Lack of talent in Cybersecurity can hurt your company
The Role of Incident Response Plan in Compliance Strategy
A cybersecurity incident is not always a result of negligence. The attackers have become increasingly sophisticated, relying on inherent vulnerabilities, with access to more resources than ever to exploit those. Considering your security strategy foolproof is nothing but wishful thinking. Today’s well-equipped attackers will, at some point, figure a way around a company’s defenses one way or the other.
This inevitability of a security incident and overall increase in the number of cyberattacks has made it all the more important for companies to prepare themselves to respond adequately to potential attacks and breaches. Despite the government’s legislation to provide security provisions and data privacy, companies still seem to be lacking an effective incident response plan that is essential not only for maintaining companies’ reputation among consumers but also for avoiding huge monetary fines.
What is Incident Response?
An Incident Response Plan is an organization’s strategy for responding and managing a cyberattack. An attack on a company’s intellectual property or the information it stores about its customers can significantly tarnish its brand name in addition to incurring a financial loss and compromised resources. A repeatable incident response plan can allow companies to respond at the earliest without having to waste time in trying to figure out what steps need to be taken next. With a well-developed, up-to-date incident response plan in place, the impact of such attacks can be mitigated, and companies can quickly recover without any significant loss.
An important aspect of an effective incident response plan is that companies must invest in resources to thoroughly investigate the attack to avoid recurrence.
Why Companies need an Incident Response Plan
Loss of reputation, legal fees and regulatory fines are some of the common reasons why an incident response plan should be a priority within your organization. Complete protection is impossible; however, prevention, timely detection and quick response can minimize the impact of security incidents.
Having the right expertise, up-to-date technologies, and a well-developed incident response plan at your disposal can ensure a quick and effective response.
The 2017’s Cost of Data Breach Study by the Ponemon Institute revealed the average cost of a data breach to be $3.6 million. For instance, the failure of Target to implement a proper security strategy resulted in a 10 percent drop in its stock price while Home Depot faced a $62 million worth of set back because of a security breach. Even if your company does not operate at that scale, the impact of a mishandled security incident could be devastating. Timely response in the event of a breach can be life-saving for small to medium businesses.
Lack of Incident Response is due to Lack of Cybersecurity Skills
A survey conducted by Oracle and KPMG concluded that only one in 10 organizations have the ability to process the data related to a security incident. A significant reason for such a deplorable state of cybersecurity and lack of full compliance is the cybersecurity skills gap. Companies do not have the necessary resources and information security experts to meet the challenges of devising, maintaining and testing their incident response plans.
The study also found that although CIOs are more likely to analyze the data in the wake of a security incident, only one in 5 has the skills to carry out the analysis successfully. Alarmingly, only 10 percent of CIOs seem to be confident about their company’s SRSM (shared responsibility security model).
This lack of skills means that should a security incident occur; companies will not have the right processes in place to effectively manage the situation.
The survey rightly indicated the lack of information security staff as the second most common challenge faced by companies.
A Good Incident Response Plan Comes from the Right Team
Without a proper Incident Response Team, the best of security tools and written security policies will mean nothing. Having a team comprising of experts from different parts of the organization and a leader with administrative rights is imperative for a functional and well-maintained incident response plan. Maintaining the incident response plan is not a one-time job; it is an ongoing task that needs regular testing and a dedicated team.
