Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, making proactive risk management essential. This article explores strategic frameworks, key practices, and recommendations for CIOs to safeguard organizations against both known and unknown cyber threats.
Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, with attack techniques becoming more sophisticated by the day. Cybercriminals exploit a multitude of access points—known as attack vectors—to infiltrate systems and wreak havoc. According to India Cyber Threat Report 2023 by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) which is backed by NASSCOM, “over 50% of detections of attack vectors are associated with removable media and network drives and approximately 25% of attacks result from clicking on malicious links in emails and websites.”
The report further explores that Cryptojacking is emerging as a major threat with over 5.28% detections every year. In a city-wise analysis, Surat was at the top with 15% followed by Bangaluru with 14% detection.
Current Cybersecurity Threats Landscape
Every day, developers introduce new cyber defence systems. These systems are typically designed to detect routine or foreseeable risks. As per the research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, the Strategic Imperatives for cybersecurity are “incorporating zero-trust frameworks to minimize cyber risks that threaten digital transformation and limit its potential to boost business productivity and profitability,” “prioritizing cybersecurity as a strategic business enabler, rather than a cost center, to safeguard business succeed in today’s interconnected digital landscape,” and “shifting the focus from regulatory compliance to security posture to protect business assets from rapidly evolving tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).”
Although cybersecurity risk factors are many, if we divide into categories, can be divided into two types:
Known Risk Factors: Risks that can be identified, scrutinized, and planned in advance are called known risk factors. As per the official website of Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Mass.gov, known risk factors are Malware, Ransomware, Spam and Phishing, Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cash Out, Corporate Account Takeover (CATO) and more.
Unknown Risk Factors: In the cybersecurity landscape “unknown unknowns” allude to the risk factors the security professionals are unaware of and how to articulate. Most security solutions are developed to counter predictable threats. Hence, CIOs are required to develop and implement a proactive action plan to minimize the impact or prevent the effects of unknown risks. According to the Cybersecurity firm Unknown Cyber report, 70% of malicious software goes undetected by antivirus software. Take a proactive approach to handle unknown risks by:
Building a capable cybersecurity workforce to respond promptly.
Equipping the team with the necessary cybersecurity tools and technologies.
Ensuring organizational readiness to identify, assess, and strategize for unknown risks.
As per the Palo Alto report, among several unknown cybersecurity risk factors Recycled Threats tops the chart. Security solutions have bounded memory and security officials mostly opt to protect the organization against the most updated threat. This allows the malicious actors to take it up as the cheapest attack method. Second is the Modified Existing Code which is lightly costlier than the recycled threat. In this, the attacker makes a slight change in the code of the existing threat resulting in a polymorphic URL or polymorphic malware.
Like a virus, it morphs automatically and changes rapidly, security product identifies the known threat and slight changes in the code turn it into an unknown. The third is Newly Created Threats which involves more determined attackers who are ready to invest money. Every aspect of this cyber-attack lifecycle must be novel.
Risk Management for Security and Integrity: CIOs’ Perspective
Effective risk management for CIOs requires a holistic approach to both known and unknown threats. For known risks, it's vital to identify vulnerabilities, assess their impact, and implement strategies to mitigate or eliminate them. For unknown risks, a proactive action plan is essential, coupled with continuous monitoring and updates to stay ahead of emerging security challenges. Let’s break down each approach in detail:
Risk Management Plan for Known Risk Factors
Advanced and optimized security tools, equipment, and protocols, coupled with strong governance, are essential for managing a robust cybersecurity framework for known threats. These elements work together to enhance threat detection, streamline response strategies, and ensure compliance with industry regulations, ultimately shielding the organization's overall security posture against anticipated risk factors.
Risk Management Plan for Unknown Risk Factors
Proactiveness and readiness, along with investment in research and future planning, are key factors for addressing emerging unknown risks and new cyber threats. To guard against “unknown” recycled threats, having access to threat intelligence memory storage and if the threat actor is not identified, then finding access to a larger threat intelligence knowledge base, to catch if anything is malicious. To protect against the threat caused by modified existing code, security products require polymorphic signatures which are created using traffic of contents and patterns of files and enabling them to identify multiple variants and facilitate protection. While protecting against newly created threats requires a focus on the data flow and unique business behaviour. At the same time, global information sharing can also help to turn unknown risks into known very soon.
