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by CIO Staff

Cybersecurity?Cost and Effect

News
Mar 15, 2002 2 mins
Security

WHAT YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
Install basic hardware and software: firewalls, antivirus programs, passwords, etc.
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Basic protection. Despite the expense of your initial investment, you can’t ignore these.
Buy advanced hardware and software: encryption, token authentication, digital certificates and signatures, keysTRoke loggers, etc.
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These offer far more security than the basics, and you pay for it.
Hire or Train programmers to write security code.
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Technical expertise is the rarest?and most expensive?IT talent. But having these minds around is crucial.
Hire or reassign staff to create and enforce security policies.
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Helps secure your everyday operations.
Dedicate one staffer to ongoing maintenance of security systems.
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This is a low-cost, highly cost-effective way to improve security.
Educate your staff and promote awareness companywide.
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Another low-cost, highly effective way to immediately improve security.
Schedule regular virus and patch upgrades, firewall reconfiguration, PC security audits, etc.
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Although this often requires software or services to automate the updates, it’s well worth the cost to make sure critical updates don’t fall by the wayside.
Conduct regular security and penetration audits or assessments.
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Expensive but necessary. White Hat hackers will give you detailed reports of your security landscape and suggest ways to improve the view.
Pay consultants.
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Security consulting, while often required for projects or for insurance, is expensive. It’s also hard to find consultants who have both technical and business expertise.
Outsource your worries.
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Outsourcing is quite expensive, but it includes service guarantees that the enterprise will remain secure no matter what.