Why are Companies Getting Breached after Knowing their Security Gaps?

It may be shocking to hear for some of us, but so many Fortune 500 companies with strong information security departments are getting breached and losing or exposing their data to malicious intruders in recent times. Clearly, simply knowing the security gaps in one company is not enough to prevent a breach.

Here are some reasons why companies get breached even after knowing their security gaps:

Trusting third-party vendors

Your organization may be extremely well-prepared and compliant in terms of information security. However, most business operations also require support from third-party vendors in the form of security software, business-related applications, hardware for data storage, software for data processing, etc. In such situations, how careful are your third-party vendors with the data being shared with them? Are they compliant with security frameworks and industry standards? If the answers to these questions are resounding NOs, then you know why your company may get breached even though you know your own security gaps.

Risks are continuously evolving

Let us say you know what risks and gaps are endangering your organization today. You will design your information security policies based on this current risk assessment. Unfortunately, risks in cybersphere are constantly upgrading themselves. If you do not have a risk discovery and prediction program in place, you are inadvertently going to miss these incoming new threats that can easily breach your data in absence of security controls. This is a major reason for companies getting breached even after knowing their security gaps.

Lack of communication

When a cyber threat breaches your security framework, mobilizing the right resources for real-time remediation is vital to the security operations of any company. Moreover, in such situations, the promptness of action is paramount to its viability. This requires effective communication between information security teams, stakeholders, and employees or third-party vendors inadvertently involved in perpetuating those risks. Unfortunately, many companies lack effective communication pipeline and thus are vulnerable to data breaches.

The disconnect between risk assessment and remediation

Risk assessment and remediation are two of the most important steps in running security operations in any company. In many companies, these two are segregated from each other, making them more susceptible to risks. Integrating them gives you the capability to promptly and efficiently communicate both risks and remediation to your security teams, customers, employees, and other stakeholders in the wake of a cyber disaster.

Disjointed information security and IT departments

A lot of companies boast of large and functioning information security and IT departments. However, many companies forget that when it comes to data security, information security and the IT departments must work hand-in-hand. IT departments are in charge of the networks, hardware, and software, which are the assets susceptible to security breaches. On the other hand, information security departments are responsible for ensuring that the assets of their IT counterparts are protected from cyber risks. If these two departments do not cooperate and collaborate with each other, no data security breach can be prevented.

Conclusion

It is important to know your security gaps, but this may not be enough. We hope that the reasons listed above help you improve upon your security strategy.