Common Cybersecurity Mistakes and Ways to Avoid Them

Cybersecurity nowadays has become too great a risk to be underestimated. Understanding what is necessary for a strong cybersecurity posture instead of only being satisfied with measures like procuring the appropriate software or tightening defenses is key to cyberresiliency in an organization. Measures like installing firewalls, doing patch management, deploying two-factor authentication, etc. are still useful but they are not the only solution. This article explores what are the ignored aspects by organizations relating to cybersecurity (which becomes big mistakes) and talks about avoiding them.

Failing to have a holistic approach to cybersecurity

The first thing that comes to minds of people when they think of cybersecurity is technology. It is quite true that cybersecurity programs depending on security tools are effective. However, a program based over a combination of organization, human element, and culture, along with security, can even help avoid cybersecurity risks faced by organizations.
At its core, cybersecurity is mainly about safeguarding the organization and the staff as a whole from the threat of technological disruption. Though it is good to depend on latest and efficient tech-driven solutions, good security is more than a technical endeavor.
While some organizations focus on recovery measures rather than prevention, some concentrate on prevention at the expense of recovery. Threat prevention aims to build business resilience and can assist organizations stay ahead of cyber threats and proactively react to changing situations. Recovery planning can be quite complex but is essential for any organization. With the continuous efforts of cybercriminals, organizations should understand that both “if” and “when” they will be attacked should be considered. Preventive as well as receiver strategies are important for organizational resilience.

Having a misconception that cybersecurity awareness stops with basic training

Organizations provide cybersecurity training that involves the basic steps to protect against cyber threats. They generally ask employees to watch a short video once a year. However, these efforts are not adequate where threat actors become more sophisticated and rise in numbers. The solution is in building a cybersecurity culture and in making every employee get highly accustomed with the nuances of cybersecurity. This can be achieved by taking steps that don’t make the employees feel intimidated by the concept of cybersecurity. For example, cybersecurity can be referred to as data security and employees can be made aware of its importance in simple terms. This will narrow down the concept a bit and make employees get inclined towards it.

Considering certain cyber-related aspects as trivial

Organizations fail to give importance to certain cybersecurity risks and thus don’t respond fast enough to such risks. This is due to their lack of understanding of what risks should be given priority. There should be a process in place for assessing the consequences of daily IT considerations including planning for mobile devices, upgrading desktop software, opting for the default security software, etc. Once understanding the significance of these apparently small decisions, organizations can document important information related to them to ensure that new vulnerabilities don’t emerge.

Assuming cyberattacks won’t happen to them

Since an organization hasn’t faced the threat of cyberattacks, they should not remain complacent; they should not assume that their cybersecurity posture is strong due to this. This mindset is especially true with startups. Organizations may also not know that they have been hacked, for a long time. Failing to prepare can lead to unexpected/unfavorable consequences. Hence it is always better to be prepared.

Regarding cybersecurity as a financial burden, rather than as a competitive advantage

Several organizations view cybersecurity as a burden on IT costs. Cybersecurity as a competitive advantage: this may seem like a paradigm shift but it will be useful to think in terms of cybersecurity as a strategic opportunity. Traditional strategic planning and strategic management technique, SWOT analysis, which concentrates on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, mentions that organizations can improve their competitive performance when their resources pave the way for neutralizing threats or making the best of opportunities. The bottom line is that cybersecurity has the potential for both. It can be a competitive advantage for companies not only in aerospace or nuclear engineering; it can be a source of hope for even retailers. Customers and employees alike will prefer an organization with a better security track record.

When discussing about cybersecurity, generally focus is more on cyberattacks, data breaches, regulation, compliance, and other aspects including loss of customers and reputation. This wrong notion about cybersecurity, wherein the positive aspect is not considered, can be the reason why organizations still commit big cybersecurity mistakes. When cybersecurity is seen as a holistic approach, a competitive advantage, and not a cost center, organizations will have immense chances to mitigate cyber threats.