the FTC Safeguards rule requires companies to develop, implement, and maintain an information security program to protect nonpublic personal information (NPI). The rule also requires periodic risk assessments to address potential vulnerabilities to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of NPI.

Customer and Business Partner Contracts

When reviewing a contract from a customer or business partner you may see a security clause or security addendum. This is becoming a more frequent occurrence as Secure Supply Chains become a focus in the industry. Businesses are starting to require their suppliers and partners to follow specific security models and perform annual risk assessments in order to conduct business. For example, if your organization supplies a product or service to a government contractor, you are required to follow NIST 800-171. Soon companies will also have to comply with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification to be able to even bid on contracts.

Security Awareness

Some executives with high security awareness may already understand the importance of a discipline such as a cyber program and support cyber assessments. Every organization experiences a unique set of threats. It is important to understand your risks to move forward and develop a mature cybersecurity program.

Established Policies

Established policies also require regular assessments. If your organization has a policy in place, it is critical that the business has the necessary tools to implement that policy. Periodic assessments will ensure that your organization is compliant with the policy and any associated controls.

Change in Threat Environment

Cybersecurity risk assessments are highly encouraged when there is a sudden or substantial change in the threat environment. The threat landscape is constantly changing, which is why organizations have to regularly perform cybersecurity assessments to stay on track. Understanding potential risks and having a cyber plan in place will allow you to proactively address any changes to your organization’s environment.

Reacting to a Cyber Breach

It is an all too frequent occurrence for organizations to wait until after a cyber breach has occurred to begin investing in cybersecurity. While the breach investigation may point to a specific hole in an organization’s cyber defenses, it quickly becomes apparent that the bad guys only have to be right once while the organization has to protect all of the possible exploitation avenues at all times, leading firms to realize the need a little too late for a cybersecurity assessment to understand their weaknesses.

So why do organizations forego cyber assessments?

Even though medical assessments are regularly “a matter of life and death”, many people forego them and wish they hadn’t. Their excuses are predictable, and you can’t tell which type of assessment is being omitted, health or cyber:

It will never happen to me.
I am okay with accepting the risk.
I don’t understand it so I don’t believe it.

Would you put a price on your own personal health? The answer is probably no – so why would you risk the health and stability of your organization and the people in it?

Why Gray Analytics?

Maintaining a proactive cybersecurity posture and ongoing awareness of your key risks and vulnerabilities are a few of the best ways to fend off today’s biggest threats. Gray Analytics offers end-to-end solutions and services that will keep your operation and your data safe. Every organization is different, and we have the knowledge and expertise to help walk your firm through a formal risk assessment and develop an effective plan of attack specific to your needs that will help you build a secure and compliant foundation.

A Gray Analytics’ Cybersecurity Assessment is the first step to determining the current state of Risk and Compliance and generating a prioritized plan for reducing risk, staying compliant, and appropriately protecting sensitive information.

Take the next step to accomplishing your cybersecurity goals – contact us today.

Sources: Vladimirov, Andrew. Assessing Information Security: Strategies ; Tactics ; Logic and Framework ; Second Edition. IT Governance Ltd., 2014.