What is the Importance of Cyber Security Consultancy?

What is Cyber Security and what is its importance for your business? What is the importance of Cyber Security Awareness and does Cyber Security Consultancy really help in all of this?

In this blog, we answer many of these questions around Cyber Security and Cyber Security Consultancy. 

What is the Meaning of Cyber Security? 

Cyber Security is an umbrella term for the technologies and good practices that an organisation puts in place to protect its servers, systems, networks, devices, programmes and data from cyber attacks.

Not too long ago, cyber security was viewed as an extension of the IT department and as an IT problem. However, in recent years, given the massive explosion in the number and complexity of cyber attacks, the domain has quickly cemented its position as one of the major business concerns. 

Ransomware attacks, in the last 5 years, have brought the biggest of businesses to their knees, costing them thousands (and often millions) of dollars in payouts and much more in operational and reputational damage. 

These attacks have propelled even the naysayers to evaluate where they stand with respect to cyber security and accord it the importance it deserves. Because let’s be honest, cyber attacks are only getting more dangerous and expensive for businesses across the world. 

Any business without a good cyber security infrastructure, high levels of cyber awareness amongst the staff and adequate preparation for a cybersecurity incident is basically surrendering itself to hackers and malicious threat actors. 

In fact, even the most cyber-focussed business with the best cyber resilience policies and a high degree of ransomware readiness is not safe from the deleterious impact of cyber-attacks (as we have seen in the case of Colonial Pipeline and JBS recently). 

It is, therefore, wise to acknowledge and address the colossal threat that cybercrime has become today and be prepared for the worst. 

What is the Importance of Cyber Security Awareness for a Business? 

As we’ve discussed above, cyber security has become a growing concern for businesses across the globe, regardless of the vertical or industry they operate in. 

While it is absolutely essential to invest in the most advanced technology solutions possible, one key element that every business should focus on is the human element. 

If you look back at some of the most talked-about cyber attacks in recent times, you’ll find that they were all caused by an innocent human error. In the case of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, it was a leaked password as a result of poor cybersecurity hygiene that led to fuel shortages across the East Coast of the United States. 

The 2017 WannaCry attack compromised those systems where users had not applied a Windows update that had been released over 2 months prior to the hack- highlighting the importance of patch management but also of proper employee cybersecurity training. 

If the global levels of cyber security awareness were higher, an attack such as WannaCry, which many experts labelled as an “epidemic”, would not have been possible. Cyber security awareness and proper training and orientation of the human element, therefore, is a very important part of any disaster recovery strategy today and it mustn’t be ignored. 

How Can Cyber Security Consultancy Help? 

Cyber security consultancy has come to be a very critical component in enabling organisations to protect themselves from cyber attacks. There are different types of cyber security consultancy services that can help different types of organisations, depending on their size and scale. 

Cybersecurity Consultancy can help both types of organisations - those that have a large IT and Security Team and those that do not. 

First, let’s evaluate how cybersecurity consultancy can play a vital role in protecting those organisations that have very little cyber infrastructure in place. Here are some of the key ways in which high-quality cyber security consultancy UK can help: 

1. Evaluate where the organisation stands in terms of cyber security preparedness and resilience. 
2. Assess the organisational requirements in terms of technology investments and staff training. 
3. Review existing incident response plans and disaster recovery plans and procedures. 
4. Driving cybersecurity initiatives and underlining the importance of cyber security in business to the board/management. 

At Cyber Management Alliance, we have a curated service for businesses which do not have their own cybersecurity team or a Chief Information Security Officer. Our vCISO or Virtual CISO Consulting service fills this gap for organisations that require access to external cybersecurity, governance, risk and compliance experts in a flexible and cost-effective format.  

We also offer a Trusted Cybersecurity Advisory Service which is a hands-off advisory service curated for businesses that already have cybersecurity teams and infrastructure. 

How does cyber security consultancy help such organisations? Here are some of the key ways in which our cyber security trusted advisory services can be beneficial: 

1. External Expertise: Often the internal team isn’t able to look at the cybersecurity posture objectively as they might be too involved or too heavily invested in it. Bringing in external insights can be really helpful in many cases. 
   
   
2. Review of Policies and Processes: Many of our clients opt for cybersecurity advisory services to get their existing policies and processes reviewed by external experts. A fresh pair of eyes is always welcome to spot gaps in even the most effectively-created artefacts.
   
   
3. Crisis Support: When crisis hits, even the most seasoned cybersecurity practitioners feel the need for objective advice from a trusted external expert who understands the organisational context. The company’s own CISO or security team may feel too close to the chaos themselves and can really benefit from the objective guidance that a deeply experienced outsider can provide. 
   
   

How to Choose Your Cyber Security Consultancy Partner?    

It’s not easy selecting the right cyber security consultancy partner simply because there are often too many options in the market. However, it is imperative to know what the exact cyber security requirements of your business are and then evaluate your best options accordingly. 

Here are a few basic tips that can help you pick the most appropriate consultancy for your business: 

• Define organisational objectives: First and foremost, the management and technical teams must get together and clearly define the outcomes that they’re looking to achieve by hiring outside cybersecurity expertise. It is important to involve the technical teams here as they often feel neglected and this can lead to long-term resentment.
  
  
• Avoid independent contractors: It is always advisable to avoid hiring independent contractors as it’s usually a one-person show. This means that if the person becomes unavailable due to any reason, your business will be left to its own devices all over again.
  
  We also recommend that you hire consultancies with multiple experts so that the consultant assigned to your account can always fall back on the advice/guidance/opinions of a larger team when a particularly problematic situation arises.
  
  
• Look for simplicity & flexibility: One of the main characteristics of a cyber security consultancy that you should look out for is simplicity. Anyone who tries to over-complicate cyber for you should be avoided. Unfortunately, several consultancies out there try to complicate solution offerings in a bid to enter into a long-term contract with the client. Treat this as a red flag. Opt for consultancies that are willing to be flexible and to provide you services in exactly the time and budget that you require. 
  
  

Know more about Cyber Management Alliance’s highly-rated cyber security consultancy services. You can also book a discovery call with our Information Security Consulting Service Experts to know more.