Audit

AuditITSecurity
— April 17, 2023

What is a SIEM & Does Your Business Need One?

Cyber attacks are without a doubt one of the most serious threats to modern industry and business. A single security breach can cost a company millions of dollars in lost revenue, damaged reputation, and legal fees – and that’s just scratching the surface of the true extent of the damage they can cause. That is why security posture, or cybersecurity readiness, is such an important part of an organization’s infrastructure that warrants heavy prioritization and investment. While there are lots of ways to do this, each with their own pros and cons, it takes layers of defense, strategy, and planning to build a resilient and reliable perimeter that you can depend on to protect your business and your customers.

One of the most ubiquitous and effective layers of that perimeter is the implementation of a SIEM tool. SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management, and it is a software platform that collects, stores, analyzes, and reports on security logs from across your network. This data can include things like firewall logs, web server logs, and intrusion detection system (IDS) alerts. The SIEM solution uses this data to identify potential threats and security incidents. This can be done by looking for patterns and correlations in the data or by comparing the data to known threat intelligence. Once a threat is identified, the SIEM solution can generate alerts, send notifications, or even take automated action to mitigate the threat.

Why do you need a SIEM?

There are many reasons why businesses need a SIEM solution. Here are just a few:

  • Increased visibility: A SIEM solution gives you a comprehensive view of your security posture. This information can be used to identify potential threats, investigate security incidents, and altogether boost your security visibility.
  • Reduced risk: A SIEM solution can help reduce your risk of a security breach. By identifying and mitigating threats early on, you can drastically limit the extent to which they can cause damage to your business.
  • Improved compliance: A SIEM solution can help you meet your compliance requirements. By collecting and storing security logs, you can demonstrate to regulators and customers alike that you are taking steps to protect your data.
  • Reduced costs: A SIEM solution can help reduce your security costs. By centralizing your security logging and analysis, you can save money on hardware, software, and personnel.

How to choose a SIEM solution

There are many different SIEM solutions available on the market. When choosing a SIEM solution, you need to consider the following factors:

  • Your budget: SIEM solutions can range in price from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. You need to choose a solution that fits your budget.
  • Your needs: Not all SIEM solutions are created equal. Some solutions are better suited for small businesses, while others are better suited for large enterprises. You need to choose a solution that meets your specific needs.
  • Your requirements: Some SIEM solutions come with a variety of features and functionality. Others are more basic. You need to choose a solution that meets your specific requirements.

A SIEM solution is a valuable tool for any business that wants to improve its security posture. By collecting and analyzing security data from across your network, a SIEM solution can help you identify potential threats, investigate security incidents, and improve your overall security posture. While there is no such thing as a single solution for cybersecurity, as part of an otherwise robust, and well managed security infrastructure, a SIEM solution provides an unparalleled level of control and insight that will allow you to take your security posture to the next level.

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AuditDocumentationPrivacy
— April 11, 2023

Outsourcing HIPAA Compliance

If your organization deals with any sort of healthcare-related data, chances are that you have heard of HIPAA at some point, and for good reason. HIPAA is a cornerstone US law that governs the protection and privacy of health information, and non-compliance can entail notoriously eye-watering penalties enough to warrant close attention. One catch with HIPAA compliance, however, is that the standards for compliance aren’t necessarily as cut-and-dry as other compliance frameworks, based more on the reasonability and appropriateness of measures rather than their existence or lack-thereof. This goes to make HIPAA compliance a strong option to outsource, for a number of reasons we’ll run through shortly.

Before we dive too deep into HIPAA’s minutiae, let’s quickly refresh ourselves on what constitutes HIPAA. HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is a law in the US that aims to protect the health information of individuals (hereby known as PHI, or Protected Health Information) when said information is used by organizations. In terms of protection HIPAA generally looks to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to avoid unintended disclosures, appropriate privacy considerations are in place to define what a fair disclosure is by patient standards, and appropriate planning and notification structures are in place to ensure a timely and effective response if privacy or security standards do get breached.  

