Industry Insights
break this down into five core functions that form a continuous cycle of resilience.
Tim Killick, Public Sector Business Development Director, Aura Technology
1. Identify: You cannot protect what you do not know you have. This pillar is about comprehensive discovery. It means creating and maintaining an inventory of all physical and software assets, understanding your data flows and, most importantly, having a continuous process for identifying new vulnerabilities across your entire digital estate. A thorough, independent cybersecurity maturity assessment is the quintessential starting point for this pillar.
2. Protect: This is the implementation of safeguards. It’ s about moving beyond traditional perimeter security towards a Zero Trust mindset, where access is strictly controlled and continuously verified. It includes critical layers like advanced email security to block threats at the number one entry point, endpoint protection for all devices and robust access controls like Multi-Factor Authentication( MFA), which remains one of the single most effective defences against credential theft.
3. Detect: It is an unfortunate reality that even the best protections can be bypassed. Therefore, the ability to detect malicious activity that slips through is non-negotiable. For most public sector organisations, providing effective 24 / 7 / 365 monitoring with an in-house team is impossible. This is where a managed Security Operations Centre( SOC) becomes a powerful and sustainable
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