Developing a Security Program Worthy of a Gold Medal

Unless you have been stuck under a rock (or inside a SCIF) the past week, you’ve no doubt been watching the quadrennial global showcase of strength and speed that is the Summer Olympics. Names like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Michelle Carter have been blasted over every news outlet, as they rake in their gold medals. They have proven themselves to be the best of the best. And while every athlete dreams of one day bringing home the gold, companies around the world are striving towards another goal: security. Admittedly, not as cool or shiny, but immensely important.

DGS has made it our mission over the past 10+ years to keep organizations secure. Our subject matter experts have decades of experience in developing, designing, and implementing security programs. Here are a few of our suggestions for creating a security program that will result in increased awareness and threat mitigation. While these will not get you a gold medal, they may help you sleep better at night, knowing that your organization is more secure.

The first step in creating a formal security program requires a lot of information gathering. Chances are, you are already doing some things to increase security (i.e. training, firewalls, etc.). Developing a vulnerability report will assist in determining where work needs to be done. The evaluation will draw a picture of the organization’s existing security posture, including the current procedures and protocols in place.

Once a thorough vulnerability assessment has been conducted, and gaps in your security posture have been identified, it’s time to come up with the solution. This could include new procedures, additional personnel training, and/or the application of additional technologies. It is also helpful during this stage to become familiar with industry best practices and leading product capabilities, if you are not familiar with them already. All of these components will be incorporated into an implementation plan.

Now we come to the hardest phase: implementation. In order to successfully implement a security program, roles need to be clearly defined, decisions will need to be made regarding whether or not to outsource various activities, progress and set-backs need to monitored, and changes need to be made accordingly. The goal during this period is to have the security program infrastructure in place and functioning.
As time goes on, new technologies will developed and new threats will emerge. Your security program will need to adapt to these changes; however, by formalizing the process and developing a comprehensive vulnerability assessment and implementation plan, your security program will be more organized, efficient, and effective. And that, in our opinion, is gold medal worthy.

For more information on DGS, or if you have questions or comments related to this post, please contact us at contact@us-dgs.com