As to why HIPAA is so critical to pay attention to, there are two major reasons. One is that non-compliance comes with a heavy price – this can range from civil penalties like suspension of processing activities, corrective action plan mandates, or per-record-violation fines of up to $50,000, all the way to criminal penalties leading to separate, higher fines or even prison time. This makes HIPAA compliance a serious concern for finances, reputation, and legal liability. The second major aspect to pay attention to is how broad the scope of who is considered to be a processor (or in HIPAA’s terminology, “covered entity”) under HIPAA, being healthcare providers, plan-handlers, clearinghouses, and as of the 2013 Omnibus rule, any subcontractors of the aforementioned parties. This can make applicability more common than many organizations would think, so if healthcare data is touched at all caution is advised.

Given the nature and criticality of HIPAA compliance, it’s clear that in most every case where applicable the process of attaining compliance is worthy of investment and high prioritization. And while a good option in this case would be hiring, training, and tasking internal staff/resources toward HIPAA compliance specialization, oftentimes companies find outsourcing these compliance checks to be a more cost-effective solution. This trend is due to a number of factors, such as:

  • Specialization – Full HIPAA compliance can be complex to identify and implement, thus making staff training a slower and more error-prone process than hiring a company that specializes in said compliance implementations. Additionally, compliance firms generally hold a keener awareness of other relevant compliance requirements that may be special to your organization.
  • Objectivity – It can be tough for internal staff to fully gauge the reasonability and appropriateness of HIPAA controls when only viewing their company’s environment in isolation, be it for lack of extra-organizational context for determining effectiveness or a reluctance to report major issues to management. A compliance firm can view your company in context of the many others that have aimed for the same controls to best make fitted-decisions and as a business-best interest are known to be straightforward and detailed in reporting.
  • Cost – When pushing toward a new compliance effort many companies underestimate the cost involved with getting internal resources ready to handle the process – between additional training, labor-hour requirements, compliance software, and the inherent risk cost for expensive HIPAA errors, the price for internal compliance checks can add up fast. An external compliance firm, on the other hand, comes with all the training, software, and experience required, and will only need to be staffed for whatever hours are required for your audit interval. For many companies, this only amounts to a handful of hours a year, making outsourcing relatively cheap in contrast to internal training in many instances.

Altogether it’s fair to say that if there’s a chance HIPAA applies to your company then there’s a guarantee that you want to get it right. And if you’re looking to ensure a quick, efficacious, and cost-effective compliance process then outsourcing HIPAA compliance is an option worth due consideration. 

Looking for an expert in HIPAA compliance to outsource to? Or could you use some assistance directing and refining an existing team? Either way, CyberData Pros’ analysts have audited systems, remediated errors, and trained staff for HIPAA compliance many times over. Contact us now for a free consultation and to learn more about our services.

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AuditSecurity
— April 7, 2023

Outsourcing SOC 2 Readiness

If you happen to have read through our previous blogs or follow CyberData Pros on LinkedIn, then you may be familiar with SOC 2. For those who aren’t, we’ll recap with a brief summary of what a SOC 2 report is and the benefits it provides for your organization. We’ll then discuss some of the reasons why it makes sense to outsource this service and how CyberData Pros is positioned to help you achieve success.

A System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 report is received following a successful audit by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in adherence to the standards published by the AICPA. Achieving this designation serves to provide assurances about the controls in place at your organization, as the audit process focuses on some or all of the principles of security, confidentiality, privacy, availability, and processing integrity. 

There are a variety of reasons why a business might pursue SOC 2. It is widely recognized and signals to partners, vendors, and customers that they are dealing with a reputable and secure organization. It provides trust and assurances that bolster your reputation, leading to new business opportunities and sales. It can save time and resources by cutting down on the business interruptions that come with constantly undergoing individual audits and responding to security questionnaires. Finally, it might even be required by certain industries and regulations.

