Cyber defense: developing a program to protect your business.

• Author: Georgelas, Tammy B.
• Position: Legal Brief

In the span of a few short years, cybersecurity has transformed from an aspiration to a necessity. No longer the purview of just the IT department, business executives are being asked to develop and implement cybersecurity plans to defend against the ever-changing cyber threat landscape. The job may seem daunting in light of the technology involved in this emerging area of risk management. But the basic premise of cybersecurity is no different than that of home security. In each situation, five fundamentals must be addressed to create a strategic action plan to protect your valuables.

1. Know Your Assets and Prioritize Them

   What do you have, what do you want to protect, and where is it? If your house catches on fire, you save your family first, then grab the jewelry and the wedding album. But you leave the junk mail on the kitchen counter.

   Similarly, you must understand your organization's assets to decide what is worth protecting. This can include intellectual property, client files and employee insurance data. The information can be located on servers, in the cloud or with third-party vendors. The starting point to developing a cybersecurity plan is to create a data map that catalogs the types of information your organization collects, the location of stored data and who is responsible for it.

2. Know Your Vulnerabilities

   Burglars enter through access points: windows and doors. And if your property is worth enough they may try the skylight too.

   In the cyber realm, hackers can intrude from the outside via the internet, email and cellular networks. But data can also be breached by an employee losing a laptop or using a thumb drive that contains malware. Speak with your IT professionals to fully understand all of your organization's access points: how data is collected and transmitted, where it is stored and with whom it is shared.

3. Safeguard Your Valuables

   Protection must be comprehensive. You install a lock on every door and window. You repair broken fences. You double secure your jewelry in a safe in case an intruder actually gets in. And your favorite sister has a copy of your wedding album to replace the original if it is ruined.

   Securing company data is no different. Require employees to develop strong passwords. Limit access to the Secret Recipe on a need-to-know basis. Protect against viruses, spyware and other malicious code by installing software that is readily available from online vendors. Configure the software to install...