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Five reasons why every organization should conduct regular cybersecurity self-assessments

by Kathy Killingsworth
Vice President, Governance, Risk and Compliance, Concerto Cloud Service,

Cybersecurity self assessment2017 was filled with news about cybersecurity, including phishing scams, ransomware and new attack methods. And as the year turns to 2018, security experts predict even bigger attacks and smarter hacks that will be met with heavy fines slapped on regulated organizations for not preventing or minimizing a breach on their watch.

Adhering to compliance standards and finding gaps in data security is a multi-faceted process that requires a holistic approach, expertise and vigilance. If your organization hasn't done a self-assessment of your cybersecurity and compliance processes, or done so recently, now is the time.

Research shows that more than 56% of organizations reported moderate or severe impact of security challenges on their cloud computing use. Even more reported compliance and regulation challenges (451 Research). For organizations that must meet regulatory standards-like HIPAA, PCI, SOC, ITAR, FIPS or CJIS-the disruption and consequences in the event of a breach can cost more than they are worth in fines, a tarnished reputation and remediation efforts.

After working with hundreds of organizations on their compliance and data security processes, I'd like to share five key benefits of a cybersecurity self-assessment and offer you an easy-to-use assessment tool. This tool scores your risk across multiple factors, including leadership's involvement in assessing security risks, remote employee access, cybersecurity insurance, compliance standards and more.

Why should you perform a self-assessment of your cybersecurity risk factors? A cybersecurity self-assessment can help your organization:

1. Measure security risks objectively across teams and roles

Even the most brilliant and passionate IT teams, partners and vendors can sometimes ...

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About Kathy Killingsworth

Kathy Killingsworth has more than 25 years of consulting and private industry experience, including IT strategy and business process management, software development, systems implementation and quality assurance. Kathy oversees operational policies and procedures for Concerto. She is responsible for maintaining industry best practices and ensuring adherence to all governance, regulatory and compliance protocols and certifications.

A fierce advocate of proper data security and compliance processes, she spends much of her time educating customers, partners and other business leaders on how breaches impact the boardroom and the protections needed in cloud and managed service agreements.

Prior to Concerto, Kathy led the national Microsoft Dynamics AX and NAV practices for Tribridge, where she managed the solutions delivery experience, ensured industry-specific customer needs were met and developed new ways to enhance customer service. Under her leadership, Tribridge was acknowledged with numerous customer excellence awards for innovative ERP implementations.

Prior to joining Tribridge, Kathy was a partner with BearingPoint (formerly KPMG) for more than 9 years, serving in several capacities, including Southeast Technology Partner, National Segment Leader for Transportation, Account Executive for the State of Florida and Account Executive for FedEx.

Kathy is PMP certified (Project Management Professional) and is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals). She also has certifications from IBM's Palisades Consulting Institute and attended many courses at AMA, IBM and Gartner's Technology Conference. In addition, she developed and taught courses at IBM's Education Institute and KPMG's partner and consulting education. Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business, with honors, from University of Georgia, with a major in Marketing.

More about Kathy Killingsworth