Cybersecurity Risk Mitigation Strategies

Cybersecurity Risk Mitigation Strategies

Advancement in technology has resulted in globalization, which has enhanced the systems and processes in businesses. However, technological advancement poses cybersecurity risks for companies, which further requires the collaboration of all stakeholders within an individual business to manage such risk. Considering that business always engages third party firms within their processes and systems, it is to gauge their legal risk mitigation strategies and level of preparedness to deal with cybersecurity risks that might result from third party faults. The following are the questions that I will pose to senior management and legal counsel of any organization within the United States to ascertain their legal risk mitigation strategies.

Question One

Before entering into a contract with a third party, it is appropriate to conduct a background check on them to ascertain how much risk these individual organizations might have. Are your due diligence systems and processes in place effective?

Question Two

Considering how transparency is essential in any contractual agreement, is transparency one of the things you try to ascertain while conducting your due diligence operation? If so, how do you ensure that the considered third party will be transparent throughout the timeframe of your corporation?

Question Three

The national institute of standards and technology has laid down the required standards that every organization with sensitive data should adopt and follow. These standards include required infrastructural standards that can ensure the safety of these data. Is your organization working in line with these standards?

Question Four

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is considered as one of the best regulations within the technological space and has provisions that regulate the relationship between the controller and the processor, though only applies to organizations within Europe. Does your organization operate according to the requirements provided the GDPR, and do you ensure your third party adheres to these regulations provisions before formalizing your relationship?

Question Five

The EU-US privacy shield agreement ensures an adequate level of data protection while on transfer from Europe to the United States. For any organization to obtain data from Europe while in the United States, they are required to be members of the privacy shield framework. Is your organization a member of the privacy shield framework?

Question Six

There are provisions in place that requires an organization to report any breach incident within seventy-two hours. How well is your organization prepared to deal with, such without risking any reputational damage and financial loss in the process?

Question Seven

Considering that sometimes breaches might occur accidentally due to human error, does your organization have an incident response plan to be followed in case a breach occurs?

Question Eight

Insurance against financial loss due to cybersecurity risks has been identified as one of the ways an organization can avoid total financial loss in case of a cybersecurity breach. Has your organization insured itself against such risk?

Question Nine

The level of human resource competency within any organization always acts as the first step in ensuring an organization is safe from data breaches. How well is your recruitment process and system suited to your desire to obtain top talents within the industry?

Question Ten

Contractual agreements always come to an end at some point. How does your organization go about terminating your contractual arrangements with the third party and ensure they are not able to access your data at some point?