Marcus RichardsAny deviations from the security policies, which serve as fundamental operational principles for a company, may result in a security breach. The creation of security regulations is a complex process, and even the smallest error could lead to insurmountable limitations. The validation of security policies becomes extremely important because it allows for the mitigation of any flaws and non-compliances.
Through validation, the company’s operating processes are verified, enhancing its security and usefulness. By making the company’s policies more secure, it eliminates any potential opportunities for breaches.
The Importance of Validation
As a result of considerable advancement in the information technology sector, private data and information are now constantly in danger. Security policies are beneficial, but their efficacy and compliance are not always factual. Non-compliance with recognized norms can lead to impeded operations and, in turn, decreased profits. Security policies are made legitimate and error-proof through validation. Your confidence in your security policies will increase as a result of compliance and validation, and system accountability will increase as all restrictions are lifted.
Some of the most important benefits of validating security in your organization include the prevention of malicious software and maintaining compliance with laws for the industry.
If you’re interested in learning how to create a reliable strategy to verify security in your company, read below.
4 Methods for Validating Security in Your Organization
Perform Risk Assessment
An organization can identify, examine, and categorize the security risks that are posed to its critical assets through risk assessment. Organizations are vulnerable to two forms of risk: external and internal. Internal risks include procedural failure, faulty or insufficient infrastructure, and employee performance. External risks include government regulation, economic trends, consumer taste changes, and competition in the market.
A risk assessment can assist in prioritizing system remediation by identifying the most significant dangers to an organization’s infrastructure. Additionally, it can support budgeting and long-term planning for security investments.
Conduct Security Audits
A security audit is a structured procedure for examining and evaluating how effectively your organization’s security policies are being implemented. In order to examine the security posture of hardware configurations, operating systems, and organizational practices, audits typically involve reviewing code or architectural designs in the context of security requirements, identifying security holes, and performing security posture assessments. Additionally, it assesses adherence to rules and compliance benchmarks.
For instance, a SOC 2 audit evaluates controls that directly relate to the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria. When working with a licensed CPA company, the audit will take around 12 weeks. The SOC 2 engagement starts with scoping processes, continues with an on-site visit, a review of the supporting documentation, and a report draft, and ends with the delivery of the SOC 2 report.
The SOC 2 audit report you get will attest to your company’s dedication to providing customers with secure, high-quality services.
Try Penetration Testing
Penetration testing, also known as ethical hacking, is the practice of simulating actual cyberattacks against a network, system, application, or program while keeping everything safe. It can be used to assess how well current security measures will perform under actual attack. Business logic flaws and zero-day threats can be discovered through penetration testing, along with other undisclosed vulnerabilities.
An ethical hacker is a reputable and licensed security specialist who performs manual penetration testing. The hacker operates within a predetermined scope and makes controlled, damage-free attempts to access a company’s computer systems. Recent years have seen an increase in the frequency and lower cost of testing for enterprises as a result of automated penetration testing technologies.
Implement Vulnerability Management
Vulnerability management is a continuous process that enables a business to find, assess, report, manage, and fix security vulnerabilities across endpoints, workloads, and networks. Vulnerability scanning technologies are often used by security teams to find vulnerabilities and perform manual or automatic methods to remedy them.
An effective vulnerability management program integrates threat intelligence and IT operations expertise to prioritize risks, understand the impact of vulnerabilities, and swiftly fix high-priority issues.
Final Thoughts
In today’s highly competitive business landscape, every organization must make an effort to validate security. As cyber-attacks become more prevalent, you need a holistic method to validate security in your organization. The aforementioned four tips can assist in identifying the controls’ gaps and shortcomings, as well as the necessary adjustments to improve their efficacy and ensure business success and continuity.
