3 Ways to Reduce Risk with Cybersecurity Compliance Services
In today’s digital age, businesses rely heavily on technology to function and grow. However, this modernization comes with additional risks – and those risks have a price tag.
According to the Wall Street Journal, cybersecurity insurance premiums continue to balloon – rising as much as 28% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2022. These cybersecurity premiums aren’t rising out of nowhere, they are in response to the rising threat and presence of bad actors.
In fact, in 2022, there was $10.3 billion in losses due to a wide array of Internet scams. As the size of digital footprints continues to expand, IT managers and leaders alike are under a great deal of pressure to keep up with evolving threats and maintain compliance.
So, what solutions exist to address these costly risks? In this article, we’ll cover three ways businesses can lower their risk, and in turn, lower their cybersecurity insurance premiums.
1. Standardize a Risk Assessment & Compliance Gap Analysis
One way to reduce risk is to conduct regular risk assessments. This means intentionally combing through an organization’s technology to identify and evaluate potential threats. This comparison is vital as the results can impact how the IT infrastructure is managed.
Risk assessments are a routine part of ongoing cybersecurity maintenance. How often assessments should be performed depends largely on the size and complexity of the organization, and its use of technology. For example, a Greenville-local construction company might need fewer assessments than an enterprise that employs thousands of workers in various locations.
Part of a cybersecurity risk assessment is a compliance gap analysis. While the cost of a breach can be significant and could bring your business grinding to a halt, the fines of being non-compliant can drive that price even higher.
For instance, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has the authority to fine up to $1,919,173 for violating HIPAA (per violation).
Routine risk assessments with compliance gap analyses help organizations understand their current state. Any gaps inform actions and accountability needed to reduce risk. Plus, these gap reports provide essential data to create and maintain an effective disaster recovery plan.
2. Conduct Employee Awareness Training
Investing in employee cybersecurity awareness training is crucial for reducing risk and maintaining compliance. Employees are often the weakest link in an organization’s defense against bad actors – and cybercriminals know this.
IBM reported that during COVID-19, 95% of cyber attacks began with a mistake by an unsuspecting employee. There are plenty of opportunities for one misclick to incur a costly breach, like:
- Remote work VPN connection requests
- Compromised credentials email claims
- Outdated technology & software
- General lack of awareness
Hackers use a variety of tactics to trick employees into giving away sensitive information or clicking on malicious links. Regular training to raise awareness of common threats, along with standardized procedures for reporting incidents, can mitigate risks.
The biggest cybersecurity mistake that companies make is limiting cybersecurity training to the IT department. Every employee with access to company technology resources needs cybersecurity awareness training at least annually. This training might even be a requirement for obtaining cybersecurity insurance – and a key element to reducing your premiums.
Benefits of Employee Cybersecurity Training
Here are some ways employee training can reduce cybersecurity risk:
- Awareness of cybersecurity threats: Employee training can help raise awareness of the various cybersecurity threats that an organization may face. This includes phishing, malware attacks, social engineering, and others. This awareness enables employees to identify and report potential security risks as well.
- Best practices for cybersecurity: Employee training can also provide employees with knowledge and actions to help protect sensitive information and systems from cyber-attacks. This includes practices to create strong passwords, avoid suspicious emails, keep software up to date, and more.
- Incident response and reporting: Employee training can help ensure that employees are aware of the steps to take after a cybersecurity incident. This includes reporting the incident promptly, following the organization’s incident response procedure, and contacting the IT manager or MSSP to minimize the damage.
- Compliance with security policies: Employee training can help ensure that employees are aware of the organization’s cybersecurity policies and procedures and understand their role in maintaining a secure environment. This includes policies such as access controls, data classification, and data handling procedures.
Employee training is critical in reducing cybersecurity risk. It helps your employees and organization as a whole ensure compliance with security policies and procedures.
3. Partner with a MSSP
Another way to lower cybersecurity risks is to partner with a managed security service provider (MSSP) that specializes in cybersecurity compliance. These providers offer a range of managed cybersecurity services from threat monitoring, to employee training, to improve your security posture.
Learn how Fusion’s South Carolina IT Support helped one company experience 250% growth!
Common managed IT services include:
- Threat monitoring
- Cyber incident response
- Vulnerability scanning
- Compliance management
- Security & gap assessments
- Endpoint Detect and Respond
- Cloud security
- Penetration testing
The right cybersecurity partner can streamline security measures and help free up your IT team to focus on other initiatives. If your business has no IT team, an outsourced IT team can provide your organization with access to skilled talent without the expense of finding, hiring, and training IT experts.
Managed IT services come with plenty of benefits beyond risk management. From simplified operations to scalability that continuously grows to meet your needs, these providers are uniquely positioned to provide exactly what you need. They specialize in cybersecurity so that you don’t have to.
Cybersecurity & Compliance Requirements are Changing
Leaders and IT teams face a daunting task when it comes to cybersecurity and compliance. However, there are practical solutions that can alleviate workload demands and ensure that the business remains safe and compliant.
A combination of diligent assessments, proactive training, and the right cybersecurity partner can put your organization on the right path to reduce risk and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory needs.
Unsure where to start looking for help on maintaining compliance? Fusion Managed IT offers cybersecurity compliance services, including risk assessments, employee training, and operation restoration.
Our team of experts has the knowledge and experience to help businesses of all sizes stay safe and compliant. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you!