Research and Investment:
Organizations have their own reserves and limitations when it comes to investing in research. However, the advantage of developing in-house solutions is that it not only benefits the organization but can also generate business through product patents. CIOs must collaborate with top management to present proposals that take these reserves into account and demonstrate the value of research for approval. By doing so, CIOs can secure resources for research and development, enhancing cybersecurity measures to reduce or eliminate the potential impact of unknown threats.
Prerequisites for Conducting Risk Assessment
Basic knowledge of cybersecurity and its associated risks, along with the ability to manage the entire portfolio, requires certain prerequisites for CIOs. Here are some frameworks and certifications covering different aspects of cybersecurity, from risk management to best practices, enabling CIOs to protect digital assets proactively.
ISO/IEC 27001 – An international standard, it decorates CIOs with a systematic approach to managing and protecting sensitive digital assets. It provides a set of guidelines regarding information security management while enabling them with frameworks to establish strongly implement, maintain, and monitor an organization’s ISMS (information security management systems).
NIST – NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) is a cybersecurity framework that presents an inclusive document for security guidelines and standards to manage cybersecurity and reduce risks which is essential for the CIOs. It offers a standardized approach for organizations to describe and prioritize their security risks, enabling them to create an effective risk management plan. The framework is built around five core functions: Identify, Detect, Respond, Protect, and Recover.
CRISC – CRISC (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control) is a certification specifically drafted for CIOs and the IT fraternity to manage and mitigate the risks associated with information security and the associated menace while providing a deep understanding of the best practices of risk management and fostering the skill-set required for decision-making in a dynamic environment of information security. Having focused on practical applications, CRISC provides an understanding of risk factors, so that CIOs can tailormade organizations’ risk strategy for desired outcomes.
FAIR – A framework with a divergent risk management approach, Factor Analysis of Information Risk helps articulate and evaluate organizational information risk, promoting well-informed decisions in cybersecurity risk management.
Top Risk Management Practices for Success For CIOs.
● Scope Of The Assessment—To make the assessment comprehensive, it is important to clearly define the criteria for systems, assets, and data to be included.
● Identify Assets And Evaluate Worth - Identify the assets within the range of the assessment and evaluate their worth, considering their contribution to the organization's overall operations.
● Identify Potential Threats - Assess potential cyber threats that could affect the digital assets by analyzing current and historical threat data, while keeping the possibility of new or emerging threats into consideration.
● Assess the Probability of Risk—Evaluate the likelihood and frequency of each risk's occurrence, using the available data and considering the current threat landscape.
● Evaluate The Potential Impact Of Risk - Assess the potential impact of each identified risk on the organization's assets and overall operations, considering the consequences of a breach and the extent of the possible damage.
● Prioritize Risks - Prioritize the identified risks based on their likelihood and impact, ranking them from most to least significant. The focus should be on addressing the highest-priority risks on priority basis.
● Choose The Strategy - After evaluating and prioritizing all risks for your specified case, select the most suitable risk management strategy that aligns with your organization's goals and characteristics, while avoiding excessive resource use.
● Formulate A Risk Mitigation Strategy - Prepare a detailed plan to implement your selected strategy, including dedicated actions, assigned responsibilities, and time frame for managing every identified risk.
● Execute And Oversee The Risk Management Plan - Execute and monitor your plan to ensure it effectively takes each risk into account. This involves regular reviews and updates to adapt to changes in the threat landscape.
● Continuously Review And Update The Assessment – The most crucial part of cybersecurity is to keep organizational security measures updated to guard against cyber threats. This involves conducting regular reassessments of the threat measures and evaluating the effectiveness of the overall risk management strategy.
Conclusion
Risk management is as dynamic as threats so new testing, regular re-assessment, and ongoing mitigation are essential. To handle that, the CIOs can take compliance into account and the Audit team can help in this situation with their timely audits and adherence to the security parameters. In the modern dynamic cybersecurity world, CIOs cannot rest in the pursuit of risk management or mitigation with the vulnerability and threat multiplying every minute. However, a strong team of proficient IT professionals, an assessment team, and collaboration with third-party risk management support can keep the CIOs moving forward in the right direction in their battle for risk mitigation and facilitate security in the organization.
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