The digital transformation of the global economy is expanding exponentially, and enterprises are now looking beyond technical expertise in the development and deployment of cyberdefenses to include professionals with strategic insights. These highly sought-after experts possess skillsets that enable them to identify a policy’s perspective risks to organizations’ digital assets and develop management processes to mitigate them. In collaboration with the technical teams, these professionals develop policies to harden cyberdefenses and enhance standards for responding to breaches.
“Cybersecurity management focuses on ways to organize security assets, people, and processes, while cybersecurity is a general label for protecting an organization’s digital infrastructure,” Fortinet notes.
How Is Cybersecurity Strategy Evolving?
According to Gartner, “83% of CEOs are looking to increase their investment in digital capabilities.” It advises, however, that the development of forward-looking cyberdefense requires long-range thinkers who focus on business outcomes rather than technology and tools.
A Master of Science (M.S.) in Cybersecurity with Information Assurance – Cybersecurity Strategy Emphasis program — like that online from Southern Utah University (SUU) — is an ideal way to gain a competitive edge in competition for leadership roles in the evolving security landscape. Graduates acquire elite skills that position them as key players in the strategic development of enterprise security frameworks and incident response and recovery plans.
The SUU curriculum, for instance, has a Cybersecurity Project Management course that introduces students to best practices and disciplines required to implement innovative technical solutions and integrate processes for maximum efficiency. The program also offers the Incident Response Preparedness course that teaches students to establish a cybersecurity culture by ensuring staff at all levels can recognize intrusions and understand appropriate tactical responses and reporting protocols.
What Are Considerations for Creating a Cybersecurity Strategy?
Perception Point, reporting on a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, found that organizations generally delay developing cybersecurity strategies. The study found:
- Nearly 7 of 10 respondents rely on incident response rather than developing processes that anticipate cyberattacks.
- More than half said they were concerned about defensive gaps and vulnerabilities.
- Forty percent said their organizations do not track or measure their IT networks and processes.
“A cybersecurity strategy plan can help [chief information security officers] reduce the number of security gaps, extend their visibility into security threats, and help meet compliance requirements,” the institute notes. The plan for developing a robust defense strategy should do the following:
- Use established best practices and frameworks developed by organizations such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
- Assess the current state of cybersecurity, including incident response processes, to identify vulnerabilities and opportunities for improvement.
- Understand the threat landscape by answering questions such as: Who would benefit from disrupting the business? What do they gain by disrupting the business?
- Create a cyberdefense culture that ensures executives, managers and employees can identify potential threats and know how to report them.
- Establish an enterprise security policy encompassing everything from workstation security to remote access capability.
Overall, developing a cybersecurity strategy following the steps outlined by Perception Point strengthens a company’s digital defense by identifying risks, formalizing protocols, preventing breaches, deploying mitigation measures and designating response teams for enhanced security.
What Are Best Practices in Developing a Cybersecurity Policy?
Hyperproof describes the NIST framework for cybersecurity strategy as a three-layer defense. It comprises risk management processes, an integrated risk-management program and participation by outside stakeholders such as business partners and customers. Thinking of those components as vertical processes, they cut across four implementation tiers: partial, risk-informed, repeatable and adaptive.
A robust cybersecurity strategy encompasses the core of the company’s defense infrastructure. The core includes process functions — governance, identification, protection, detection, response and recovery. Categories within the framework are asset management and control, among others.
“To maximize the benefits to your organization, you’ll need to tailor the Framework to meet your specific business processes and priorities, start where you’re comfortable, and commit to iterations with decision-makers throughout the process,” Hyperproof advises.
Graduates of an advanced program like SUU’s online M.S. in Cybersecurity with Information Assurance – Cybersecurity Strategy Emphasis have the tools to develop the in-demand effective cybersecurity strategy that the modern data and technology world needs. With specialized knowledge in information assurance and cybersecurity strategy, graduates have a well-rounded skillset that prepares them for the future of cyberrisk and cyberdefense.
Learn more about SUU’s online M.S. in Cybersecurity with Information Assurance – Cybersecurity Strategy Emphasis program.
