If you were going to test the fault-points of a building, you wouldn’t hire the architect, you’d hire a demolitions expert. Similarly, you don’t want the designer of your network testing its security. If the team that configures your network does so incorrectly, they are most likely unaware. The creator of the environment has an inherent bias based on the angle from which they view it. They are blind to vulnerabilities, not necessarily because they are under-qualified, but because they are too close to the project. A security team has a “black box perspective”, which means they have the same outside view of the system that an attacker would. This outsider point of view is just one of the advantages a security expert has over an internal IT team. They also have the training, experience, time, and resources that would be impossible to lump in with a standard IT program.
No, Your IT Team Shouldn’t Manage Your Cybersecurity
Topics: Cybersecurity, Network Security, Information Security, Data Security, Data Ownership, Incident Response, cybersecurity plan
The Significance of Data Ownership and Classification
Data ownership and classification are usually initiatives companies think about much after implementing many other layers of controls like firewalls, patching, or antivirus. But because of legislation like Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the US Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) companies are required to know what data they possess and assure they are securing it. Most organizations retain large quantities of data and some even call it “big data” but many do not have the certainty of what type of data it is, what are the data elements, where it is stored, when it should be destroyed, and how to protect it. This article will explore those elements and highlight the importance of data ownership and classification.
Topics: Cybersecurity, Data Classification, Information Security, Data Retention, Data Security, Data Protection, Data Ownership