Take control of Your Cyber Defense

Cyber threats evolve, and the tools that defend against them mirror those changes, evolving in their own right to better defend increasingly complex networks.

Organizations combat cyber adversaries in their own environment, which gives them an intrinsic defender’s advantage—although security teams often struggle to capitalize on this.

This is because they have control over their own environment, including their networks, systems, and data. This gives them the ability to implement security controls, detect and respond to threats, and recover from attacks more effectively.

Cyber security leaders and practitioners alike must learn how to optimize and activate the six critical functions of cyber defense to ensure their security program can effectively prevent and rapidly repel these inevitable attackers.

Overview of the six critical functions of cyber defense are :

# Identify: Identify the assets that need to be protected, the threats that could harm them, and the vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

# Protect: Implement security controls to protect assets from threats and vulnerabilities.

# Detect: Detect malicious activity on the network and systems.

# Respond: Respond to malicious activity in a timely and effective manner.

# Recover: Recover from cyberattacks and minimize the impact on the organization.

# Govern: Establish and maintain a cybersecurity program that aligns with the organization's overall risk management strategy.

These six functions are essential for any organization that wants to protect itself from cyberattacks. By implementing and maintaining a comprehensive cyber defense program, organizations can reduce their risk of being compromised and minimize the impact of any attacks that do occur.

The current status quo represents a dramatic shift in the cyber threat landscape, one whose full effects are still being understood. Going forward, new threats continue to emerge.

The most apparent “normal” cybersecurity challenge revolves around remote work. With the hybrid office model here to stay, remote work (and the cyber risks it brings) will remain prevalent.

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA