Duo Security/Cisco Security Study Highlights 5 Most-Impactful Security Activities

A third-party security study commissioned by Duo Security/Cisco highlights the five most-impactful security activities for an organization. This study builds on one that was previously commissioned in 2020.

Broadly speaking, the study focuses on two key security areas: prevention and response.

For prevention, the two most impactful areas were having a current tech stack, and having that tech stack integrated with your security systems. They repeatedly found that aging tech stacks are less resilient and more prone to negative outcomes. However, even the most up-to-date tech doesn’t help if it’s not meaningfully integrated with the organization’s security systems and protocols.

For response, the key findings were in the following areas: solid incident response plans, strong disaster recovery systems, and the ability to detect threats.

When addressing incident response plans, one of the key findings was that more frequent exercises produced better security outcomes. While an extensive annual tabletop exercise is still key, performing additional smaller exercises on a monthly or quarterly basis provides measurably better security outcomes.

To recap, the five most impactful areas to focus on for IT security are:
•  Modern/Current tech stacks
•  Integrating security systems/processes into the tech stack
•  Solidifying incident response plans
•  Ensuring resilient disaster recovery systems
•  Threat detection

If you have questions about implementation to ensure that your bank is covered in these high-value areas, call ITPAC today.