Updated May 30, 2023
Introduction to Cybersecurity Framework
For any industry, there are some standards that exist that helps that particular industry to move the business in a smooth way while keeping on complying with the government policies. In the same way, there exist some standards or framework in cybersecurity that helps organizations comply with the security policies that are considered mandatory while keeping the operations secure and moving smoothly.
The standards depend upon the kind of organization or the industry, along with the purpose of opting for the standard. The security professionals have to take care of all the requirements that must be fulfilled in order to comply with the particular standard. The standards are meant to secure the enterprise or the organizations, and hence every eligible has to comply with them. Here, we will see some of the important cybersecurity frameworks that are used very often.
What is Cybersecurity Framework?
- It may be defined as the set of policies that the organization or any eligible body must follow to comply with that particular framework or standard.
- The policies are defined by the certifying body that checks the audit report in order to finalize if the organization is actually complying with the specific framework. Based on the organization’s requirement, it depends on what kind of framework suits them, or they should opt-in to ensure the business continuity in a secure manner. There will be some cases where the organization will need to comply with more than one framework to make sure that they are covering all the security aspects for their business.
- In other terms, the cybersecurity framework can also be explained as the rules that an enterprise must comply with for the safety of its operations. Therefore, it is not an optional thing for the organization but something mandatory where the government plays a vital role.
- For different purposes, there are different frameworks. For instance, if an organization is willing to accept the online payment, in that case, they need to comply with PCI DSS compliance before they implement the online payment mechanism in their system. Likewise, for the hospitals that process the patient data has to comply with HIPAA compliance, and in the same way, there are several frameworks out in the market that the organization has to comply with in order to run their operations.
Types of Cybersecurity Framework
There are several cybersecurity frameworks that the organization has to opt for based on their requirements.
Below are some of the most important frameworks that are used very frequently all across the world.
1. NIST Framework
NIST is one of the most important frameworks that is used for improving Critical Infrastructure Security. Infrastructure security is a crucial part of any organization. The NIST framework makes sure that some strict policies can lead to safeguarding the infrastructure.
2. PCI DSS
PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This may be defined as the standard that an organization has to follow who is willing to accept or process online payment. This standard is concerned with protecting users from online fraud. To comply with this standard, the organization has to make sure that they are handling the user’s sensitive details very carefully. For example, the user’s card details shouldn’t be stored unless needed. The transaction has to be done in the secure mode, and so on, things like this. This standards-compliance makes the users feel trust in the organization as their critical data remains safe.
3. ISO 270001
ISO 270001 is one of the main standards that fall under the domain of cybersecurity. There are some of the basic rules that have to be followed by the organization in order to comply with this standard. For example, while applying for getting compliance with this standard, the organization’s system must have to be free from vulnerabilities; the organization should produce a healthy report very often, there should be a SOC setup that takes care of the network to prevent the user’s data and so on similar things.
Components
Cybersecurity consists of the components that are used to work with this. Those components play a crucial role in order to get leveraged by any organization.
Below are the components:
- Core: It is the first among the three components of the cybersecurity framework. As the name states, it is something that is concerned with the initial phase of the cybersecurity framework.
- Implementation Tiers: The Implementation Tiers part is the next important component of the cybersecurity framework. It is concerned with the implementation of the framework in any organization. Therefore, while actually implementing the particular framework, the security professional has to be careful about the Implementation Tiers.
- Profiles: Profiles are the last component of the cybersecurity framework and are concerned about the users who are supposed to be the part of the system that will be complying with the standard or the framework.
How to Implement a Cybersecurity Framework?
It is all about implementing security measures in the organization so that business continuity should be maintained. In order to implement it, the organization must need to follow a particular set of rules that falls under a particular framework. There are several things that have to be taken care of like the infrastructure should be secure, there should be no vulnerabilities in the system, the software used to protect the system should be updated, etc. Therefore, any organization that makes sure it is following the entire set of policies defined under the specific framework is considered good to implement the cybersecurity framework.
Conclusion
It is the most crucial part of securing the organization’s system to ensure business continuity in a secure manner. There will be some of the important rules the enterprise must have to follow in order to comply with those frameworks. It is mandatory for the business to comply with the particular standards or frameworks if they need to bring particular functionality in order to run their operation, like creating a system to accept online payment.
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