Introduction: 

Cybersecurity is like a house. The coding is the blueprint and mainframe of the house. The different rooms could be seen as different departments. Every room has a locked door that needs access. Passwords can be seen as keys to unlock these doors. The list can go on, but I think you get the picture. 

It’s easy to see how Cybersecurity is simple when the house is a small one with a few rooms. However, what happens when the house expands, and more rooms are added? More people start getting involved with the house and the Cybersecurity strategy is not scaling with the expansion. A cybersecurity strategy is never static but needs to be ever evolving in order to combat scaling. Here are some things to keep in mind. 

Topic 1: Think ahead 

Right now, the work environment is working as intended, however what happens when there is growth or new technology/ systems put in place? Your cybersecurity strategy needs to continuously evolve. If new technology is being added to the environment such as AI then you will need to develop a strategy to make sure you are not vulnerable to an attack through an AI channel. If your company is looking towards digital transformation and cloud platforms, be sure that the right infrastructure is in place to allow the transition to go smoothly. If you are currently satisfied with how your Cybersecurity strategy is currently working you probably need to get a health check to ensure that you have thought of everything.  

Topic 2: Transparency 

In the beginning with a small number of tools or small work environment it is easy to keep tabs on everything. However, as things begin to expand it is easy to lose transparency on where things are going. In addition, more tools or more employees may be added, further making transparency more difficult. 

Always ensure that you have necessary and secured access and visibility into network logs, infrastructure, passwords, applications, and devices. If there is a third party involved with some of the solution, being able to have secure shared access is essential to being able to work with that third party. 

Topic 3: Avoid having too many solutions

It is not unusual for a business to have a broad collection of cyber security products. This is because businesses like to be reactive to problems, applying a “band aid” type of solution when a problem arises. As the number of solutions begins to pile up businesses begin to face a different problem. 

Having different solutions or tools requires a huge amount of integration, support, and multi-domain expertise. With so many tools in place the business will become encumbered than if it were to use a smaller set of tools. The lesson here is to make sure to not add tools just for the sake of adding a new tool or to solve a minor problem quickly. Make sure solutions are vetted and necessary. Also verify if they can integrate seamlessly with other tools that are already in place. 

Conclusion: 

Thinking ahead, ensuring transparency, and limiting unnecessary and redundant solutions are all great tips in keeping your Cybersecurity strategy scalable. As companies grow, they become more complex and sometimes it is difficult to follow all these tips. To address this difficulty, there are options to partner with managed service providers. Managed service providers help to free up your IT engineers from handling each solution and provide subject matter experts in your corner.