Cyberattacks are no longer an IT department concern. In today’s digital world, they pose a significant financial and reputational threat, demanding a strategic response from leadership. But how can you convince stakeholders to invest in cybersecurity when the benefits seem unclear? Here’s where QBER (Quantified Business Exposure to Risks) comes in.
QBER: Making Cybersecurity Measurable
QBER (Quantified Business Exposure to Risks) is a game-changer, translating the often-intangible realm of cybersecurity risks into concrete financial terms. By integrating QBER with your business strategy, you can demonstrate the measurable value of security controls and ensure your cybersecurity efforts are directly tied to achieving overall business goals.
Prioritizing Security Controls by Business Need
Let’s break it down into two key steps. First, we’ll focus on prioritizing cybersecurity controls based on the specific needs of your Lines of Business (LOBs). Each LOB has its own set of domains with unique vulnerabilities. By implementing the right controls, you can significantly reduce the potential financial losses associated with these threats.
Example: Cybersecurity & Data Protection Governance Program, Endpoint Security, Exception Management, Periodic Review & Update of Cybersecurity & Data Protection Program.
QBER Encompasses Essential Domains for Robust Cybersecurity
QBER encompasses a range of essential domains designed to ensure robust cybersecurity and effective risk management. These domains cover asset management, business continuity, disaster recovery, and more. They all aim to maintain secure and smooth operations. Cloud security, compliance, and configuration management ensure alignment with cybersecurity regulations and best practices. Continuous monitoring and cryptographic protections secure sensitive data. Secure engineering and architecture, incident response, and information assurance are geared toward preventing and managing security incidents effectively.
Other crucial domains include endpoint security, human resources security, and identity and access management. These safeguard individual and group security. Additional areas like data classification, mobile device management, network security, and physical security focus on asset safety, secure environments, and well-structured processes. Comprehensive security operations require specialized focus on threat management, vulnerability and patch management, web security, and AI security.
Examples of key QBER domains: Cloud Security, Endpoint Security, and Threat Management.
Connecting Threats to Security Domains
The QBER model maps threats to specific security domains like Identification & Authentication, Incident Response, and Information Assurance. Each domain encompasses several potential security incidents or vulnerabilities. This mapping is crucial for assessing threat relevance and potential impact on the organization.
Steps in Threat Prioritization with QBER
- Threat Identification: Identify potential threats like malware, phishing, insider threats, and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
- Domain Mapping: Associate each identified threat with specific security domains based on its nature and the areas of the business it affects.
- Impact Assessment: Assess the impact of each threat on its respective domain. This includes evaluating how a threat could compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of assets. Prioritize high-impact threats.
- Likelihood Estimation: Evaluate the likelihood of each threat materializing based on factors like the current threat landscape and historical data. Prioritize threats that are both likely to occur and have a high impact.
- Quantitative Analysis: QBER uses quantitative methods to assign numerical values to the impact and likelihood of threats. This might involve using statistical models, historical incident data, and expert judgment to estimate potential losses.
- Resource Allocation: Allocate resources based on the quantified risks, mitigating high-priority threats first. This ensures your organization’s efforts and security investments are focused on the most critical areas.
- Continuous Review: The threat landscape is dynamic, so the QBER model incorporates continuous monitoring and review of threats, impacts, and the effectiveness of mitigation measures. This allows for adjustments in prioritization as new threats emerge or as business objectives evolve.
Examples: Ransomware, DDoS, Malware, Zero-day attacks, Known Vulnerability Exploitation, SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
India's First CRQ Model - QBER, Will Change the Game
QBER, India’s first cyber risk quantification model, marks a significant shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity. By translating cyber risks into financial terms, QBER empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions about security investments. This not only strengthens a company’s security posture but also demonstrates the return on investment (ROI) of cybersecurity initiatives.
QBER’s arrival will significantly change how the world sees cyber risk quantification. With its ability to translate abstract threats into financial consequences, QBER will undoubtedly become a cornerstone of effective cybersecurity strategies worldwide.