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Awareness and Training are pivotal components within an organization’s cybersecurity framework and are aimed at cultivating a culture of security amongst all personnel. It is intended to ensure that team members may both recognize potential threats and risks associated with their actions, but also that team members have sufficient knowledge (and practice) to act accordingly when/if an issue occurs.

Configuration Management operates as a meticulous librarian, ensuring everything is in its proper place and that the library’s systems are running smoothly. That can mean a lot of things, but in the realm of cybersecurity, it focuses on establishing and maintaining consistency of a system’s performance and its functional attributes throughout the life cycle. This requires strict control of changes made to hardware, software, and other components while maintaining all baselines and documentation. Ultimately, our goal is to guard against unauthorized changes that could introduce vulnerabilities. It also aids in the quick restoration of system operations in case of disruptions.

Identification and Authentication are the digital equivalents of checking someone’s ID at the door. From a cybersecurity perspective, identification, and authentication work collaboratively to ensure that users are who they say they are before granting access to a system or network.

Incident Response operates much like our emergency services, responding quickly and appropriately to a fire or other emergency. It encompasses the strategies, processes, procedures, tools, resources, training, and other elements that are necessary to ensure an appropriate and meaningful response through the detection, management, and mitigation of security incidents. The primary focus is to respond in a manner that limits damage, reduces recovery time and costs, and ensures that the organization may resume normal operations as swiftly as possible.

Personnel security emphasizes a thorough review and vetting of all personnel to ensure these individuals can be trusted with access to sensitive information. This is typically performed through an initial background check, ongoing review of accesses, and regular training; it is intended to mitigate the risks associated with our ‘human firewalls’.

Picture a bank with security guards and a vault, or a castle with a moat and drawbridge. These physical barriers ensure that the actual systems, devices, and storage locations for sensitive information are physically secure. The focus is on implementing tangible measures to prevent unauthorized physical access to facilities, equipment, and other resources as well as, protecting against environmental hazards. This may be implemented through a variety of protective measures, including security guards, visitor control desks, CCTV cameras, badge readers, secured server/storage rooms, and more.

Organizations benefit through regular checks of their operationalized cybersecurity mechanisms, including verifying that implemented security controls are operating ‘as intended’, producing the desired results, and are effective. This is usually accomplished through rigorous, ongoing checks of the organization’s information systems to identify weaknesses or compliance gaps while providing a clear picture of the organization’s cybersecurity health. This insight enables organizations to understand potential threats, address identified vulnerabilities, and improve overall security protocols.

This domain focuses on ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and overall integrity of data and systems – by ensuring the trustworthiness and proper functioning of the organization’s information systems. This includes detecting, preventing, and responding to potential compromises or corruptions in the data and system operations.