How to Develop a Cybersecurity Strategy

Cybersecurity is perhaps the highest priority for most businesses around the world. And if it isn’t, it should be. That’s primarily because more and more businesses are moving to online and digital environments that are susceptible to a plethora of cyber attacks. 

Cybersecurity threats evolve and grow more sophisticated. Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and dangerous. Even a casual glance at recent cybersecurity statistics is sufficient to cause alarm. According to IBM, the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, a 15% rise from the previous 36 months. McKinsey reports that cyberattacks will result in $10.5 trillion in losses by 2025. While larger enterprises might be able to recover from such data breaches, small businesses will struggle to make up for these losses. 

Cyberattacks come in many forms. The most common include third-party software and application vulnerabilities, ransomware, malware, hijacked credentials, malicious organization insiders, social engineering attacks like phishing, supply chain attacks, and compromised emails. Each of these is responsible for millions of dollars of irrecoverable damage. Cyber threats are not something to be taken lightly. 

Even with these ominous new threats lurking around, the news is not all bleak. Advancements in AI and other technologies empower companies with robust cybersecurity options that can protect their businesses. In the above-mentioned report, IBM also highlights that businesses with AI and automation-enhanced security save an average of $1.76 million more than organizations that don’t leverage those technologies. Businesses can also leverage security solutions like endpoint detection and response, zero-trust, managed detection and response, and more to fortify their infrastructure.

However, businesses can’t effectively utilize cybersecurity solutions unless they have a powerful cybersecurity strategy. Before embarking on a cybersecurity strategy development phase, businesses must conduct a thorough cybersecurity risk assessment. This is vital because an effective cybersecurity plan can only arise if businesses know the potential threats, information security challenges, and data privacy issues that plague their organization. 

A top cybersecurity strategy is like the blueprint of a fortress, a plan for the future. And that’s exactly what cybersecurity strategies are. They provide holistic protection against an ever-evolving range of dangers to ensure that companies can plan their futures, create a roadmap for success, and then follow that roadmap.

The Growing Importance of a Bulletproof Cybersecurity Strategy

Before we begin discussing the intricacies of developing a cybersecurity strategy, let us look at three trends that highlight why cybersecurity strategies are more important than ever before. 

Government Involvement

As businesses approach the second quarter of the 21st century, it’s evident that cybercrime is only going to become a more complex and challenging problem to deal with. The scale of cybercrime grows at alarming rates. In the past, a few simple tools may have been enough to ward off cyber threats. However, now, cybersecurity is a matter of national security. In 2023, The White House published a new National Cybersecurity Strategy. The US National Cybersecurity Strategy is an effort from the federal government to protect American people, enterprises, and institutions from radical new cyber threats. 

Therefore, as you begin your cybersecurity strategy development journey, it’s important to remember that you are not alone. Entire governments, industries, and geographies are elevating cybersecurity strategy to the top of their priority lists. Whether you are in America or any other part of the globe, you are a potential victim of cyberattacks, and that’s why there’s nothing more important than a bulletproof cybersecurity strategy. 

Emerging Technologies

The fusion of numerous emerging technologies like 5G connectivity, quantum computing, digital twins, cloud computing, internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), genomics, sustainable technologies, and machine learning (ML) means that IT environments are rife with new kinds of vulnerabilities. While these technologies can help enterprises become leaders in their fields, they can also pose security challenges. All the benefits of these exciting technology trends can come underdone if businesses fail to secure them. 

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic radically transformed our world and our interactions with emerging technologies. Many companies shifted from traditional 9-5 models to hybrid and work-from-models. Because of this, there are more remote workers, connected endpoints, and digital identities, all of which are in the crosshairs of hackers and cybercriminals. 

Lack of In-House Cybersecurity Professionals 

Across the globe, there is a significant cybersecurity skills shortage. While the cybersecurity market is booming, the demand for in-house cybersecurity personnel far outweighs the existing talent pool. Large multinational enterprises can afford to lure cybersecurity professionals with attractive salaries but small and medium businesses, with more limited resources, can’t afford to do the same. This disproportionately puts small businesses in harm’s way. 

A robust cybersecurity strategy can go a long way in addressing the lack of in-house cybersecurity resources. As long as businesses meticulously conduct risk assessments, develop powerful cyber resilience strategies, and implement them with precision, they can keep their IT environments safe without large in-house cybersecurity teams.  

Things to Consider Before Developing a Cybersecurity Strategy

The National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST is a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Since 1901, NIST has been helping various technologies and businesses with measurement science and the development and use of standards. NIST has made significant contributions to the field of cybersecurity, and its resources are a common starting point. 

The NIST cybersecurity framework is broken down into five distinct functions: identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. These five functions are broad categories that house hundreds, perhaps thousands, of complex elements within them. 

Awareness of these five functions defined by NIST is essential to developing a cybersecurity strategy. This is because a robust cybersecurity strategy, no matter how intricately personalized it is, needs to address commonly acknowledged issues and carry out certain fundamental functions.

Knowledge of the basic components of a cybersecurity framework lets you dip your toes in the waters of cybersecurity. Completely plunging in and developing a complex and holistic cybersecurity program involves meticulous planning and a commitment to a smart and cautious step-by-step approach. Mapping out these steps is vital.  

Developing a Cybersecurity Strategy: A Step-by-Step Approach

Assess Security Posture 

As highlighted in our post “How to Conduct a Cybersecurity Assessment”, developing a robust cybersecurity strategy starts with assessing and analyzing your current security posture. In the assessment, you should:

• Establish the scope of the assessment
• Choose a cybersecurity assessment framework
• Identify valuable data
• Prioritize assets
• Identify threats
• Identify vulnerabilities
• Analyze controls
• Perform an information value vs. cost of prevention analysis
• Document results in a risk assessment report

With these steps, you will have a holistic understanding of its security capabilities and probe the threat landscape around it. 

Frame Cybersecurity Objectives

Now that you have completed a security posture assessment, it’s time to start framing a new set of cybersecurity objectives. These aims and objectives need to align with the overall business logic and security goals. To begin, you must evaluate your current cybersecurity capabilities, cybersecurity maturity, and technology.

Cybersecurity objectives must be pragmatic. They must harmonize with your budget and risk appetite. With these objectives, you will soon understand your risk attitude.

Here are some critical cybersecurity objectives that can help protect your assets, reputation, and data: 

• Develop and implement a comprehensive cybersecurity policy that covers all aspects of the company's security posture.
• Regularly conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
• Strengthen access controls and permission management.
• Develop a disaster recovery plan to ensure business continuity during a cyber attack or breach.
• Establish a clear incident response plan that includes steps to contain, investigate, and mitigate security incidents.
• Use network segmentation to limit the spread of possible attacks.
• Establish and maintain a secure network perimeter, including firewalls, intrusion detection, and prevention systems.
• Ensure all software and systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates.

Businesses should also establish some best practices to support these objectives:

• Conduct regular employee training to raise awareness of potential security threats and educate them on cybersecurity best practices.
• Implement and enforce a strong password policy for all employees and administrators.
• Increase the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for accessing sensitive data and systems.
• Regularly monitor and analyze security logs to detect potential security breaches.
• Regularly back up critical data (including personal data like customer information, social security numbers, and credit card details) to protect against data loss or corruption with a well-defined data retention and recovery policy.
• Conduct regular audits to ensure all security controls are in place and functioning as intended.  

Select a Framework 

To enhance cyber resilience and mitigate diverse cybersecurity challenges, businesses must explore existing frameworks. These frameworks can help boost information technology security and optimize threat mitigation strategies.

Let’s take a look at some important frameworks, templates, and benchmarks that can augment the development of a cybersecurity strategy. 

