Eight ways to bolster your IT security resource without blowing your budget

As the frequency of IT security breaches continues to grow across the world, there isn’t a CISO around that doesn’t wish they had a bigger IT security resource in place. Most teams would agree that there are simply not enough hours in the day to do what is required to keep their business safe. However, there are ways you can increase your IT resource without spending a fortune.

Recruit more staff

Yes, we know there is a global skills shortage at the moment but bear with us.  

While it might not be possible to hire senior cybersecurity specialists for your team without paying overinflated recruitment charges and committing to equally high salaries, there is benefit in hiring less experienced staff or apprentices to support with the administrative tasks. This would not only ease some of the pressure on the rest of your team but it would also give you talent you can train to plug skills gaps in the future.  

What’s more, by having more bodies on board dedicated to ensuring that systems are secure, it will be a lot easier to maintain them and ensure that they’re operating smoothly. It can’t do any harm to have a few extra pairs of eyes on the lookout for potential threats and vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a malicious third party.

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Upskill your team

It goes without saying that in order for an IT security team to be effective, they need to be equipped with the right skills. It could be that your team could work more efficiently if time was set aside once a month for training. Our guide on progression planning should help you determine which skills and knowledge are required now as well as in the future thereby determining what training to invest in.

As well as training in core areas of cybersecurity and how to make the most of the platforms you use, you should look at developing your team’s soft skills. By this, we mean how to work under pressure, think on their feet and resolve problems quickly. Your team needs to know how to respond in emergency situations, maintain a professional demeanour even when all hell is breaking loose, and be empathetic enough to stay calm when a security breach or disaster strikes. With one or two members of staff possessing those skills, your team will feel so much more capable in a crisis.

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Invest in smart systems and software

The more you know about the dangers facing your business, the better equipped you’ll be to defend it against them.

Investing in the right software will help you to monitor and protect everything from individual computers and mobile devices, through to the entire network infrastructure.

RankedRight would be one valuable tool to have in place as it would enable you to prioritise the vulnerabilities identified by say Tenable’s nessus, your scanner, and let your remediation efforts start sooner. RankedRight follows your pre-set rules for prioritisation but also has vulnerability intelligence built in so you can make the best decisions.

Consider outsourcing some work

If you’re struggling to keep on top of everything, but don’t have the budget for additional staff or software, why not outsource some of your security responsibility? We work with MSPs and MSSPs who bring great value to their clients in helping them conquer their IT responsibilities. By outsourcing some of your team’s workload to a trusted third party, you can save time and focus on core business activities.

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Evaluate your suppliers

With all that’s going on, it can be easy to overlook the importance of managing your own suppliers to ensure everything is going smoothly behind-the-scenes.

By inviting each one for a review, you can assess their performance and perhaps seek a cheaper and more effective alternative. Alternatively, you may drive your existing supplier to pull their socks up, giving you a better service and boosting your IT security resource and capability overall.

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Get the whole workforce following IT security best practices

One team can only do so much, and the more informed your workforce is about cybersecurity best practice, the easier the job will be.

Make IT security a big part of employee inductions and introduce regular training sessions for staff members which focus on the essentials of keeping your company safe. This should help minimise damage and disruption to your business and make everyone more accountable for IT security.

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Incentivise and monitor performance

A free way of bolstering your IT security resource is to get every member of the team working harder and the best way to do that is with a robust performance management program. These can be notoriously difficult to set in vulnerability management but thankfully we’ve created a guide on this just for you.

As well as setting regular meetings, effective deadlines, clear objectives, and thorough evaluations with each member of your team to keep them on track, one of the most important things you can do is incentivise staff members who are doing a great job. This will not only boost morale and encourage others to follow their lead, but it’ll also give your team greater motivation to maintain a top-notch performance.

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Give your team more time to do what matters

By identifying the tasks that take up the most time and automating these processes, you can give your team more time back to spend on more important tasks. While the expense of a new tool maybe more than you think you can afford, if you compare it with the cost of labour required to fulfil the task manually, you could find the tool is a no brainer.

As an example, RankedRight automates the process of manual triage which, if you check out our article calculating the cost of such an activity, will show you automation is definitely the smarter option. Aside from the labour cost saving, you’re also ensuring your team starts effective remediation more quickly – a huge step forward in improving your IT security resource.

Would you like to automate your vulnerability prioritisation?