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IT Compliance Strategy

Having a robust IT Compliance Strategy is crucial for 2024. The financial tremors of 2022 have left an indelible mark on the operational outlook in the coming new year. With the world grappling with inflation, rising interest rates, and the cost of living skyrocketing – all amidst post-pandemic recovery and geopolitical tensions – businesses find themselves in a new kind of crucible. This pressure cooker does not spare compliance teams, which are critical in safeguarding the integrity and legal fortitude of financial institutions.


Compliance Cost Dynamics in the Financial Sector

The financial implications of maintaining compliance are steep and climbing, as underscored by the intensified scrutiny and complex regulatory requirements in the wake of recent global events. This year, compliance costs continue to soar due to new sanctions and the overarching need to stay ahead in a competitive market. Among the many reasons for these cost increases:

  • Compliance roles have grown in responsibility due to geopolitical unrest, economic instability, banking failures, and the emergence of new technologies like crypto-assets.
  • Financial services firms are struggling with the complexities of navigating these regulations amid finite resources.
  • There’s an increasing breadth of knowledge required for compliance officers to manage a growing number of regulatory changes and associated risks​​.

The Repercussions of Non-Compliance: A Financial Perspective

The stakes for non-compliance are higher than ever, with notable examples such as Sephora’s $1.2 million penalty under CCPA and the multimillion-dollar fines against tech giants in South Korea. These incidents serve as stark reminders of the financial and reputational risks that come with non-compliance.

Adapting Compliance in Response to Economic Pressures

In response to the economic squeeze, compliance departments are exploring avenues to mitigate the impact of reduced staff and capabilities. Rising talent costs and stringent budgets have prompted a need for strategic adaptation, with technology playing a pivotal role in maintaining operational resilience. As economic conditions tighten, financial organizations are adjusting their compliance strategies to maintain efficiency and effectiveness. They’re tackling the challenges of:

  • Reduced staff and capabilities: Economizing on human resources in compliance roles due to budget constraints.
  • Rising talent costs: Addressing the demand for high salaries and the competition for skilled compliance professionals.
  • Technology as a resilience tool: Leveraging technology solutions to enhance compliance operations and reduce dependency on increasing headcount.

Tech and Compliance: A Synergetic Approach to Efficiency

To combat these challenges, financial services are increasingly turning to technology solutions. Data-centric security models and the adoption of zero trust frameworks are becoming prevalent strategies to manage compliance risks proactively rather than reactively.

  • Data-centric security models: Protecting data through its lifecycle to meet compliance mandates.
  • Zero trust frameworks: Implementing rigorous access controls and verification to prevent unauthorized data breaches.

Shifting Towards Outsourced Compliance: A Strategic Financial Perspective

  • In the face of tightening economic conditions, the advantages of outsourcing compliance activities become increasingly evident. Engaging in managed services offers a flexible and cost-effective solution to bolster compliance efforts without the financial burden of expanding in-house teams.
  • Navigating Technological Advances and the Scarcity of IT Expertise: As technological innovations advance, the battle to secure and maintain skilled IT professionals escalates. This struggle is compounded by an expanding array of cybersecurity threats and the imperative for uninterrupted system operations.
  • Addressing Immediate and Strategic IT Requirements: Outsourcing emerges as a viable solution when in-house IT resources fall short of addressing critical strategic needs or when certain IT functions fail to perform optimally, affecting overall efficiency and value.
  • Expanding Skills Access While Minimizing Risks: The trend towards IT service outsourcing is evolving from a focus on cost savings to one of accessing broader skill sets, mitigating risks, and enhancing IT service delivery, thereby aligning more closely with corporate strategy.
  • The Competitive Landscape for Specialized Expertise: The fierce competition for specialized skill sets, particularly in areas like internal auditing, highlights the difficulties in attracting and retaining talent amid rising labor costs and organizational complexities.
  • Adapting to Geographical and Seasonal Needs: Outsourcing presents a strategic response to the challenges of geographical expansion and the demand for part-time or seasonal staff, offering a level of flexibility not easily achieved with permanent, full-time employees.
  • Rising Costs of Compliance Management: In the aftermath of the financial crisis, financial service providers witness a surge in compliance operational costs, often surpassing budget allocations for discretionary initiatives and prompting innovative approaches to cost containment.
  • Interdepartmental Regulatory Compliance Initiatives: The responsibility for regulatory adherence is increasingly becoming a shared endeavor across departments, necessitating diverse executive engagement and the pursuit of regulatory efficiency through cutting-edge technologies for cost-effective compliance management.
  • Leveraging New Technologies for Regulatory Efficiency: The advent of blockchain, robotic process automation, and cognitive computing technologies offers promising avenues for enhancing operational and regulatory efficiency. However, their effective integration presents complex challenges.

Conclusion: Building a Proactive Compliance Posture for Economic Resilience

The path forward for compliance in an economy beset with uncertainties is proactive and forward-thinking. It’s about turning compliance from a cost burden into a strategic advantage, ensuring that every dollar spent today saves several down the line in potential fines, reputational damage, or operational inefficiencies.

At Coretelligent, we understand the intricate balance required to navigate these complex times. Our CoreComply platform is designed to offer reliable, comprehensive solutions tailored to your unique compliance needs. By partnering with us, you can enhance your firm’s compliance strategy, safeguarding against the risks of today and preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.

Learn more about our approach to security and compliance and how we can help you thrive even in the face of economic headwinds by visiting Coretelligent Security & Compliance Solutions.

The Role of Regulatory Compliance in Life Sciences

As we navigate the new age of AI, the nexus between cybersecurity and regulatory compliance has deepened, particularly in the Life Sciences and Professional Services industries. As owners of vast amounts of sensitive data, these sectors face heightened expectations to uphold rigorous compliance standards.


Regulatory Compliance in Life Sciences

 

The Compliance Landscape Today:

  • Surge in Data Breaches: Digital transformation has brought both convenience and vulnerability to the landscape. In 2022 alone, the U.S. witnessed 1,802 data breach cases, affecting over 422 million individuals.
  • Industry-Specific Vulnerabilities: While every sector faces cybersecurity threats, certain industries bear a heavier burden due to the sensitive nature of the data they handle. Healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing topped the list in 2022, with the financial sector seeing a significant uptick in data compromises.
  • Evolving Regulatory Landscape: As cyber threats grow in sophistication; regulatory frameworks are evolving in tandem. All this while SEC proposed new data privacy regulations, heightened audit requirements, and stringent third-party risk management mandates are reshaping how businesses approach compliance.
  • Global Repercussions of Non-Compliance: In our interconnected business ecosystem, a breach in one region can trigger ramifications worldwide, underscoring the global implications of non-compliance.
  • The Role of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC): With the increasing complexity of regulatory requirements, a well-designed GRC strategy becomes indispensable. It aids organizations in aligning their IT operations with business objectives while ensuring they meet regulatory compliance mandates.
  • The Cost of Non-Compliance: Beyond the immediate financial penalties, non-compliance can erode customer trust, tarnish a company’s reputation, and result in lost business opportunities.

For a deeper dive into the nuances between security and compliance, especially in 2023, our article “Security vs. Compliance: Differences & Similarities (2023)” provides valuable insights.

Best Practices in Compliance Management:

Effective compliance management goes beyond simple adherence to regulations. It’s about leveraging these regulations to foster trust, ensure data protection, and achieve business growth. Here are some strategies and methodologies:

  1. Continuous Monitoring: Utilize compliance management tools designed to help businesses conduct audits, assess and mitigate potential risks, and continuously manage compliance programs.
  2. Risk Assessment: Employ tools that monitor an organization’s external cyber hygiene and their business with third parties. Such tools enable teams to automatically prioritize risk issues based on issue severity and the systems’ value at risk. Take a free risk assessment, here.
  3. Gap Analysis and Roadmap: A comprehensive document outlining the existing gaps between an organization’s current and ideal future state. This is followed by a report elaborating on the strategies to achieve organizational goals efficiently.
  4. Incident Response Exercise: Engage in discussion-based exercises to discuss roles during emergencies, such as ransomware attacks.
  5. Engage Expertise: Consider consulting with experts in the field for strategic guidance and planning. Such professionals often have backgrounds in cybersecurity and are continually self-educating on compliance strategy.

Conclusion:

While often seen as a cumbersome necessity, regulatory compliance offers dual benefits. It ensures that sensitive data is handled with the utmost care, minimizing the risk of breaches. Moreover, businesses prioritizing compliance are often viewed more favorably in the market, giving them a competitive edge as a trusted provider.

Compliance is not just about adhering to rules but about fostering trust and ensuring sustainable growth.

Contact Coretelligent today and ensure your company stays up-to-date with ever-evolving compliance regulations, restrictions, and audits.

In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, the significance of airtight cybersecurity is paramount. The recent incidents at MGM & Caesar’s highlight this urgency.


The Incident

MGM faced operational hiccups when slot machines and hotel room key cards went haywire. Likewise, Caesar’s experienced a breach, exposing sensitive data like driver’s license numbers and social security details of their loyalty program members. The shocking part? A phone call to the casino’s helpdesk was the entry point.

These establishments were seemingly on the radar of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) groups ALPHV/Blackcat and Scattered Spider. These groups adeptly used social engineering tactics to infiltrate, specifically targeting the company’s Okta platform, a popular identity and access management (IAM) provider for the cloud.

Their Tactics

The attackers claimed to have breached MGM’s systems by accessing the company’s Okta Agent, which connects to an organization’s Active Directory. After gaining access, they lurked around, collecting passwords, and subsequently launched ransomware cyberattacks on a massive scale. The ALPHV group has even threatened further action if their demands aren’t met.

Okta’s chief security officer, David Bradbury, acknowledged the cyberattack’s social engineering component. He emphasized that while the human aspect of the attack was straightforward, the subsequent stages were intricate. Bradbury also highlighted the importance of adding a visual verification step for high-access privilege users to prevent such breaches.

The MGM attack is resulting in daily losses of $8 million for the casino. This underscores that even seemingly secure organizations can still fall prey to cybersecurity breaches. The continued success of social engineering as a tactic demonstrates that humans are often the weakest link in the chain.

How to Fortify Your Defenses

This recent incident has left companies asking themselves if they are safe from similar attacks. Coretelligent emerges as a beacon of trust and reliability in this tumultuous cybersecurity climate. Episodes like this are more prevalent than ever, and we’re constantly making sure to analyze point by point where things could have been improved, even for victims who are not our clients. Learning and growing from every new event is part of what makes us a trusted organization in the cybersecurity space. That’s why we’ve outlined some of the solutions we offer to help prevent an attack like these for our clients.

Let us fortify your defenses with the following:

CoreArmor

  • Real-time Monitoring: Detect unusual IT system activities, thwarting unauthorized access.
  • 24×7 US-based SOC: Our cybersecurity experts are always on standby, ready to neutralize threats.
  • Incident Response: Swift actions to curtail and mitigate security breaches.
  • Penetration Testing & Reporting: Identify vulnerabilities proactively, ensuring they’re addressed before exploitation.
  • End-user Security Awareness Training: Arm your employees with the knowledge to sidestep potential cyber threats.

CoreComply

  • Managed Security Controls: A holistic approach to security controls, from access control reviews to ensuring no accounts are overprovisioned.
  • TPRM Program Development: Our team delves deeper than just compliance checkboxes, ensuring a comprehensive vendor categorization based on data criticality.
  • Hyperproof: A continuous compliance management tool.
  • RiskRecon: A vigilant eye on external cyber hygiene and third-party risks.
  • Risk Assessment: Comprehensive analysis and mitigation of potential compliance gaps.

Take Action

We’re offering a free Risk Assessment, your first step towards unparalleled security, compliance, and risk management. Join the ranks of thousands who’ve bolstered their defenses with Coretelligent.

risk assessment

How to Avoid Increased Risk from Phishing Attacks

Reports of cybercriminals registering suspicious domains after the Silicon Valley Bank shutdown indicate potential coordinated campaigns to trick account holders and users across industries, including tech, life sciences, and investment firms. Learn how to avoid these phishing attacks.

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What is a common indicator of a phishing attempt

 

Since the news about Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) dropped, much of the focus has been on how the shutdown happened and the implications for the industry and the economy at large. However, amidst the worry about the impacts lies another danger—the risk of increased cyber-attacks, particularly from phishing attempts and other social engineering. Of course, it is essential always to remain vigilant, but bad actors often take advantage of opportunities like this to ramp up their efforts.

A sudden change in business procedures can create a vulnerable window of opportunity for cybercriminals to launch malicious campaigns. As we’ve seen with other incidents, attackers have taken advantage of any vulnerabilities arising from the disruption to perpetrate attacks on other companies.

It has been reported that cybercriminals have been registering suspicious domains after the Silicon Valley Bank shutdown that can be used in coordinated campaigns to trick end-users into sharing sensitive information.

With this in mind, organizations must remain extra vigilant for phishing attempts and other social engineering tactics during times of uncertainty that cybercriminals can exploit.

How to Avoid Phishing Attacks?

Here are some tips to help your firm avoid phishing attacks:

  • Expect an increase in phishing, social engineering, and phone calls and email attempts to gain access to your data and accounts.
  • Attackers will use language to appeal to your emotions. For example, click this now, urgent, your money is running out, etc.
  • Finance teams must carefully verify and validate any account changes or new account requests.
  • Implement multifactor authentication if your organization does not already employ it.
  • Ensure that employees are aware of the increased risk and ensure they can recognize social engineering and phishing attempts.
  • Follow up with a regular training program for end-users to ensure employees are always ready to identify the latest tactics utilized by cyber attackers.

What is a common indicator of a phishing attempt?

  • Here are some of the usual signs of an email phishing attempt. Often phishing schemes will include several of these markers.
  • An email sent from an address that does not match the domain associated with the sender. For example, if you receive an email from someone claiming to be from SVB but with a different domain name in the “from” field, this should be a red flag.
  • Emails with misspelled words and grammatical or syntax errors could also signal a malicious attempt.
  • Emails that include links or attachments should be carefully scrutinized. It is always best to err on the side of caution and not click links or open attachments until you can confirm that they are from a trusted source.
  • Unsolicited emails that ask for or direct you to a link or document asking for personally identifying information (PII) like passwords, wire transfer details, login credentials, or other sensitive data should be treated with extreme caution.
  • Finally, if an email contains a sense of urgency, includes offers of immediate assistance, or requests payment now, this could be a sign of a phishing attempt. Again, be sure to take the time to independently verify the request before taking any action.

If you encounter any of these signs, it is best to flag the email and alert your IT department immediately. Taking precautions to protect yourself from phishing attempts is critical in safeguarding your company’s data.


Related Content: Why are Phishing Emails so Dangerous, and How Can You Spot Them?


It is essential to remain vigilant when there is heightened risk from cyber criminals taking advantage of a highly volatile situation like SVB’s recent closure. By following best practices such as implementing multifactor authentication, conducting end-user training, and relying on a multilayered cybersecurity program, you can protect your business from cyber criminals looking to take advantage of the uncertainty during this and the next inciting incident.

SOX Compliance Requirements

As cyberattacks increase and intensify, the hardening of security measures becomes even more of a necessity, as does compliance with a network of laws and regulations, including SOX compliance.

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SOX Compliance Requirements

What Is SOX Compliance?

First passed in 2002, the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) requires publicly-traded companies to maintain transparency in financial reporting, preventing fraudulent accounting activities, protecting investors, and improving investor confidence.

The Act includes compliance requirements about external auditors, corporate governance, internal control assessments, and financial disclosures.

SOX IT Compliance Requirements and Reporting

When it comes to IT, SOX compliance requires firms to have policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect, and disclose material cybersecurity risks and incidents. Companies also need to prove that they have data safeguards and procedures in place and that they are operational. This includes quality access management, preventative security measures, and redundant and secure backups.

Additionally, another requirement is that security systems must be able to detect data breaches, and the organization needs a communication plan for notifying leadership and investors of identified breaches. In reporting and during an annual SOX compliance audit, businesses must attest to and provide evidence that these internal controls exist.

One extremely challenging SOX cybersecurity requirement is that businesses are responsible for reporting material cybersecurity risks within four business days after the registrant determines that it has experienced a material cybersecurity incident. This can mean that an organization must disclose a risk or incident before regular reporting or a yearly SOX audit.


Related Content → IT Security and Compliance. What’s the Difference?


SOX in 2023

In both 2011 and 2018, the SEC published guidance for interpreting existing rules in connection with cybersecurity threats and incidents.

However, in 2022, the SEC recommended a proposed rule that would require registrants to provide enhanced disclosures about “cybersecurity incidents and cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance.” This rule is part of the Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions released by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. SEC Chair Gary Gensler released a statement in early 2023 acknowledging the Commission’s support of the proposed agenda.

It is significant to note that SOX requires signing officer(s), typically an Executive Officer, to attest that the information in their internal control and financial reports is accurate. They cannot contain any false statements, nor can they omit material information. They also need documentation demonstrating that the organization is SOX compliant. Intentionally or inadvertently generating misleading compliance reports or falsifying information not only leads to noncompliance but can also result in upwards of $5 million in fines and 20 years in prison.

In 2022, the news that Uber’s CISO was convicted of federal charges for failing to disclose a 2016 data breach broke, demonstrating just how severe the consequences of non-compliance can be for individuals as well as companies.

Understanding Risks and Their Impact

How do you know what your material cybersecurity risks and incidents are? How do you know if your firm has experienced a breach?

If your IT team does not have the expertise to continuously analyze risks and understand SOX compliance requirements, they may not see correlations that signify a material risk. Without expert guidance, your firm may miss the context or severity of threats. Businesses may not report minor security incidents deeming them to be immaterial. But what if all these smaller threats and incidents turn out to be a much larger problem? Unable to see the connection between events, an organization could unintentionally omit a material cybersecurity risk in its reporting.

Even worse, failure to evaluate the risk appropriately can lead to security breaches, data loss, lawsuits, and other costly damages.

With such high penalties for failure to appropriately disclose material cybersecurity risks and incidents, it is critical for businesses to implement compliance processes and risk management practices to identify and assess threats across their network. Identified risks need to be assessed and treated appropriately and promptly. This process of assessing and implementing measures to modify risk is known as risk treatment.

To understand the risks in your firm’s environment, it needs continuous network monitoring and the expertise and systems for evaluating and conducting a risk assessment. Partnering with an IT firm with specialized knowledge of the compliance requirements outlined in SOX is ideal to ensure compliance and improve your security posture.

Actively Monitoring for Cybersecurity Threats

There is a difference between performance monitoring and cybersecurity monitoring.

Performance monitoring lets you know if systems are operating efficiently, but it doesn’t tell you what security threats exist or the severity of those risks.

In 2023, the risks from malicious cyberattacks and technology are substantial and are a constant threat. It is no longer acceptable to run occasional cybersecurity scans and assume you are seeing an accurate picture of your overall security posture. Instead, to have a complete understanding of the risks and incidents that occur on your network, you need 24x7x365 activity monitoring.

With a managed detection and response (MDR) platform, a team of security analysts with skills in forensic analysis can identify, evaluate, and provide a response plan to threats and breaches within your network.

SIEM Technology

Without the help of security analysts and security information and event management (SIEM) technology, you may not see the significant link between small risks or incidents.

Security experts use SIEM platforms to correlate and analyze threats. This helps to provide context and severity of risks, which is instrumental in determining materiality.

Keep in mind that you need a security expert to utilize the full benefits of these types of internal security controls.

Meeting SOX Compliance Requirements with Comprehensive Cybersecurity

As mentioned, to maintain SOX compliance, your organization needs to be able to measure the materiality of cybersecurity risks and incidents.

Without the right tools, expertise, and testing, your business could experience a breach causing tremendous financial costs, permanent data loss, or even closure.

Even if your organization is not required to be SOX compliant, implementing internal controls and data protection procedures increases your overall security posture. For a private company or a non-profit, which are not mandated to have SOX compliance programs, creating and monitoring security controls is considered to be a cybersecurity best practice.


Related Content →  Evaluate your security readiness with our  Cybersecurity Checklist.


To learn more about SOX cybersecurity and compliance solutions, reach out to Coretelligent’s team of experts.

What is HIPAA compliance?

what is HIPAA compliance

Healthcare businesses face mounting regulations these days. But ask any healthcare provider, “What is HIPAA?” and they will certainly tell you it’s the most important regulation of all. But what is HIPAA compliance?

Understanding HIPAA and how to adhere to it is vital not only to healthcare providers but to those who support them, including IT providers of cloud-based tools, storage media, and hardware.

 


What is HIPAA Compliance?

HIPAA, short for the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is a federal act that enforces specific laws and regulations to safeguard the privacy and security of patient data, also known as protected health information or PHI.

HIPAA compliance refers to the implementation of specific security, privacy, and operational measures required to protect sensitive patient health data. This includes an array of actions and oversight that must adhere to specific federal regulations, including secure storage, transaction, and disposal of patient data, safeguards against data breaches and unauthorized disclosure, and data encryption.

Who needs to understand HIPAA?

The meaning of HIPAA compliance must be understood by several market segments:

  • Healthcare Providers
    Healthcare providers must understand the meaning of HIPAA compliance and be equipped to properly manage PHI, including medical records, financial information, and personal identifying information (PII). Healthcare providers that violate HIPAA rules and work outside of HIPAA compliance are at risk of fines and penalties.
  • Patients
    Patients benefit from having a basic understanding of the meaning of HIPAA. Awareness of how healthcare providers are required to treat their information allows patients to be equipped to advocate for their rights and be alert for dubious practices.
  • Insurers
    In addition to doctors and healthcare facilities, health insurance providers must also adhere to HIPAA, since handling PHI is also part of their daily operations. Medicare and Medicaid providers, employer-sponsored health plans, and organizations managing private insurance sales must all be aware of HIPAA requirements.
  • Information technology (IT) providers
    Two major provisions of HIPAA have to do with information: the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule. In a nutshell, these rules govern how patient information should be handled and how it should be kept safe. IT providers must be aware of both rules since it will fall to them to create and maintain secure infrastructure for digital PHI.

  Related Content – Therapeutics Company Benefits from Compliant Infrastructure Case Study


How does IT impact compliance?

HIPAA and IT connect on two major points: information handling and information security. Here’s how:

  • HIPAA compliance requires dedicated personnel.
    Here, “dedicated” calls for a specific person in the organization to be directly responsible for putting policies in place for HIPAA compliance. An enterprise organization may hire a privacy officer specifically to oversee these requirements, while a small doctor’s office may appoint an office manager to manage requirements; each approach is valid and must consider the needs and capacity of the business.
  • HIPAA requires a basic strategy.
    One of the key points that dedicated personnel will be responsible for is HIPAA compliance strategy. That person will subsequently work with IT providers to establish the framework for security and compliance operations.
  • HIPAA demands basic security principles.
    IT providers must take special care to understand the HIPAA requirements for security and privacy of PHI. While security appliances and antivirus tools will be useful, this is just the beginning. Policies like Unique User Authentication and access control are critical. The IT provider working with the dedicated HIPAA officer will offer further recommendations accordingly.
  • Don’t forget disasters.
    One key component of HIPAA compliance planning is creating a disaster recovery plan. Healthcare providers must have such a plan in place that allows PHI to be continuously available, even during a disaster. Disaster recovery plans offer benefits beyond compliance, including cost savings and improved customer experience.
  • Test and assess.
    Once a disaster recovery plan is in place, testing and assessment will be required to ensure it delivers as promised. As security needs change, and new threats emerge, the disaster recovery plan will continue to evolve. Thus, staging new plans, and testing these routinely, is crucial to the ultimate success of HIPAA compliance.

Some Miscellaneous Points About HIPAA Compliance

  • Basic requirements
    HIPAA requires a standardized format for all stored data, whether it’s health, financial, or administrative. Each healthcare entity needs a unique identifier, though an ID number will work.
  • HIPAA Compliance Best Practices
    HIPAA contains a set of best practices that mandate HIPAA compliance as part of its Security Rule. Though these standards cover a lot of ground, sticking to them will ensure the clearest path to compliance.

Need HIPAA Compliance help?

There’s no way around it: HIPAA compliance is a massive undertaking, but Coretelligent can help you through the labyrinth of HIPAA requirements, rules, and regulations. Get in touch with us to learn how Coretelligent can help you establish security principles, address compliance issues, and generate disaster recovery plans and systems.

Four Tools to Evaluate and Improve Your Cybersecurity Posture

 

Cybersecurity ResourcesCybersecurity Awareness Month is recognized every October. Now in its 19th year, this month is a collaborative effort between Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) to ensure that individuals, organizations, and businesses have the cybersecurity tips and resources they need to be safe and secure online.

Cybersecurity headlines often focus on breaches or attacks, but this month highlights available resources and strategies to maintain security all year long and avoid the headlines.

To do our part and help raise awareness, Coretelligent has put together a list of various digital resources to utilize to better evaluate, understand, and improve your cybersecurity posture.

What Cybersecurity Resources Can You Utilize Today?

  1. Cybersecurity Checklist

    To help you appraise your cybersecurity readiness, the experts at Coretelligent have created a Cybersecurity Evaluation Checklist. This checklist is a jumping-off point to help your enterprise determine its ability to mitigate the risk of cyberattacks before it is too late.

    This checklist can help you identify initial cybersecurity successes and opportunities for growth in your existing security measures to help you develop an IT roadmap that minimizes risk while supporting growth.

  1. Risk Mitigation Case Study

    This risk mitigation case study looks at Coretelligent’s partnership with client Courier Express to establish a comprehensive cybersecurity solution and can help you better understand partnering with an MSP.

    As one of the largest courier companies in the nation, Courier Express has round-the-clock operations that rely on a continuous flow of transactional data. Understanding that cyberattacks pose a significant threat to their operations, Courier Express works with Coretelligent to mitigate those threats.

    This study illustrates how an MSP partnership can help you defend against cyber threats, elevate your IT game, and free up your in-house staff to focus on growth and innovation.

  2. Best Practices for Safeguarding Against Critical Cyberthreats

    Looking for ways to increase your cybersecurity posture today but not sure where to start? Watch this video to learn ways to protect yourself and your organization from cyber threats.

    In 2021, ransomware attacks increased by 105%, and the current geopolitical situation has led to an even higher level of risk for businesses of all sizes and across all industries. This heightened cyber threat landscape requires robust security solutions to protect against cyberattacks, data breaches, malware, ransomware, and other critical cyber threats. Learn more about what steps you can take today and how to stay proactive into the future.

  3. Multilayered Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Video

    Maybe you already have some cybersecurity solutions but want to build more robust protection. That’s where defense-in-depth comes in. It is a system of continuous and overlapping security layers that range from simple controls to complex security tools. These layers are designed to create an interlocking barrier that is continuously monitoring and protecting your assets. With multilayered security, if one layer of defense is breached, there are additional layers in place to mitigate any exposure. This model is designed to handle sophisticated cyber-attacks and delivers a more robust cybersecurity solution that is necessary for today’s volatile cyber landscape.

    In watching this video, you’ll learn more about the goal of defense-in-depth and how it benefits your company. Creating multiple barriers slows down attackers and sends out intrusion alerts before significant damage is done. Multilayered cybersecurity will also satisfy many compliance standards for industries like financial services and life sciences.

Build a Balance of Business and Security

Balancing business initiatives with security and technology can seem challenging, but Coretelligent can help. After reviewing these resources, we encourage you to contact our cybersecurity experts. Protect your business and learn more about our enhanced managed cybersecurity services designed specifically for small-to-mid-sized companies. Reduce your risk from security incidents – contact us today for help responding to your cybersecurity gaps.

Looking for more cybersecurity tips? Check out our list of 7 Security Tips for Practicing Good Cyber Hygiene.