Prioritizing Security Where It Matters Most for Your Business

The Evolution of Exposure Management

In the realm of cybersecurity, distinguishing between what’s simply critical and what’s truly vital for business continuity can be quite challenging. While security teams typically have a solid grasp of critical systems, pinpointing which of these are essential for business operations is a different matter altogether. These crucial assets, often less visible, underpin revenue, operations, and service delivery. A failure in one can escalate into a significant business crisis rather than just a technical glitch.

Over the past year, since we outlined our four-step approach to identifying and safeguarding business-critical assets, my team has engaged in numerous workshops across various industries, including finance, manufacturing, and energy. These sessions have been instrumental in uncovering the evolving nature of security strategies within organizations.

This article aims to share our refined approach, merging the insights gained from these engagements, to better align exposure management strategies with business priorities. What once started as a theoretical framework is now a well-honed methodology yielding tangible results. Organizations using this system have reported significant efficiency improvements—some have even decreased remediation efforts by as much as 96%, all while enhancing their security where it matters most.

Our dialogues with Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), security directors, and increasingly, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) have highlighted consistent patterns. Security teams often struggle not to find vulnerabilities, but to assess which are truly detrimental to business operations. Meanwhile, business leaders seek reassurance that their security investments are effectively protecting essential assets, yet they often lack a structured way to convey these priorities to the technical teams.

The methodology we’ve developed seeks to bridge this divide, fostering a common language between security professionals and business executives. The lessons we outline below encapsulate our learnings from implementing this framework in varied organizational contexts, offering practical insights that go beyond theoretical guidelines.

Lesson 1: Not All Assets Are Created Equal

Key Insight: Security teams often identify technically critical assets but find it challenging to recognize which assets are business-critical. The distinction here is vital—business-critical assets directly impact revenue and service delivery.

What to Focus On: Direct your security efforts towards those systems that could cause actual disruption if compromised. A targeted strategy has resulted in organizations reducing remediation efforts by up to 96%.

Lesson 2: Business Context Changes Everything

What We Learned: Security teams are overwhelmed with various signals like vulnerability alerts and scores, but without context, these signals become meaningless. A high-severity vulnerability on an unused system is less critical than a moderate vulnerability on a revenue-generating platform.

The Importance of Context: By integrating business context into your security prioritization, you can better determine which systems are essential to core business functions, leading to more impactful decision-making.

Lesson 3: The Four-Step Method Works

What We Found: Organizations benefit from a systematic approach to align security work with business imperatives. Our four-step methodology has demonstrated effectiveness across diverse industries:

• Identify Critical Business Processes: Begin by understanding your organization’s revenue-generating processes. Focus only on those that, if interrupted, would cause significant challenges.
• Map Processes to Technology: Identify which systems and databases support these important processes. Achieving a perfect map isn’t necessary; aim for a practical overview that can guide your decisions.
• Prioritize Based on Business Risk: Concentrate on the systems that attackers are likely to exploit to access business-critical assets. It’s about identifying choke points rather than simply focusing on the most severe vulnerabilities.
• Act Where It Matters: Direct remediation efforts towards exposures that lead to business-critical systems. This focused approach enhances operational efficiency and helps justify security investments to leadership.

Lesson 4: CFOs Are Becoming Security Stakeholders

Insight Gained: Financial leaders are increasingly engaging in cybersecurity discussions. As one cybersecurity director pointed out, “Our CFO wants to understand how we view cybersecurity risks from a business standpoint.”

Recommendation: Frame discussions around security as aspects of business risk management to garner support from financial leaders. This strategy is key for pushing initiatives forward and securing the necessary budget allocations.

Lesson 5: Clarity Trumps Data Volume

What We Observed: Security teams often have an abundance of data but lack the clarity to make actionable insights from it. Effective communication about security outcomes, framed in business terms, transforms dialogue with leadership.

Lesson 6: Effectiveness Comes From Focus

What We Discovered: Organizations employing our business-aligned approach recorded significant efficiency gains, with many experiencing a 96% reduction in remediation efforts.

Key Insight: Security excellence is less about increasing workload and more about focusing on high-impact tasks. By centering on business-driving assets, security outcomes improve with fewer resources, providing measurable value to the organization.

Bonus Checklist for Getting Started

Securing Your Business-Critical Assets

STEP 1: IDENTIFY CRITICAL BUSINESS PROCESSES

□ Hold discussions with business unit leaders to pinpoint key revenue-generating processes.

□ Analyze how the organization generates and allocates funds to identify high-value operations.

□ Document processes that, if interrupted, could lead to significant disruption.

STEP 2: MAP BUSINESS PROCESSES TO TECHNOLOGY

□ Identify systems, databases, and infrastructures underpinning critical processes.

STEP 3: PRIORITIZE BASED ON BUSINESS RISK

□ Identify choke points that attackers could use to access critical assets.

STEP 4: TURN INSIGHTS INTO ACTION

□ Focus on remediating exposures tied directly to business-critical systems.

Effective communication between technical teams and executive leadership is essential. To facilitate this vital connection, we are offering a complimentary course, “Risk Reporting to the Board.” This program equips you with the necessary skills to engage in meaningful security discussions, reinforcing the importance of security as a strategic business function.

Note: This article was expertly written by Yaron Mazor, Principal Customer Advisor at XM Cyber.