To strengthen the defense of your organization’s network system, you need effective cybersecurity assessment tools that can help you achieve compliance with relevant cybersecurity regulations. Thanks to the power of the web and the internet, the world has grown smaller and closer in reach. On the other hand, however, cyberattackers have also grown more sophisticated in their perpetration of cybercrimes and data breaches.
Every organization must ensure the best cybersecurity tools are at its disposal to combat the increasing attacks on databases and network systems.
Sadly, many organizations lack the relevant resources to ensure protection against these malicious assaults. Every assault increases the possibilities of attackers to remain persistent in targeting your company.
Thinking about adopting the Centre for Internet Security Critical Security Control (CIS CSC) framework to keep your data and systems safe from hackers? Here are the top tools you can use to up your cyber defenses. In this article, you’d be seeing some of the best cybersecurity tools for CIS CSC compliance for your organization.
What is the CIS CSC?
Also known as the SANS 20, the CIS CSC is a set of frequently updated controls developed by the wider cybersecurity community that deals with cyber threats and attacks. It’s a practical manual for organizations that do yet not have a clear security strategy. The CIS CSC defends against known attacks using automated controls. It also initiates simple steps that are useful for both IT and non-IT professionals in combating cyber threats.
The CSI CSC consists of 20 cybersecurity controls and can be grouped into three categories:
- Basic
- Foundational
- Organizational
Although broad in scope, each group aligns with reliable principles that give legal users access to the right tools and ensures all networks are kept up-to-date. Your company will derive huge benefits by following the steps under these three broad categories, even if they’re the only controls you’re able to execute.
The standards CIS CSC utilizes are based on and adopt the compiled knowledge of qualified cybersecurity specialists and technology experts.
Download Free CIS CSC Checklist
Basic CIS Controls
- Inventory of authorized and unauthorized devices: only accepted devices should have entry to the systems so that illegal devices can be spotted and isolated before they cause any damage.
- Inventory of authorized and unauthorized software: the software in your organization must be monitored to avoid unauthorized software installation.
- Secure configurations for hardware and software: security setup of laptops, servers, and workstations should follow strict configuration, supervision, and execution to deter hackers from manipulating weak services and settings.
- Continuous vulnerability assessment and remediation: to avoid malware, new information acquired by the company’s system should be assessed.
- Controlled use of administrative privileges: administrative privileges should be kept track of and strictly monitored.
- Organizations should receive, monitor, and evaluate event logs to expose unusual entries and analyze security occurrences.
Foundational CIS Controls
- Email and web browser protections: only endorsed web browsers and email clients should be used to lessen attack areas.
- Malware defenses: cybersecurity tools like anti-virus, anti-spyware, personal firewalls, and host-based IPS functionality are to be used to prevent malware attacks.
- Monitoring and regulation of ports, processes, and services: companies must trace and regulate the use of ports, procedures, and actions on network devices to reduce the areas of weakness unrestricted to hackers.
- Data recovery capability: vital operations and data should be properly backed up regularly, to aid timely data recovery.
- Secure configurations for network devices: hackers manipulate configuration deficiencies to get access to systems. Companies should establish, implement, and actively manage the security configuration of routers, firewalls, and switches.
- Boundary defense: companies need to scrutinize and fix the chain of information between networks of different trust layers, with emphasis on information that could damage security.
- Data protection: organizations must utilize relevant processes and tools to reduce the threat of data extraction and guarantee the integrity of sensitive data. Data protection is achieved through the blend of encryption, integrity security, and data loss deterrence methods.
- Controlled access to assets: tracking, controlling, and securing access to critical assets will help to restrict which people, computers, or applications have a right to access these assets.
- Wireless access control: companies need to have procedures and tools in place to search and monitor the usage of wireless local area networks (LANs), access points, and wireless client systems.
- Account monitoring and control: all network accounts should be reviewed constantly, and unused accounts should be disabled when the employee leaves the organization.
Here are a few more articles to help you learn more about CIS CSC :
Organizational CIS Controls
- Security skills and training: identify the specific knowledge and skills they need to boost security. This is achieved by creating and carrying out a program to spot gaps and rectify them through strategy, and training programs.
- Application software security: companies must ensure that they use the most recent versions of each application and install all the applicable patches.
- Incident response and management: organizations should create and execute a formal incident response that comprises strategies, roles, training, and additional criteria that will enable them to identify attacks and prevent damage.
- Penetration tests and red team exercises: this last control needs organizations to assess the overall strength of their securities by performing penetration tests at required times. This will help them spot and deal with weaknesses that can be used to exploit systems.
CSI CSC Cybersecurity Assessment Tools
Cybersecurity tools are technologies that deliver wider views and control over data flow across a company’s domain. Some of such controls include intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems.
Listed below are some CIS CSC cybersecurity assessment tools:
- Application Whitelisting
Found in CIS CSC 2, application whitelisting helps businesses detect illegal software applications before hackers install them in their network systems.
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a powerful cybersecurity tool used to facilitate and reinforce an organization’s defense position. It’s widely used to identify and mitigate the highest priority risks to businesses.
- The CIS Benchmarks
The CIS Benchmarks are the only consensus-developed security configuration recommendations created and trusted by a global community of IT security professionals from academia, government, and industry. Currently, there are more than 140 CIS Benchmarks used by companies all over the world to secure technologies from configuration vulnerabilities such as:
- Open system ports
- Unauthorized root or admin access
- User account control (UAC)
- Unnecessary/unused system services
- Server Message Block (SMB v1.0)
- Center for Internet Security Risk Assessment Method (CIS RAM)
Center for Internet Security Risk Assessment Method (CIS RAM) is an information security risk assessment method that provides organizations examples, templates, instructions, and exercises for conducting cyber risk assessments. The CIS RAM helps organizations to assess their security pose in line with the CIS CSC cybersecurity best practices.
- CIS Controls Self-Assessment Tool (CIS CSAT)
The CIS Controls Self-Assessment Tool (CIS CSAT) is a free web application that enables security leaders to track and prioritize their implementation of the CIS CSC. CIS CSAT was developed on the premise of the well-known Critical Security Manual Assessment Tool excel document.
Closing Thoughts
The overwhelming numbers of new technologies and cybersecurity assessment tools available today make it difficult for organizations to keep up with the demands that arise from their implementation. The CIS CSC was designed to address this issue.
A 2017 study showed that 85 percent of attacks can be prevented by adopting just the first five CIS critical security controls. The study further showed that adopting all 20 controls will prevent 97 percent of attacks. But you don’t have to implement the 20 controls at once.
We will help you sort the CIS Controls around your values, balance your present security controls to the CIS Controls, file each area where no security potential exist, or where more effort is needed.
RSI Security understands the needs of both small and large organizations. We’ll walk you through the process and help you assess potential attacks against your network and information systems, including basic entry points, protocols, and services. Consult with our team today to assess your cybersecurity resilience and requirements.