October 2018 AST 'ASTORS' Finalist Edition Oct 2018 AST Magazine Final (10.16.18) | Page 68

able September
steps that
organiza-
2018 Edition
tions can take to “clean
up” current weaknesses
and potential vulnerabil-
ities and improve overall
security posture.
Volume 27
These steps are particular-
ly important in the wake
of incidents like the ones
mentioned above.
Unfortunately, many of
the incidents rocking
headlines could have
largely been prevented if basic security
best practices had been applied.
(The hackers behind the country’s worst cyber attack is still a mystery, and some say the
so-called “Shadow Brokers” are causing a chilling effect on the National Security Agency. )
of risk.
Where to Start
To help agencies address this risk,
the National Institute of Stan-
dards and Technol-
ogy (NIST) recently
released version 1.1
of its CyberSecurity
Framework, which
incorporates feedback
received from public
comments and work-
shops over the past
two years.
Many of the CyberSecu-
rity Framework’s refine-
ments center around
cyber hygiene—or action-
As the CyberSecurity Framework un-
derscores, one of the most effective,
preventative steps agencies can take
(Learn why organizations of all sizes and types should be using NIST’s voluntary
Cybersecurity Framework, which is based on existing standards, guidelines, and
best practices. Created through collaboration between industry, academia and
government, the flexible Framework helps organizations manage their cybersecu-
rity-related risk.)
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