How to Apply a Security Culture to Make Your Company Safer?

Today, having a well-defined cybersecurity culture is an essential requirement for organizations to maintain their integrity amid the growth of digital threats.

According to a Check Point Research report, the global average of weekly cyberattacks increased by 7% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 2022, making any company more vulnerable to cyberattacks and breaches.

In this scenario, there are various ways to strengthen the cybersecurity culture within companies, but some key tips can help you build this culture more easily. Want to know more?

Continue reading this article to learn how to apply a security culture in your company and, consequently, make your company safer in the digital environment!

What is Cybersecurity Culture?

Cybersecurity culture refers to a set of shared values, attitudes, behaviors, and practices within an organization aimed at promoting the security of systems, data, and information against cyber threats.

A healthy security culture is characterized by awareness, responsibility, and commitment from all members of the organization, from leadership to employees at all levels.

Why Implement a Security Culture?

Having a well-defined cybersecurity culture is a fundamental pillar to prevent cybercriminal activities. But beyond that, there are other reasons for implementing a security culture:

• Protection Against Internal and External Threats: A security culture promotes awareness and the adoption of secure practices by all organization members, helping to mitigate risks of cyberattacks, leakage of confidential information—whether intentional or not—and avoiding damages caused by malicious actions of employees.
• Prevention of Data Breaches and Financial Loss: By adopting an effective security culture, it is possible to reduce the chances of data breaches because awareness and implementation of good security practices help protect sensitive information and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
• Preservation of Reputation: A security breach can negatively affect a company's reputation, undermining the trust of clients and business partners. By establishing a security culture, the organization demonstrates commitment to protecting its clients' and partners' confidential information, strengthening its reputation and building trustful relationships.
• Compliance with Regulations: With the introduction of data protection laws such as LGPD, all organizations collecting third-party information must comply with requirements aimed at protecting the privacy of data subjects. Implementing a security culture helps ensure that the organization is more easily compliant with these regulations, avoiding legal penalties and other negative impacts.
• Shared Responsibility: Cybersecurity is not just the responsibility of the IT team; by instilling a security culture, all members of the organization become responsible for protecting the company’s assets and information. This includes adopting strong passwords, practicing safe internet browsing, being careful with sharing confidential information, and identifying potential threats.
• Rapid Response to Incidents: A well-established security culture helps prepare the company for possible security incidents. When all members of the organization are aware of the procedures to follow in case of incidents, the response can be quick and effective, minimizing the impact and speeding up recovery.

How to Apply a Security Culture?

It is important to note that a security culture is not created overnight; it is a continuous and comprehensive process that involves effort from all parts of the company—from the operational aspects that ensure system security to the awareness and commitment of employees.

That said, there are some key steps that can facilitate building a strong cybersecurity culture in your company. See below:

• Education and Awareness: Conduct regular training and awareness programs on cybersecurity for all members. This includes providing information about common threats, best security practices, internal policies, and incident response procedures.
• Clear Policies: Establish clear, communicable, and accessible cybersecurity policies covering day-to-day aspects such as using strong passwords, access restrictions, safe internet practices, and protecting confidential data. Ensure these policies are regularly reviewed and always up-to-date.
• Committed Leadership: Leaders should demonstrate a clear and consistent commitment to cybersecurity, modeling good practices and emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity. Encourage leadership to actively participate in security initiatives and provide resources for decision-making on security investments.
• Effective Communication: Promote open and effective communication about cybersecurity throughout the organization. Share information about emerging threats, updates to security policies, security tips, and reports of relevant incidents. Use internal communication channels such as intranet, emails, and meetings for this purpose.
• Monitoring and Incident Response: Establish a continuous monitoring program and create an information security incident response plan. This involves implementing technologies for detecting vulnerabilities and threats, logging activities, analyzing logs, and setting protocols for incident cases to handle them quickly and effectively.
• Continuous Evaluation and Improvement: This is an essential step to ensure the company is truly secure against cyber threats. Regular evaluations are needed to identify potential vulnerabilities and areas for improvement, and closely monitor the progress of the security culture implementation. This includes security audits, bug-finding programs like Bug Bounty, and vulnerability analysis. Based on these results, make adjustments and updates to security policies and practices as needed.

How Can Bug Bounty Help with Your Company’s Security Culture?

As you can see from this text, cybersecurity culture involves all areas of a company. To ensure everything functions correctly and data protection values align with the company's actions, it is crucial to invest in initiatives that truly secure systems and data.

The first step to ensuring company security in the digital environment is to identify vulnerabilities in systems, which will give you a clear direction on where to start fixing flaws.

Bug Bounty is a cybersecurity solution that helps organizations with the process of identifying vulnerabilities, working continuously and regularly. Bug Bounty operates as a bug reward program, bringing together a community of cybersecurity experts to find any type of flaw in websites, systems, platforms, and/or products.

Want to learn more about how Bug Bounty can help you build a stronger cybersecurity culture? Contact BugHunt today!