Whatever the reason, going through a SOC 2 assessment requires a commitment of time, involvement, and resources. It can be a complex journey, and it’s imperative that you have experts on the subject in your corner. While it is possible to prepare for and undergo the audit process with only in-house staff, it’s usually not recommended. Ideally, you want an impartial party reviewing your policies and processes to identify gaps and weaknesses so that they can be remedied before the audit. In-house staff may bring a biased-approach, such as not wanting to call out a particular risk out of fear of putting themselves or other coworkers in jeopardy or throwing someone under the bus. Second, staff may be unfamiliar or not have any experience with the SOC 2 process, which could lead to less than desirable results. That said, from a business and HR standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to create a new full-time position just for achieving SOC 2 compliance, either. Additionally, because of the major undertaking and work required, it places a huge burden on staff which hinders them from performing their regular duties.

By working with CyberData Pros as your SOC 2 compliance consultants, all the issues mentioned above can be alleviated. While we are external partners, our goal is to work as a team to help you achieve success. We’ll provide unbiased expert advice, even when that sometimes means having difficult conversations, so that you’ll be ready and prepared for anything an auditor may ask. Our team has helped many organizations successfully through the audit process, so we bring the expert knowledge and real-world experience you need. By outsourcing SOC 2 services, you free up focus and lessen the burden on staff by allowing us to take on the heavy lifting. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

If you’re interested in pursuing SOC 2 designation, reach out to us now for a free consultation and see how CyberData Pros can open up new opportunities for growth and success for years to come. 

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AuditPrivacyRisk AssessmentSecurity
— January 18, 2023

Why Ongoing Audits are Good for Business

If you browse cybersecurity literature long enough you’ll find the benefits a business can derive from a privacy or security audit are generally well understood and regarded, but lesser-known are the perks of ongoing audits. This is largely due to a generalized concern some businesses hold that subsequent audits may be redundant – which is a prudent question of cost-efficiency. What’s often misunderstood in this concern is that the benefits of continual audits are at the same time greater and different than those of singular audits, with the difference being seen largely in the distinction between proactive and reactive action. Let’s take a quick dive into this distinction, and discuss a few key benefits continuous audits will bring.

A simple way of highlighting the key point of utility of continual audits is by considering the audits like you might consider a medical check-up – after all, an audit essentially is a health check for your information security system, so this makes for an apples-to-apples analogue. If you’re feeling very sick you might well schedule a one-off check-up. From there a doctor will run tests, make a diagnosis, and create a treatment plan to get you back into good shape. This check-up is generally the role an isolated audit will perform, and it definitely is a step in the right direction. But it’s worth remembering that if routine re-visits aren’t made then afterward you’re liable to miss otherwise detectable signs of illness and become sick again. And although it’s true that you can schedule another appointment at that point, the fact you’re sick to begin with is damaging to the body, and the recovery process can be drawn-out, challenging, and expensive. It’s oftentimes a lot more efficient for both your health and wallet to mitigate the risk of sickness consistently by making check-ups a routine, which represents the emergent perks of continual audits. 

It’s likely you can see how this same concept applies with information security audits – the best way by far to handle incidents is to take measures to avoid them entirely, and these measures are directed by continual audits. With that in mind, let’s look at a few specifics of how exactly these ongoing audits keep your business healthier than ad hoc audits:

  • Layered Net: A single audit might not always detect all risks present – some issues only become apparent in trends between multiple audits. A continual audit process ensures that most every detectable risk present in a system is identified, not just those apparent at a single point in time.
  • Remediation Review: Following the conclusion of an audit should come the process of addressing the identified risks. A common issue with said process is that the remediation efforts are not always fully effective, leaving the organization exposed still to a risk they believe is mitigated. Subsequent audits will review remediation efforts to assess their efficacy and provide guidance on how to improve them. 
  • Currency & Compliance: More frequent audits mean less room exists in-between for organizations to unknowingly diverge from emerging regulations and best practices. This not only simplifies the maintenance of compliance by way of lending more time to react to and prepare for new requirements, but also lends a competitive edge by allowing for quick adoption of new security and privacy best practices. 
  • More Recent, More Value: Over time your organization and the risk landscape it’s exposed to changes, and thus audits lose relevance with time. This makes recency a large variable in the value an audit brings, both internally and externally. For instance, externally it’s often found that potential partners or clients only accept audits from the last year or six months, with more recency generally preferred. Internally, timely findings in developing systems are oftentimes extremely beneficial, as it’s far easier to adjust for security early in that system’s implementation than attempting to retrofit it far afterward.

