What does an effective Cyber-Security strategy look like??

Whatever the company size or sector, there are some core principles behind an effective cyber-security strategy. 

Cyber-security is not just about technology. It is about people, systems, processes and a culture of creating secure environments. Many companies are over-reliant on technology and while clearly a crucial component, it is potentially worthless if it is not kept up to date against the latest threats. 

As importantly, many companies do not have the resources to monitor their systems effectively. They also lack security safeguards such as the behavioural profiling and asset management tools which can provide up-to-date and relevant threat intelligence. 

Even when all this is working perfectly, companies then need to be able to respond to any identified threats. 

Effective cyber-security can be onerous and potentially expensive, particularly for smaller companies. but it does not stop the regulators (and the media) taking an extremely dim view of security breaches. 

All in all, developing an effective cyber-security capability can seem overwhelming but as with other services much of the heavy lifting can be securely outsourced. There are now several providers offering holistic 'Network Detection and Response' solutions for the financial technology sector at a fraction of the cost and effort required for an in-house build.