Much like the rest of the world, South Africa grapples with challenges emanating from a digital landscape fraught with escalating cyber threats that pose significant risks to businesses and other organisations.
By Ryan Boyes, governance, risk and compliance officer at Galix
However, what makes the local threat landscape unique is that historically, South African organisations have placed less emphasis on security than their international counterparts. This oversight has made the country a slightly bigger target for cybercriminals.
Cultivating a partnership with experts
In light of these challenges, implementing effective risk management strategies has become essential. Cultivating partnerships with expert third-party providers can significantly enhance an organisation’s cybersecurity posture.
These providers typically offer extensive experience and resourcing, ensuring that companies benefit not only from their deep understanding of information security, but from both technological and regulatory perspectives.
Moreover, these specialist partners bring invaluable “admin knowledge,” encompassing a thorough understanding of compliance and documentation related to cybersecurity frameworks. The financial implications of these partnerships are also noteworthy; building an in-house team can be prohibitively expensive, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often lack the necessary resources and tools.
Identifying vulnerabilities
Expert partnerships are crucial for conducting comprehensive risk assessments that identify vulnerabilities and prioritise threats specific to a company’s industry. In the rapidly evolving sector of information security, regular assessments and gap analyses should be standard for all organisations. An expert partner can provide an unbiased perspective on security assessments, enriched by a wealth of experience and knowledge.
Equally important is fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness and proactive risk management throughout the organisation. This cultural shift must be driven from the top, and management plays a critical role in instilling a genuine commitment to protecting information rather than merely ticking boxes for compliance.
Unfortunately, many companies adopt a superficial approach to cybersecurity awareness, treating it as a mere formality rather than an essential mindset. Organisations must cultivate a desire to safeguard their information, which requires ensuring that employees embrace a culture focused on information security. This mindset should originate from executive leadership and permeate throughout the organisation, fostering collaboration and shared responsibility. This cultural shift will enable organisations to anticipate potential threats and respond effectively, thus minimising potential damage.
Building an awareness culture
Once companies secure buy-in from all stakeholders to develop an awareness culture, alongside proactive risk management, they can leverage expert providers to address both technical and compliance aspects of their risk management strategy. While neither aspect is inherently more important than the other, they must be developed concurrently.
Subsequently, organisations should identify a framework that aligns best with their specific needs and objectives. However, implementing these systems is just the beginning; ongoing maintenance is crucial.
A robust risk management strategy should encompass not only risk assessment but also regular test scenarios to ensure that all components function effectively. Here again, a third-party perspective can serve as an unbiased reporting mechanism, ensuring that these systems remain operationally sound.
As South African organisations continue to confront escalating cyber threats, enhancing cybersecurity measures through expert partnerships and cultivating an organisational culture centred on proactive risk management will be vital. By prioritising these strategies, businesses can better navigate the complexities of today’s digital landscape and minimise potential damage from cyber incidents.