• NIST’s identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover is an example of a cybersecurity framework. It’s a common security framework that’s widely used and is one of the very best.
• The ISO 27000 standards (ISO 27001, 27002, etc.), developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), are ideal for optimizing information security management systems.
• The Center for Internet Security's CIS Critical Security Controls is another robust option. CIS has 18 security practices that can be used by organizations.
• There are also industry-specific frameworks to consider. For example, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) are the top frameworks for the healthcare sector. By adopting industry and use case-specific frameworks, businesses can avoid hefty fines associated with data privacy violations, compliance failures, and other regulatory blemishes.

Analyze Current Technology

Once you select a framework, you must analyze your current tech stack. This will help optimize asset lifecycle management and mitigate risks of aging, malfunctioning, or vulnerable technology. It can also help curb software bloat, an exploitable phenomenon that involves excess software, non-optimal applications, or software that demands more advanced hardware.

Analyzing current technologies is an especially important step because businesses increasingly leverage internet-of-things (IoT) devices. Small businesses may have IoT devices like printers, scanners, and an array of computers. Businesses in other private sectors or critical infrastructure sectors may have massive IoT ecosystems that require protection from threat actors.  

Update Security Policies  

As we established in our cybersecurity assessment guide, no security program is complete without effective security policies. These policies need to be all-encompassing and easy for employees to comprehend. Why? Because cybersecurity policies shouldn’t just be read. They need to be internalized by everyone. 

Here are some critical IT security policies that every organization should have:

• Acceptable Use Policies or AUP outlines the proper use of company technology and resources by employees, contractors, and other stakeholders. This approach helps set clear expectations for what is and isn't allowed and helps prevent the misuse of company resources.
• Password policies establish requirements for creating and maintaining strong passwords. It should cover topics such as password length, complexity, expiration, and restrictions on password sharing.
• Data security policies outline the organization's approach to protecting sensitive information, including data classification, storage, encryption, transmission, and disposal.
• Data backup and recovery policies establish procedures for backing up critical data and restoring it in the event of a disaster or other data loss incident.
• Incident response policies dictate what security teams must do when responding to security incidents, including how to detect, report, and contain them.
• Network security policies cover the security measures put in place to protect the organization's network and infrastructure from unauthorized access, attacks, and other security threats.
• Mobile device policies list the requirements for securing mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops, used for work purposes.
• Remote access policies outline the security requirements for connecting remotely to the organization's network and resources. This includes Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other remote access technologies.
• Vendor management policies establish security requirements for third-party vendors with access to the organization's network and data.

Optimize Risk Management 

Risk management is the center of a strong cybersecurity strategy and smooth business operations. It’s important to continuously optimize risk management because modern cybercriminals sharpen their tools and try numerous new tactics.  

Risk management is particularly important for cloud-based businesses. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2023 report highlights that 82% of compromised data in 2023 was cloud-based. Therefore, businesses should be prepared to identify, analyze, and remediate any cybersecurity risks that they may be confronted with now and in the future.

Optimizing risk management plans involves a comprehensive and ongoing approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks to an organization's IT systems, data, and operations. 

To optimize risk management plans, companies must:

• Conduct a Comprehensive Risk Assessment: With this assessment, your security teams can identify potential risks and vulnerabilities across the entire organization and prioritize based on their likely impact.
• Develop a Risk Management Strategy: Organizations must develop a risk management strategy that outlines specific steps for mitigating identified risks based on the results. This risk management strategy should establish clear goals, objectives, and performance metrics.
• Implement Security Controls: Once the risk management strategy is in place, the company can implement security controls to mitigate identified risks. For example, these security controls can include technical controls, such as firewalls and antivirus software, and administrative controls, such as access controls and security policies.
• Monitor and Measure the Effectiveness of the Risk Management Strategy: It's important to monitor and measure the risk management strategy's effectiveness to ensure that it works as intended. Security teams can achieve this by conducting regular security assessments, audits, and testing.
• Continuously Improve Risk Management Plans: You must regularly review risk management plans and update them as needed. This helps ensure that they remain effective and aligned with the organization's changing risk profile. This can include updating security policies, incorporating new technologies, and enhancing security controls.
• Involve All Stakeholders: The risk management plan can only be effective if all stakeholders buy into it. Therefore, it’s essential to involve the board, all departments (including IT staff), and executive management. Furthermore, establishing clear roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder and fostering a culture of security across the organization is critical.

Prepare Remediation Plans  

Having 100% protection against cyber attacks is a great vision to have. However, it’s likely that even companies with robust cybersecurity may experience security breaches. Rather than scramble and panic when it occurs, companies should weave in comprehensive remediation plans into their cybersecurity strategy. 

Organizations need to put in place a series of teams, processes, and procedures (also known as incident response plans) that will immediately begin the healing process in the case of a potential cyber attack. Therefore, in the event of a security incident, everyone will know how to respond immediately.

Weave In Threat Intelligence

In the past, businesses may have been more secretive about their cybersecurity activities. However, safeguarding cyberspace, cloud computing platforms, and connected infrastructures has become so challenging that it’s impossible to ward off cyber threats alone. That’s why threat intelligence sharing should be a major aspect of every cybersecurity strategy. 

In the cyber risk assessment that businesses conduct before developing their strategies, they would have identified some critical cyber defense challenges. By developing intelligence information sharing partnerships and being active contributors in cybersecurity forums with companies in similar geographies and sectors, businesses can keep themselves and their larger community safe. With cybersecurity, it’s clear that there’s safety in numbers. 

Some businesses may want to delay threat intelligence and tackle it at a later stage. However, they must shift the way they think about threat intelligence sharing. By making cybersecurity information sharing a vital part of their cybersecurity strategy, businesses can stay on top of the newest tactics, tools, and procedures of threat actors. They can also help plug their allies’ security weaknesses and benefit from critical cyber defense information from collaborators and partners in their threat intelligence ecosystems. 

Get Ready for Implementation

Once businesses have conducted a thorough cyber risk assessment and developed a strategy, it’s time to put that security plan in action. Without proper implementation of a cyber defense strategy, cybersecurity incidents that compromise information systems will continue.  

Implementing a cybersecurity strategy is a complex process in itself. Therefore, the final stage of developing a strategy is getting it ready for cybersecurity program implementation. A cybersecurity strategy can’t be considered complete if it’s a series of isolated concepts and fragmented processes. It needs to be a holistic plan with a clear architecture and an understanding of various interdependencies.   

Some important final steps include:

• Testing all components that will eventually form the complete cybersecurity strategy
• Sharing cybersecurity plans with key stakeholders for their thoughts and insights 
• Ensure that all top personnel and department heads are on the same page 

Developing a Cybersecurity Strategy: A Summary

No business strategy is complete without a cybersecurity strategy. An effective cybersecurity strategy can boost data protection, enhance digital operations, and keep hackers at bay. As time passes, security issues will only keep increasing. However, with security awareness and the help of cybersecurity professionals and experts, most enterprises can keep their IT environments safe. Most importantly, they can do so without compromising their business needs and objectives.

The aforementioned steps are important guidelines that will help businesses develop cybersecurity strategies. Some businesses might be capable of developing their own cybersecurity strategies with no expert intervention. However, it is a risky option as there’s simply too much at stake. The potential losses due to cybersecurity blunders could be fatal. So, if your organization lacks top security talent, Managed Security Services (MSS) can help fill the knowledge and technology gaps.

Employing the help of reputed service providers will ensure that companies don’t neglect business goals while implementing cybersecurity initiatives. Cybersecurity experts will take a proactive approach to network security and ensure that cyber criminals don’t get access to an organization’s most sensitive data.