How to Choose the Right Cyber Risk Management Solution Provider

Part 1 of this five-part series provided a 10-question format for assessing your company’s cyber security profile. You’ve recognized vulnerabilities. But how do you do the deep dive that specifically identifies and then mitigates those threats? Here, we discuss how to select the right cyber risk management solution. 

Too often, SMBs buy any tools that come their way promising to protect them against cyber crime—cobbling together what seems like a program. And there are a lot as indicated by this image. But as Trava co-founder and CEO Jim Goldman advises, “A random collection of cybersecurity tools does not a cyber risk management program make.” Only an integrated strategy for comprehensive cyber risk management can ensure maximum protection.

“A random collection of cybersecurity tools does not a cyber risk management program make.” ~ Jim Goldman, Trava CEO

Separate tools and protocols for each component could leave holes in your program. Trava takes a holistic approach, incorporating three integrated steps to a complete cybersecurity program. (1) Assess risk. (2) mitigate the risks you identify and prioritize. (3) transfer risk with cyber insurance for those attacks that are impossible to predict.

1. Understand Risk. Find out where your weak spots are. Resist a one-off or annual scan in favor of a regular schedule. Hackers find new ways in all the time, and new vulnerabilities emerge. Organizations that scan with a steady cadence remediate flaws on average 15.5 days faster.2 

Types of scans should include vulnerability scans, surveys, and phishing simulations. (For a complete guide to vulnerability risk assessment scans, download our ebook.) Selecting the best options for your business could be mind-boggling. Trava’s experts can assist.

Organizations that scan with a steady cadence remediate flaws on average 15.5 days faster.

2. Mitigate risk.

Once you have gathered risk intel through vulnerability assessments, surveys, and phishing simulations, the next step is to mitigate the opportunities for cyber threats.  Some vulnerabilities are more glaring or more dangerous than others, and you’ll want to fix those first.

When selecting a provider, ask what happens after an assessment and who leads the way. At Trava, for example, we offer the option of working with a virtual Chief Information Officer, or vCISOs.9 (For a complete list of services provided by a Trava vCISO, download this ebook.)

A vCISO can serve as a virtual and fractional CISO that fills a specific need, for example:

• Assessing the most critical areas of risk (as determined by the vulnerability risk assessment scan results) and then prioritizing action steps to address the issues.
• Solutioning a comprehensive cyber risk management approach.
• Helping business leaders answer questions such as, “Are we doing everything we can to protect our data?” Even if you are, a cyber event is still  likely to happen, and you want to be prepared with a plan.

3. Transfer risk.

You’ve assessed. You’ve mitigated. What if a breach happens anyway? Unfortunately, no system is ever 100% secure. Hackers keep finding new and unforeseen ways to hack. There will always be residual risk that you want to transfer with cyber insurance. 

Carrying cyber insurance is critical for making sure your financial assets are protected and your business can recover successfully and with minimal interruption.

In the upcoming months and years, the cyber insurance industry will continue to evolve. SMBs without solid cybersecurity strategies and comprehensive cyber risk management programs may find it harder to qualify for a policy or obtain better insurance rates. 

It’s probable the cyber insurance market segment will become more standardized so companies can mitigate their own risks to make certain the level of claims doesn’t exceed or outpace the money brought in via insurance premiums.

To learn more about Trava’s groundbreaking platform that provides a data-driven approach to cyber insurance, talk to an insurance advisor.

Clearly, when it comes to establishing a cyber risk management program that assesses, mitigates, and transfers risk, now is the time.

In Part 3, we discuss how to ensure a successful start to your cyber security program.

Take the first step in your comprehensive cyber risk management journey.