Altogether, the benefits listed above are most apparent in (if not exclusive to) a continuous audit process. And these points don’t even account for the human benefits of the process, such as improving staff’s understanding of your organization’s risk posture over time or demonstrating your organization’s commitment to cybersecurity and data privacy to prospects. It’s worth remembering that security and privacy are not problems to fix, but an ongoing process of improvement – in that sense, with audits an increase in quantity often boosts the quality of the process altogether.

Is your business interested in the benefits of a new audit? Whether you’re looking to establish an audit process or conduct your first audit ever, CyberData Pros are experts in the process and can walk you through it – from scoping to a polished report. Contact us now for a free consultation and to learn more about our services.

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AuditPenetration TestingRisk AssessmentSecurityVulnerability Scanning
— December 1, 2022

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

Within the realm of cybersecurity, there are a multitude of steps your organization can take to help better secure your infrastructure, network, and applications. While it might sound easy to go with an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach, a particularly important component of a strong security posture involves digging to uncover weaknesses before they become a real security incident. Oftentimes discerning what these various tests, scans, and reports are in the first place can leave one confusingly scratching their head, let alone recognizing which option might be best suited for your business. Two of the more common techniques that often get lumped together are penetration testing and vulnerability scanning, but while there can be some overlap, it’s important to distinguish and understand the differences between the two. 

Both penetration testing and vulnerability scanning can be beneficial to an organization in their own way. Depending on a multitude of factors and circumstances, one might be chosen over the other, i.e. if there are budget limitations, or perhaps one is required by a standard, regulation, or contractual agreement. While on their own both options carry great value, the strongest results come from a combination of the two as both methodologies complement each other to form a comprehensive approach. To briefly define, vulnerability scanning is a process that uses automated tools to search for and identify known vulnerabilities across an organization’s devices, systems, and networks. Penetration testing, often referred to as ethical hacking, takes a more manual approach by attempting to actively exploit any weaknesses that exist, in order to simulate what damage could be done by a real attacker. 

Aside from the core definition, there are benefits and comparisons between the two that are important to discuss when you are considering implementing either or both options. When a vulnerability scan is completed, the results are generated into a report that identifies, categorizes, and scores each found vulnerability. Since there is no attempt to actively exploit, the purpose here is primarily informative. It requires manual analysis to sift through the false positives and carry out the remediation steps to mitigate the risks associated with the findings, prioritizing  the most critical findings first. Vulnerability scans are performed more frequently than penetration tests (ideally quarterly) and are useful to compare to previous scans to monitor progress. Due to their more lightweight nature, vulnerability scans are much quicker and cost-friendly than penetration tests. 

By contrast, as the goal of a penetration test is to think like the “bad guys”, they are significantly more detailed and thus require substantially more time and effort. Because of the thorough and in-depth nature, a penetration test takes days to weeks to complete. Naturally, the cost associated with a penetration test is higher than a vulnerability scan, but it’s worth noting that a retest is frequently included in the cost. Additionally, they do not need to be conducted as frequently as vulnerability scanning; annually is the most common interval. 

Pages could be written diving into the details of each, but the aim here is to give you a short synopsis and explanation of these often confused terms, and hopefully by doing so allow you to have a better understanding of the real world applications of each. Each carries its own value, but the best approach combines the advantages of both to take your company’s security strategy to the next level. 

Here at CyberData Pros, our team is proud to offer these services to our clients, and we encourage you to contact us to discuss how vulnerability scanning and penetration testing can help your ability to strengthen your company’s security. The best defense is a good offense.

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