Cyber risk is just one form of risk to data. The ways in which organizations collect, store, and use data also create—or minimize—business risk. Data usage should align with organizational values, stakeholder expectations, and regulatory restrictions, but your data also provides unique insight into business processes and results. The only way to verify that applications and systems are receiving the data they need, in the form they need it, is to see exactly what’s happening. Data surveillance answers questions like, “are my security controls working as I expect? Are we getting the value expected from application or system investments? Are there hidden risks that can impact business continuity?”
Security operates on an assumptive model. Security devices and solutions assume that the data they receive is correct and complete. When they only receive part of the inputs they need, or if what they receive isn’t correct, they have no way to tell. We’ve seen environments where the firewall only decrypted a small percentage of the data needed for other controls to do their jobs. That meant other controls could not perform their function on up to 80% of the data. Data surveillance was the only solution to identify that the core function of the decryption mechanism—on which all other security measures relied—was broken. Use CrowsNest to assess the performance of security controls, such as DLP, encryption and decryption, and authentication. Validate that security controls are receiving the data feeds they need in the form they need them and gain data chain-of-custody performance accountability.
Assessing cyber insurability is a moving target for both insurers and enterprises seeking insurance. Annual pen testing and generalized reviews aren’t sufficient. A lack of universal standards for assessing cyber risk across highly variable environments makes it difficult to consistently estimate potential losses. Attackers leverage hundreds of TTPs and evolving tactics that insurers can’t test for. Both sides of the insurance equation need documented proof of data custody and security control effectiveness over time. CrowsNest data surveillance provides proactive proof-of-security documentation to prove the effectiveness of existing controls, security posture over time, and data custody.
In a merger or acquisition, the to-be-acquired organization’s security posture and control effectiveness plays a significant role in its valuation. Everything hinges on data visibility and knowing what data they have, where it is, and how it’s used. Rely on CrowsNest to identify the company’s critical data of consequence and document an established baseline of trusted data movement and usage. Assess security posture maturity and potential infrastructure vulnerabilities. Assign value to assets and practices for evaluation purposes.
As an acquiring company, reduce integration risk by using CrowsNest to answer the same questions of your own data. Assess your controls and generate a trusted baseline of data behavior. Identify anomalies and remediate them before integrating an acquired company’s infrastructure to reduce risk. With data chains of custody and real-time visibility into data, you’re better able to accelerate integration while minimizing business and cybersecurity risk.