Combating the Cyber-Security Kill Chain: Moving to a Proactive Security Model

Abstract

A former boss of mine (Peter Drissell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-drissell-b917896/) (Commandant General RAF Regiment Air Officer Royal Air Force Police) once delivered a presentation at a University lecture, which I had been attending. Here he made the following statement:

Many business leaders regard Security as being very expensive and virtually invisible. That is until it goes wrong, when it becomes very visible and considerably more expensive!

Ever since hearing this statement, I have sought to change this view. Having a proactive, asset and risk focused approach that is aligned with the business mission statements/objectives has a significant impact on changing the business leaders’ perspectives. This chapter seeks to explain how you can start to reduce the opportunities for the cyber-attackers, through a more targeted and prioritized approach. Many organizations are feeling a sense of Cyber-security fatigue and often sensing that the cyber-criminals have got the upper hand and that this is a battle that they are losing, frequently believing that they are ‘Boiling the Ocean’. If a business fails to identify and categorize their assets, they will not be able to truly appreciate the value of their most important company assets, and their importance to the business. Consequently, when it comes to carrying out the risk assessments, it can often feel like this is based upon a premonition or a hunch. Additionally, when it comes to applying appropriate mitigation controls, this can be extremely difficult to show proportionality and a return on investment.