In 2023, over 72% of all businesses worldwide were affected by ransomware attacks—the highest figure reported so far. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million. The total costs of world cyber crime are expected to hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.
In the face of these statistics, one thing becomes clear. Cyber attacks will happen to every organization eventually, and the costs of these attacks are climbing. It’s not a matter of if—it’s a matter of when. However, cyber attacks are not guaranteed to be successful or costly. Building cyber resilience in your organization through rigorous system engineering is essential to both prevent cyber criminals from gaining a foothold and mitigate the operational costs of a successful cyber attack.
What is cyber resilience?
No organization can make itself completely immune to cyber threats, just as no building can make itself completely immune to natural disasters. No protection is ever 100%—so, in the face of disaster, what matters is not just preventing them, but making sure you can bounce back quickly when they occur.
Just like how IT resilience refers to your organization’s ability to resume access to and the functionality of its computer and network in the case of a natural disaster, cyber resilience is your organization’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from cyber threats. Your organization’s resilience in the face of data breaches, ransomware, or other hacks determines not only how likely a cyber attack is to succeed, but how quickly you can resume operations with minimal disruptions or cost.
Key components of cyber resilience include:
- Implementing robust cybersecurity measures to prevent cyber threats and mitigate their impact
- Employing advanced monitoring and detection mechanisms to quickly identify and respond to cyber threats
- Developing and implementing incident response plans, including strategies for containing and eradicating threats
- Integrating cybersecurity into broader business continuity planning to ensure that redundancy, backup systems, and contingency planning can quickly restore normal operations after an attack
- Building a culture of cybersecurity awareness within your organization
What is systems engineering?
Maintaining IT resilience in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats requires experts in system engineering to design, integrate, and manage complex
The Role of a Security Systems Engineer in Cybersecurity
A security systems engineer is responsible for ensuring cyber resilience across your organization through thorough, responsible system engineering. In this role, a systems engineer works to develop and maintain various strategies, from threat intelligence to access control to security awareness training, to mitigate an organization’s vulnerability to cyber threats.
Through their daily duties, security systems engineers also ensure your organization’s compliance with leading cybersecurity practices and any applicable industry regulations.
Risk Assessment and Threat Intelligence
System engineering experts keep a keen eye on the ever-evolving world of cyber threats and identify any vulnerabilities in your systems these threats could exploit. By constantly monitoring the cybersecurity landscape and assessing potential vulnerabilities, security systems engineers help your organization maintain cyber resilience.
Security Architecture Design
A security systems engineer is responsible for designing and implementing robust security architectures to safeguard critical assets and data. These security architectures encompass:
- Network security, which safeguards your network against unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber threats
- Endpoint security, which protects the endpoints of your network—such as computers, mobile devices, and servers—to prevent malware, ransomware, and other malicious activities
- Encryption, which protects data from unauthorized access both in transit and at rest
Security Monitoring
At its heart, cyber resilience is about being able to respond quickly to cyber attacks and mitigate the damage done. Security systems engineers develop incident response plans and use monitoring tools to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time.
Security Policies and Procedures
Systems engineers play a vital role in building and enforcing security policies and procedures across your organization, such as by implementing access controls that ensure only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data and systems.
Security Awareness Training
The biggest detriment to an organization’s cyber resilience is ignorance. Humans, rather than networks and endpoints, are often the most vulnerable parts of your organization to cyber attacks. Security systems engineers conduct training programs to educate employees about cybersecurity best practices and potential threats, helping them steer clear of phishing, baiting, malware, and other social engineering attacks.
Security Audits and Compliance
Especially in the federal contracting industry, maintaining compliance with cybersecurity standards and regulations is essential to not just protecting your organization, but ensuring its ability to win contracts and do business with related organizations. Security systems engineers ensure cyber resilience by conducting regular security audits to assess and maintain compliance.
Build IT Resilience With System Engineering Expertise
To maintain reliable IT and cyber resilience measures, your organization needs expert engineers you can trust to apply proven best practices in designing and maintaining systems. Protecting your organization from cyber threats and getting you up and running again with minimal costs after an attack requires a 360-degree holistic approach built on industry-leading standard frameworks.
At Cask, our cybersecurity experts and system engineering experts are dedicated to supporting organizations of all shapes and sizes with affordable, operationally effective and adaptable systems that demonstrate resilience in the face of any disruption to operations, cyber threat or otherwise.
To get started developing the right cyber resilience solution for you, contact us today.
FAQs
What is cyber resilience?
Cyber resilience refers to an organization’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from cyber threats. It involves implementing robust cybersecurity measures, employing advanced monitoring and detection mechanisms, developing incident response plans, integrating cybersecurity into business continuity planning, and building a culture of cybersecurity awareness within the organization. Cyber resilience helps prevent cyber attacks and allows for quick recovery with minimal disruptions or cost.
What is systems engineering?
Systems engineering is a discipline that focuses on designing, integrating, and managing complex systems to ensure their optimal functionality and resilience. In the context of cybersecurity, systems engineering plays a crucial role in developing and maintaining strategies to mitigate an organization’s vulnerability to cyber threats. It involves risk assessment, threat intelligence, security architecture design, security monitoring, security policies and procedures, security awareness training, and security audits to ensure compliance with cybersecurity practices and regulations.
What is the role of a security systems engineer in cybersecurity?
A security systems engineer is responsible for ensuring cyber resilience across an organization through thorough system engineering. They develop and maintain strategies such as threat intelligence, access control, and security awareness training to mitigate vulnerabilities to cyber threats. They also ensure compliance with cybersecurity practices and industry regulations. Additionally, security systems engineers monitor the cybersecurity landscape, design and implement security architectures, develop incident response plans, enforce security policies and procedures, and conduct security audits to maintain cyber resilience.
How does system engineering contribute to IT resilience?
System engineering contributes to IT resilience by designing, integrating, and managing complex systems to ensure their optimal functionality and resilience in the face of evolving cyber threats. It involves implementing robust security architectures for network and endpoint security, encryption for data protection, and access controls to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems. System engineering also includes developing incident response plans, conducting security monitoring, providing security awareness training, and ensuring compliance with cybersecurity standards and regulations through regular security audits. By applying proven best practices, system engineering helps organizations maintain reliable IT and cyber resilience measures.
