How secure is your business from cyberattacks? It’s a question that is keeping CEOs, CIOs, CTOs and CFOs awake at night, particularly as cybercrimes continue to skyrocket.
According to the Veeam Data Protection Trends Report 2022, 86% of South African organisations (or 9 out of 10 businesses) suffered ransomware attacks in 2022, making cyberattacks one of the single biggest causes for downtime for the second consecutive year.
Business continuity risks aside, the report also found that on average organisations were unable to recover 31% of their lost data per attack, while 78% of businesses were unable to recover at least some of the data they had lost.
It’s critical for C-Suite leadership teams to know where their vulnerabilities lie and if all risks are being mitigated – simply finding security concerns is not enough. How those concerns are being addressed must be a key focus.
The role of risk-based reporting
Risk-based cyber security reporting focuses on an organisation’s cyber security posture through the risks the business is facing, and the actions currently being taken to mitigate those risks.
In a risk-based approach, cyber security reporting typically includes information on the likelihood and potential impact of cyber threats and the measures that are in place to prevent or respond to those threats. It is designed to provide decision-makers with a clear understanding of the cyber security risks facing the organisation and the actions that are being taken to address those risks.
It is important to think of cybersecurity reports as not just a formality, but a critical control mechanism of communication. Here are a few reasons why this is such a crucial tool in your broader cybersecurity strategy:
Cybersecurity risks are constantly evolving: Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving and can pose significant risks to an organization if not properly managed. Cybersecurity reports provide a way to regularly review and assess these risks, enabling your organisation to take proactive action to mitigate them.
Prioritise actions: Cybersecurity reports highlight the most significant risks facing your business. This enables you to focus on the areas that pose the greatest threats and allocate resources accordingly.
Facilitate stakeholder engagement: This includes management, IT, and other relevant departments, ensuring everyone is aware of the risks facing your and the actions that are being taken to address those risks. When departments operate in silos, vulnerabilities in the overall security posture of a network can quickly creep in.
Aid incident response: In the event of a cybersecurity incident, having a thorough and up-to-date cybersecurity report can help your business respond more effectively. The report can provide information on your current cybersecurity posture and the actions that have been taken to address any identified risks, which can be valuable in understanding the root cause of an incident and determining the appropriate response.
Evaluate your risk-based reporting
There are a few ways you can determine whether your risk-based cyber security reporting is effective within your organisation:
- Alignment with business goals: Are the risks and mitigation measures highlighted in your reporting directly related to the key areas of focus for your business? Your managed cyber security services provider should have a deep understanding of your business and key priority areas to ensure alignment based on identified priority areas.
- Actionable recommendations: Has your business received clear, actionable recommendations for addressing identified risks? This will enable you to take decisive action to reduce the likelihood or impact of potential threats.
- Measurable outcomes: Reporting should always include metrics that allow you to track the effectiveness of your risk mitigation efforts over time. This will help you to identify any areas where additional action may be needed and make adjustments to your approach as necessary.
- Stakeholder engagement: Effective risk-based cyber security reporting should also involve engagement with stakeholders across the organisation, including management, IT, and other relevant departments. This will ensure that everyone is aware of the risks facing the organisation and the actions that are being taken to address those risks.
- Continuous improvement: Finally, this should be a continuous process, with regular updates and reviews to ensure that risks are being adequately managed and mitigated. This will help to ensure that your organisation’s cyber security posture is always evolving to meet the changing threat landscape.
Ultimately, risk-based cybersecurity reporting should not just be a tick-box exercise. Keeping your data and networks secure is a top-level priority for all organisations, and risk-based reporting ensures all vulnerabilities have been identified and risks are continually being mitigated. Without these types of tools, businesses tend to become just another statistic.