Page 184 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2023

DefenseStorm provides Daily Security Intel Bulletins, which is a collection of the most important
cybersecurity news and alerts for the day, to all clients and employees. The bulletin promotes peer-to-
peer sharing and builds a community of trust to work together against the threat of cyberattacks.

Prioritize Cybersecurity Personnel

Even the most technologically savvy employees can become a significant liability. Burn out, gap in talent,
waning skills, and complacency among internal cybersecurity teams can easily be a cause of vulnerability
in your security.

Have you checked in with your cybersecurity team? How are they managing? Companies report major
burnout because the workforce ratio versus cyber events is overwhelming. The demands to scrutinize
the constant flood of cyber events can't be managed by outdated manual processes and understaffed
teams. When employees are overloaded, mistakes happen. There is also concern that internal Security
Operations Center (SOC) tasks become redundant for individuals. Boredom fuels complacency, which in
turn, spawns errors and oversights. Build a stronger internal team through evaluation and training to keep
them alert, motivated, and ready for emerging threats. Consider these effective strategies:

1. Ensure your internal cybersecurity team receives active support from the executive team.
2. Address employee burnout by leveraging AI technology and partnering with external teams to
co-manage your cybersecurity.
3. Combat redundancy by cycling employees through different roles and providing learning
opportunities with new technology for analysts.
4. Bridge the talent gap by creating partnerships between base analysts and incident responders
which provide advancement of skills.
5. Strengthen skills with Maturity Mapping to evaluate your internal team's capability and
preparedness. Running through simulated exercises and evaluations gives insight into your
institution's performance and readiness. Understanding your internal team's response,
resilience, and recovery abilities allows for setting goals, benchmarks, and performance
expectations.

Staying Informed and Alert

With cyber threats, emerging technology, and daily operational demands contending for priority, it’s easy
to forget the pivotal role human factors play in the success or decline of a business. It’s possible for any
one of your employees to make a damaging error, so while you are beefing up your cyber defenses,
remember the cautionary tale of the Mars orbiter mishap and how even rocket scientists can have their
"oops" moments. Don’t wait until an avoidable mistake - foster a culture of continuous cyber risk
awareness, nurture your cybersecurity teams, and implement comprehensive training programs. With
education and empowerment, companies can prevent mistakes, reduce the impact of human error, better

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2023 Edition 184
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