Securing Essential Technology Assets in Your Business

In today’s digital age, the concept of “critical assets” within a company’s IT infrastructure is fundamental to maintaining a secure and functioning organizational environment. Critical assets, which include application servers, databases, and privileged identities, are essential for the day-to-day operations of a business. Their compromise could lead to severe security ramifications. However, not all technology assets are deemed critical from a business standpoint, raising the question of how well risks to business-critical assets are understood.
Recognizing the significance of focusing on business-critical assets, the article emphasizes the impracticality of fixing every potential vulnerability. Hence, the importance of prioritization is underscored, especially in terms of business impact. A recent framework introduced by Gartner, known as continuous threat exposure management (CTEM), is highlighted for its utility in guiding organizations on where and how to concentrate their security efforts.
To better communicate and align with business objectives, security strategies must focus on protecting assets crucial to the most significant business processes. The article suggests methods for identifying these critical business processes and mapping them to their underlying technology assets. A practical approach involves conducting a business risk assessment or utilizing a “follow the money” strategy to understand the company’s revenue and expenditure flows.
Once critical business processes and their corresponding technology assets are identified, prioritizing security measures becomes pivotal. This involves understanding the company’s most imperative business areas and processes, using inputs from key stakeholders and aligning with the priorities of senior leadership. Implementing security measures then requires collecting relevant security findings and generating remediation activities based on prioritization.
Solutions like XM Cyber can automate and simplify this process by running continuous attack simulations on business-critical assets, providing a risk score and a prioritized list of remediation activities with the highest return on investment (ROI). This approach helps security teams focus on what matters most, ensuring efficient use of resources and continuous risk reduction related to business-critical assets.
In conclusion, without a clear understanding of what impacts the business the most, security efforts can often be misdirected. By identifying, prioritizing, and protecting business-critical assets, organizations can ensure that their security strategies are aligned with their business objectives, demonstrating that cybersecurity is not just about protecting the company’s digital footprint but also enabling business operations.