This is the final chapter in our “007 Life Lessons through the Verizon Breach Report” series, which combines lessons from the gadget wielding international crime-fighter, James Bond with data from the Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report to secure our enterprises. Today is the turn of lesson 7: Consistency.
These lessons come from a presentation by our CEO Anders Norremo and Jason Torres from Rush University Medical Center last year at the 7th Annual Hacking Conference by ISACA and The Institute of Internal Auditors.
Staying Consistent as the Business Evolves
007 never failed. Somehow his method and approach always worked, and he would walk away as the winner from any sort of situation.
However, Bond is a maximum risk taker. As much as we’ve been loving his methods for communication, innovation and foresight, his approach to risk might only work on the silver screen.
The illustrious agent faces a series of improbable and impossible situations, from which he unwinds himself with outstanding self-confidence and some improvisation. He hurdles from catastrophe to triumph on an almost daily basis, with a level of uncertainty that makes it almost impossible to know what’s the next challenge.
After reading the Verizon Data Breach Report, we realize that luckily, the cybersecurity and third-party risk management ecosystem do not handle such high levels of uncertainty. In fact, at a high level, the most common breach and compromise methods remain the same year after year.
Even though business evolves, the success of bad actors depends on the same methods, such as hacking through vulnerability exploitation and social engineering attacks.
If attackers are being consistent with their methods, should organizations be consistent with theirs? The answer is yes, as long as they’re based on continuous improvement. The covid-19 pandemic has shifted priorities and changed the landscape, exposing weaknesses and vulnerabilities across the global supply chain. At the same time, cyber security managers and directors encounter more and more potential risks as their operations become global.
However, on a deeper level, security priorities or ultimate goals remain the same: visibility over risk, improved defenses, proactive identification and mitigation of all types of risk.
A thought that comes to mind is that cybersecurity is still approached as a tactical security problem, instead of as a strategic risk problem.
Strategic planning requires the right balance of thinking ahead while actioning in the now. While strategy and tactics belong together in the planning process, they are very different in the value they provide. It’s important to understand how the two co-relate while providing a unique value to the overall cybersecurity and third-party risk management process.
Simply implementing the same firewalls, using the same security controls, and conducting the same anti-phishing training is not going to change the status quo. Security and risk leaders need to change their thinking and focus on reading the signs that have been there all along. This might just be the backbone required to see through difficult times.
Lessons Learned
Step back, take the time to read the signs and you will probably realize you already know the answers. It’s not an entirely unfamiliar scenario we’re facing when it comes to cyber risks; in fact, we already know most of them.
With that in mind, develop some short-term, mid-term and long-term goals to step up your game. If you are struggling with the part concerning third-party risk management, give ThirdPartyTrust a look.
And remember: In the end the good guys always win.
To learn more about how ThirdPartyTrust can help you manage third-party risk across your organization, request your free trial now:
