Business moves fast, and so do cybercriminals. They’re not standing still for anyone. In fact, they may be even more motivated to get ahead of the pack to find vulnerabilities that the laggards haven’t caught up with. That’s the nature of their business. And so, it needs to be the cadence for every business. Maintaining a robust cybersecurity posture is paramount, and that means periodic reviews of your cybersecurity posture are critical too, to ensure your defenses remain strong and adaptable. What better time for a check-in than the start of the new financial year?
New vulnerabilities are emerging every day and attackers are developing sophisticated methods to take advantage. Regular reviews are critical to help your business stay ahead by identifying and mitigating new risks.
For businesses in industries that are subject to stringent cybersecurity regulations and standards, conducting regular reviews are even more critical to ensure that your business remains compliant with the regulatory frameworks and requirements of the day, avoiding potential legal issues and fines.
And most importantly, reviews will actually keep your team, your data and your business more secure. A cyber incident like a data breach or systems compromise can have devastating consequences, including financial loss, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust. Regular reviews will help to identify and address potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Over time, security technologies and practices improve. Regular reviews allow you to update and enhance your security measures, ensuring that they remain effective against the latest threats. A strong cybersecurity posture minimises the risk of disruptions so your business can continue operating smoothly even in the face of cyber threats.
Begin by defining the objectives for the review. What specific areas do you want to assess? Of course, we recommend a review of your MailGuard policies and settings too, to ensure that your email remains secure, but the review should also include network security, data protection, access controls, and incident response capabilities. Clearly define the scope to ensure a thorough and focused review.
Next, assemble a team of skilled professionals with the necessary expertise in various aspects of cybersecurity, as well as those with a thorough understanding of your business processes. The team should include IT staff, security analysts, and external IT or Infosec partners to help probe and solve for risks and problems that you might not have considered. You may also bring in areas of data sensitivity like a representative from finance or your marketing team to ensure your payments and CRM processes are watertight. The combined knowledge of the team will provide a comprehensive assessment of your cybersecurity posture and readiness.
Once you have your stated goals and objectives, and the team is assembled, it’s time for a detailed risk assessment to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities. This involves analysing your systems and processes, networks, applications, and data storage practices. Prioritize risks based on their potential impact and likelihood of occurrence.
Examine your existing cybersecurity policies and procedures to ensure they are up-to-date and effective, reviewing access control policies, data encryption practices, incident response plans, and employee training programs.
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Consider recent incidents and feedback from outside of your business as well, like industry groups, and supply chain partners. It’s important to understand the nature of the threats that are emerging in your sector and to adapt your tools and processes accordingly. It will also create a dialogue with third-party partner organisations that lets them know that you take cybersecurity seriously, and that you expect the same from them. Collaboration is key to protecting a business, and periodic reviews are a great opportunity to strengthen relations with peers.
Once implemented, regularly test your security controls to ensure they’re functioning as intended. This can include penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and security audits. Identify any weaknesses and iterate to ensure the necessary improvements are in place.
Remember that cybersecurity is not set and forget, so continuous monitoring and analysis of logs will provide valuable insights into potential threats and incidents. Ensure your log management practices are robust too, and that you’re actively reviewing them for signs of suspicious activity.
Document the findings from your review and provide clear, actionable recommendations for improvement. This documentation should include identified risks, areas for improvement, and a roadmap for implementing necessary changes. Establishing a schedule for regular cybersecurity posture reviews is vital and consistency is key to maintaining a strong and safe posture.
As an MSP or Reseller, you play a crucial role in helping your clients maintain a strong cybersecurity posture too. Encourage regular reviews and offer your expertise in performing the assessments by providing comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, services and advice. It will also help your business to enhance your value proposition and strengthen client relationships.
Ensure that your review covers the business’s email security policies and settings for its MailGuard services too. Email remains a primary vector for cyberattacks, including phishing, malware distribution, and Business Email Compromise (BEC), and while the services may be working fine, circumstances continue to change meaning that a fresh look over policies is appropriate.
For example, reviewing any whitelists that are in place. The picture below shows whitelists that were established several years ago. That's not uncommon, so it’s prudent to review them in the event that a supplier relationship or other arrangement has expired, meaning that a whitelist that was required historically could now represent a vulnerability if the two parties are no longer doing business together.
The same applies for other settings like the business’s domains and mail policies.
Monitor and analyse email logs to identify any potential threats or unusual activities, and review access controls like multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforcement, and role-based access controls (RBAC)
It’s also an opportune time to consider any third-party integrations and to review incident response plans to ensure that they are still current and fit for purpose in the current business climate, and risk environment.
By choosing MailGuard, your customers have wisely identified email security as a priority. To significantly reduce the risk of email-borne attacks and to protect the business from potentially devastating consequences, a thorough review and check-in on policies is essential.
Keeping Businesses Safe and Secure
Prevention is always better than a cure, and one of the best defences is to encourage businesses to proactively boost their company’s cyber resilience levels to avoid threats landing in inboxes in the first place. The fact that a staggering 94% of malware attacks are delivered by email, makes email an extremely important vector for businesses to fortify.
No one vendor can stop all email threats, so it’s crucial to remind customers that if they are using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, they should also have a third-party email security specialist in place to mitigate their risk. For example, using a specialist third-party cloud email solution like MailGuard.
MailGuard provides a range of solutions to keep businesses safe, from email filtering to email continuity and archiving solutions. Speak to your customers today to ensure they’re prepared and get in touch with our team to discuss fortifying your customer’s cyber resilience.
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