Organizations that operate with poor network security typically have vulnerabilities that make their network susceptible to attacks. These vulnerabilities can result in malicious actors penetrating the network, leading to cyberattacks and data breaches.
Cyberattacks and data breaches can cause massive damage to your network, resulting in detrimental consequences such as damaged business reputations, compromised data, and lost customers and lost revenue.
Your organization could also be liable for significant fines and hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair your network. Is your business prepared to handle these consequences?
To prevent these risks from happening, it is important to improve network security. Risk monitoring is one option that can help improve security and prevent cyberattacks.
However, if you aren’t aware of the risk monitoring best practices, your current monitoring may not fully achieve its objectives. Understanding the best practices for risk monitoring will help identify and mitigate threats before they damage your network.
COEO understands how important network security is and has helped thousands of organizations with risk monitoring and improving network security by delivering security solutions such as SASE.
By the end of this article, you will understand what risk monitoring is and the best practices for risk monitoring.
What is risk monitoring?
Risk monitoring is the process of monitoring, identifying, assessing, and mitigating network risks that pose threats to the network and data that adversely affect the operations and reputation of an organization.
The goal of risk monitoring is to ensure the risk environment is recognized and managed effectively.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about the best practices for risk monitoring, you can schedule an appointment.
Risk monitoring best practices
Risk monitoring can help enhance security and prevent threats from compromising a network. However, there are several risk monitoring best practices that organizations should be aware of to enhance their risk monitoring practices and improve network security.
The best practices for risk monitoring include:
Build a comprehensive risk monitoring framework
A comprehensive risk monitoring framework includes setting up the necessary steps to identify, assess, monitor, and mitigate risks that penetrate a network. There are a few common strategies companies can use and integrate into their risk management framework.
The 5 Rs
One of the strategies for building a risk monitoring framework includes the 5Rs. These Rs stand for recognize, rank, respond, report, and review.
This first R, Recognize, ensures your organization is aware of threats to your network. Once risks are recognized in the network, the next R, Rank, enables you to rank the risks found in your network from most threatening to least threatening.
Once these risks are identified and ranked, your organization must Respond to these risks by mitigating them and removing them from your network. Next, your organization must Report on the risk findings in the network and Review your network and data to ensure no damage took place.
The 4 Cs
Another strategy that organizations use to build a risk monitoring framework is built around the 4 Cs. The 4 Cs include Culture, Competence, Control, and Communication.
The first C, Culture, refers to the way that organizations treat network security. Organizations need to take network security seriously and make it a top priority to build a risk monitoring framework.
Next, Competence ensures that employees involved in risk management processes have the necessary knowledge, skills, and expertise to identify, assess, and manage risks within the network.
Control refers to the implementation of robust and effective network controls that mitigate risks. This includes establishing clear policies, implementing security measures, and reviewing the effectiveness of the controls regularly to ensure risks are being monitored and mitigated.
The final C, Communication, ensures that risks are communicated quickly, both internally and externally, to ensure that everyone involved is aware of potential security threats and the actions being taken to manage and mitigate them from the network.
Team responsibility and accountability
Risk monitoring requires attention and input from employees across the organization. Each team must be responsible for risks within its department.
For example, the finance team must be responsible for monitoring financial risks, just like an IT team should be responsible for monitoring network and data risks.
Each team should have the ability to address, escalate, and mitigate risks when they are identified to prevent internal damage to the business.
Make risk monitoring part of business culture
Risk monitoring cannot be effective if all employees fail to follow the steps of risk monitoring.
Reporting and monitoring risks must be well communicated internally to help employees understand their importance. Risk monitoring must be a daily activity that employees prioritize.
Use risk monitoring software to streamline and automate
There are a number of risk monitoring tools that can be used to monitor the network in real-time. Most risk monitoring software is able to identify, track, and report on risks in the network as well as alert employees when risks have been identified.
This helps identify risks as soon as possible to prevent network damage and compromised data.
Determining whether risk monitoring is appropriate for your organization
Now you understand what risk monitoring is and the best practices for risk monitoring. This will help you determine whether risk monitoring is appropriate for your organization to improve network security and prevent security risks.
No organization can afford to have poor network security that results in security risks. These risks can lead to cyberattacks and data breaches that have adverse ramifications for your organization, including business reputation damage, legal consequences, and lost revenue and customers.
Risk monitoring can help improve network security and prevent risks from causing damage to your network. For this reason, it is important to understand the risk monitoring best practices so you can determine the best strategies to prevent cyberattacks.
COEO understands how important network security is and has helped thousands of organizations improve network security by helping them monitor their security risks and delivering network security software such as SASE.
We want you to understand the best practices for risk monitoring to ensure you have the strategies to monitor, manage, and mitigate risks in your network security.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about the best practices for risk monitoring, you can schedule an appointment.
Now that you understand what risk monitoring is and the best practices for performing it, check out this article to learn about the communication challenges with remote work:
