CISO-as-a-Service | Assessing and enhancing the organization's information security maturity level
Primend primarily focuses on implementing and managing IT infrastructure and cloud services. However, clients also use several specialized applications, websites, e-commerce platforms, system integrations, SaaS services, hybrid cloud solutions, and other IT services in addition to Primend's managed services. Generally, the overall IT security and related processes in the company are overseen by the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
Often, small, medium, and even some larger companies do not need a full-time Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) because:
- There isn't enough daily work to justify a full-time position.
- Employing such an expert on a full-time basis may not be cost-effective.
However, there is still a need for expert advice on information security:
- Identifying the most significant risks.
- Ensuring compliance with relevant standards and laws.
- Determining the necessary information security documents for the company.
- Assessing the security posture of partners and vendors.
- Implementing strategies to protect the company from various cyber threats.
- Knowing how to respond in case of a security incident.
Here comes Primend's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO-as-a-Service) to help the company make strides in ensuring information security.
Primend's CISO-as-a-Service fulfils the role of a missing Chief Information Security Officer in the company or assists the existing person responsible for information security in fulfilling their duties by providing the necessary expertise and experience.
Typically, the process begins with assessing the maturity level of information security. As mentioned earlier, clients undoubtedly have many information systems and applications that Primend has not directly dealt with, but which are integral to ensuring information security. Therefore, it is essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of various information systems and applications, as well as the significant roles, processes, and other technologies in use, based on the company's business strategy from an information security perspective.
When assessing maturity level, it's not a direct audit but rather a compilation of information to understand what the subsequent actions should be and their priorities to bring the greatest benefit to the organization.
Some activities involved in this phase include:
- Interviews with the organization's leadership and key employees.
- Interviews with important partners, analysis of IT architecture, and integrations.
- Analysis of computer network topology – assessing if networks are adequately protected, segmented, etc.
- General analysis of IT infrastructure.
- Analysis of recovery plans and backup policies, assessing business risks regarding Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) and Recovery Time Objectives (RTO).
- Analysis of applications (internal developments, websites, e-commerce platforms, SaaS services).
- Compilation of a summary report along with development proposals.
The time required for assessing maturity level typically ranges from 1 to 3 months, depending on the size and complexity of the organization. This process relies on good cooperation from the organization, including finding suitable times for interviews, providing existing documentation, and openly and honestly describing both well-functioning and areas needing improvement during interviews.
Once the information security maturity assessment is completed and the overview with the report is presented to the management, we can decide together which activities and development proposals are critical to address immediately and which ones can be spread out over a longer period.
Some possible subsequent activities include:
- Establishing information security strategies, objectives, and metrics based on the company's business strategy.
- Conducting risk analyses in the information security domain.
- Planning, implementing, and managing necessary information security solutions.
- Developing and maintaining information security policies, rules, and guidelines.
- Developing and implementing a continuous improvement plan for information security.
- Raising awareness among company employees about information security and providing training.
The final list of tasks always depends on the specific desires and needs of the company and can be agreed upon during the service ordering process.
The Chief Information Security Officer service can be ordered on a project basis or as a monthly service.