Perspective of Information Security
What comes to our mind when we hear a very much familiar technical term called as Information Security (IS)? The answer is- security of an organization’s assets, data and other restricted/confidential information which could impact overall image of an organization as a brand. The current business market has a traditional overview regarding information security. People consider “Information Security” as a cost center which is responsible for providing data security to an organization’s most valued assets. Most of the startup run their business neglecting cyber security in some form or the other which can lead to various impact.
The traditional thinking enforces prevention not growth, obsolete work methods not efficiency, BAU not creativity/innovative ideas. Providing security is important, but its intelligent blend with marketing strategies can prove it as an excellent sales tool.
Security: a value added to the business?
Current scenario of security is limited to the prevention of data only. However, the security can be used to generate revenues and hence a value adds to the business. A good security leader is itself a creator of a good security story, and a custodian of the organization’s security story. A good leader can answer the most likely questions on how their company defends and monitors the security of assets, meets compliance and market criteria, and technological trends that keep valued assets safe. Business market & the stakeholders looks for a good security story that can provide an assurance of what they’re looking for.
As we know, a single person cannot run an entire business alone. They need an active support from their respective team members. For a security sales team, individuals in the team must be able to give answer to the questions given below:
- How will you store and protect client’s data?
- Type of infrastructure you’re using- On-premises or cloud infrastructure?
- Assurance of protection of client’s data- Specially, the way you use to protect data from being stolen by malicious insiders?
- Legitimacy of security- Are you SOC2/HIPAA and GDPR compliant? Here is a nice read about how to deal with GDPR
- Does your company have a formal corporate security policy?
- Questions related to procedure for suspected security violations, their vigilance?
- Does your organization scan and/or test for vulnerabilities in your service / application?
- If you’ve cloud infrastructure, then How would you monitor for suspicious behavior?
Trend of sales will go up on the graph if the team members can communicate their security story effectively to the clients. And this is possible only if they exactly know what their security story is and what it is all about. Higher the effectiveness in communication, higher will be the trust factor among all levels of clients. This not only increases sales but also opens the door for new market opportunities.
Security story: a benefit other way round
Looking for internal benefits? A strong security story can help you in getting this. Implementing new technology/ideas, research & development needs money, which is limited to each business unit inside an organization. Therefore, if security leaders can demonstrate, where and how this money is going to be used and how it is helpful in generating revenue, then chances of sanctioning a budget is more likely to happen. Security is a logo of trust for any organization, it not only gives you benefit in terms of data security but also generates revenue.
Do comment below your suggestion and methods that you are trying to adopt for your organization security.
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