PERSPECTIVES ON CYBER RISK MANAGEMENT
Your institution is great at managing the risk associated with loans and credit, but how well do you apply that same discipline to cyber risk?
Cyber risk management is the process of preventing, identifying, assessing, and managing the risks associated with cyber threats and vulnerabilities. An effective cyber risk management solution encompasses four integrated components: Risk Assessment, Governance, Security and Fraud. In addition, it needs to account for the impact of operational changes at your institution.
Getting there begins with an understanding that cyber risk is uniquely dynamic, a result of two factors:
Threat actors are always on. Cybercriminals are always on the watch, seeking out weaknesses that enable them to penetrate your defenses.
Your institution is in a state of constant operational change. Expanded digital offerings, upgrading technology, or opening new branches are all reasons to celebrate change, but can open the door to additional risk.
DefenseStorm surveyed hundreds of financial institutions to give financial institutions visibility as to how they compare to others on the core elements of cyber risk. Protecting your institution requires both a defensive and offensive approach to cyber risk management and must be specifically designed to address your institution’s unique requirements.
The dynamic nature of cyber risk means that there is more for you to consider than just how you approach cybersecurity. Based on our experience benchmarking the approach used by leading financial institutions, an effective cyber risk program must address five key areas to better fight potential threats and protect not only sensitive information but business continuity, financial performance and community trust.
To innovate and grow, your institution is undergoing constant change with new technologies, new staff, etc. All those changes have cyber risk implications that are best addressed proactively before an issue arises.
Since cyber risk is so dynamic, you must continuously assess risk to provide a real-time understanding, be able to demonstrate how risks and controls have evolved over time, and use insights to better inform decision making including planning, resource allocation and budgeting.
How well a bank or credit union can detect and respond to constant and always-evolving cyber threats is critical. Failure to do so often has long-term consequences and you only get to be wrong once in this arena.
Maintain individual risk profiles for all systems and applications in use at your financial institution. Link inventory items to risks and controls in the registers to achieve a full scope of cyber and information security risks and controls.
Since cybercriminals corrupt and steal personal and financial information stored online to commit fraud, institutions must have the systems and technology to protect customers’ data. Proactive vigilance allows you to stop fraud before it happens.
Take this quick self-evaluation to understand your cyber risk readiness and how you stack up against your financial industry peers.
The outcome will help you identify areas where you are strong or where you have vulnerabilities or gaps and provide tangible recommendations for improving your cyber risk maturity.
In late 2022, DefenseStorm surveyed information security and IT professionals across the US. The goal was to benchmark the progress that companies are making against five components of effective cyber risk management. Based on their survey responses, respondents were grouped into four maturity levels:
Starting
On the ground floor, with significant room for improvement.
Developing
Average performer, with basic capabilities and much room for improvement.
Optimizing
Above-average performer, with solid capabilities and some room for improvement.
Leading
Among the top performers, with established best practices and limited room for improvement.
Insights
Protecting your institution requires both a defensive and offensive approach to cyber risk management. An approach that is specifically designed to address your institution’s unique requirements, including complex technology systems and extensive regulations. Read how financial institutions play both offense and defense.
eBooks & Reports
DefenseStorm experts share key insights about what makes your financial institutions vulnerable in the new year. Read more in the DefenseStorm 2023 Annual Threat report.
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Protecting your institution requires a defensive and offensive approach to cyber risk management. Read how to do both.