Picking a Path: Understanding Cybersecurity Frameworks
Businesses and organizations of every type are facing increasing pressure to provide more resiliency in their digital infrastructures, operations, and data protection efforts. However, cybersecurity requires a strong foundation that can grow over time and this leaves organizations with key questions: Where do I start? Have we done enough? Cybersecurity frameworks help answer these questions.
Figuring out where, and how, to start is a difficult proposition when it comes to implementing a security plan — be it for your applications, network, or your entire environment. There are so many aspects of cybersecurity and cyber hygiene that it can be overwhelming. Also, you will likely need assistance in establishing a baseline. Cybersecurity frameworks include guidelines, standards and best practices to manage security risks. They act as a blueprint and roadmap. Aligning your security with established frameworks reduces your chances of being breached and proves to potential customers and vendors that you’re employing the right tools.
Cybersecurity frameworks are all about establishing ways to determine what risks an organization faces and determining how attackers can exploit security weaknesses — then offering a plan to address both. They are precautions to implement that mitigate risk and improve security. They are foundational elements that provide the knowledge needed to build your first lines of defense, and again demonstrate to potential partners you’re serious about providing information security and compliance.
So, cybersecurity frameworks can fast-track your resilience and risk management efforts. But which one should you model your efforts around? Which cybersecurity ‘flag’ should you fly? Let’s review three of the most widely adopted security frameworks, how they’re different, and which types of businesses should consider them.
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3 Leading Cybersecurity Frameworks
There are many cybersecurity frameworks and regulatory standards in place for various industries. We’re outlining three of the most prevalent frameworks below and provide some potential use cases for each.
SOC 2
Short for Service Organization Controls, the SOC 2 framework was created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to enhance security by following five core principles — Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy. Primarily a US-based standard, SOC 2 has become more popular in recent years due to its focus on ensuring third-party service providers store and process client data in a secure manner.
Going through the SOC 2 certification process means undergoing an attestation — similar to an audit — that ultimately results in a report that is specific to an organization proving its compliance with the standards. SOC 2 is most applicable to organizations offering services and systems to other organizations as it focuses on improving the trust between providers and clients.
ISO 27001
The International Standard develops standards for processes governing seemingly everything on the plant. For instance, ISO 9001 is the general quality standard covering the manufacturing process. Meanwhile, ISO 27001 is regarded as one of the best-known standards for information security management systems (ISMS) and defines the requirements an ISMS must meet.
Conformity with ISO 27001 means that an organization or business has put in place a system to manage risks related to the security of data owned or handled by the company, and that this system respects all the best practices and principles enshrined in this International Standard. If you meet all the requirements, you can certify in ISO 27001, which increases the trust and confidence of your customers and other stakeholders.
ISO 27001 has been around longer than SOC 2, but has been viewed as more difficult to achieve and onerous to document. It tends to be the framework of choice for many manufacturing companies and those which conduct business extensively in Europe on an international level.
NIST
The NIST cybersecurity framework was developed by the U.S. federal government as a way to enhance security against both internal and external threats and improve critical infrastructure security. You can think of NIST as the government’s version of ISO 27001. Like SOC 2 and ISO 27001, it offers a list of best practices, controls and practices to improve cybersecurity and demonstrate proof of compliance.
NIST differs in that it isn’t typically something an organization certifies to. NIST does act as a base for regulatory requirements, such as CMMC compliance (defense contractors), HIPAA (healthcare) or CJIS (criminal justice), which must be complied with by organizations seeking that stamp of approval. In general, most organizations will do a self-assessment or own evaluation against the NIST standards. When asked if they comply with NIST standards, a business can affirm they are — but if it doesn’t perform any diligence around actually adhering to the standard it could run into serious trouble later.
Because of its potential to be used in a host of government regulations, following a NIST framework is considered advantageous for organizations working US government entities that have specific, mandatory requirements developed from the common framework.
Which Cybersecurity Frameworks Should You Pursue?
First and foremost, your specific business will dictate in large part which security path you should pursue. If you’re a manufacturer, you might already be invested in the ISO process for other certifications (like 9001) so embracing ISO 27001 could be a natural step forward. If you work primarily overseas or with international customers, again ISO 27001 would seem to be the best choice. IF you depend on government contract work, or have designs about expanding into that market, then a NIST framework as the core component of your own security plan makes sense. If you have a specific government regulatory standard to reach, like CMMC, aligning with NIST standards is the way to go. If you’re concerned with proving your compliance with data protection commercially, in the US, SOC 2 is now the most commonly pursued framework.
You should also consider how and why your consideration for a framework choice came up. It could be dictated by a specific vendor relationship, questionnaire requirements, cyber insurance needs. Is it mandatory to the relationship, or simply recommended? If you need a specific framework, it should be spelled out in the contract or questionnaire information.
It’s important to note that these are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Every business and use case is unique, and working with a proven cybersecurity services provider is essential to mapping out your options. The right partner will have experience navigating every type of security framework, identifying which fits your particular situation best, and outlining a plan for achieving the desired result.
Compliance for Startups: Pursuing compliance with a security framework or certification gives freshly-minted businesses a roadmap forward. Learn more here.
Find the Answers You Need with Inversion6
Inversion6 has experience across a wide array of industries and operates in essentially every vertical possible. Our expertise allows us to figure out a plan of action, no matter the cybersecurity framework you’re pursuing or which regulatory or compliance measures you need to meet.
Cybersecurity frameworks give you a blueprint to better meet requirements and a strong foundation you can grow and develop further. Connect with our team today to learn how we can help.
Post Written By: Chris Clymer
