Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 43 | Page 17

LATEST INTELLIGENCE HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL CYBERSECURITY PLAN PRESENTED BY Along the Edge of subway tracks in the UK is a sign that says, “Mind the gap,” warning passengers to watch out for the space between the station platform and the train. Business owners might consider these words as well when they think about the gaps in their own security. When a plan for protecting data hasn’t been fully realised, it’s easy for safety precautions to slip through the cracks. And that’s why it’s important to have a cybersecurity plan. As breaches become the new norm, having a cybersecurity plan becomes not just a matter of saving face, but of saving money, data and valuable employee resources. Each year, thousands of breaches take place around the world, resulting in the theft of over 1 billion records of personal identifiable information. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study, the average total cost of a data breach is US$ 3.86 million. Getting started Cybersecurity policies can range in size from a single one-sheet overview for user awareness to a 50-page document that covers everything from keeping a clean desk to network security. The SANS Institute offers templates for creating such policies, if you’re looking at developing a more robust plan. Ideally, a company’s cybersecurity plan should be documented, reviewed, and maintained on a regular basis. • Download whitepapers free from www.intelligentcio.com/me/whitepapers/ www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 17