LINEARSTACK
March 23, 2023

Collaboration Between Information Security and Cybersecurity Strategy

How do Information Security and Cybersecurity Strategy Coordinate together?

Information security (INFOSEC) and cybersecurity are often viewed as the same. Both these groups hire cybersecurity professionals to staff their security teams. These two critical areas are essential to every organisation. INFOSEC is an overarching strategy that includes processes, procedures, and cybersecurity policies to maintain confidentiality, integrity, and data availability. Cybersecurity is an essential function of INFOSEC, mandated to prevent malicious attacks against organisations, data, and employees.

This blog will provide further guidance on how these two critical functions are essential for organisations to protect their systems while complying with various governance and privacy mandates.

Cyber Security vs. Information Security

Despite ongoing debate over whether cybersecurity is the same and whether the two are related, cybersecurity has become essential in information security protection practices. Think about information security under one roof - cyber security under another, cryptography under it. Cybersecurity focuses on protecting and preventing attacks and helping support the INFOSEC charter, ensuring integrity and availability for all data, systems, and personnel confidentially.

INFOSEC establishes processes and procedures, including corporate standards for identity management, encryption standards, and work-from-homesecurity policies. Cybersecurity develops and employs adaptive controls and security infrastructure to protect these INFOSEC strategies.

The Importance of an Effective Information Security Program

Without INFOSEC strategies, organisations will lack the means, including a proper process, procedures, and policy to protect their data. INFOSEC teams help develop and maintain the strategy for data protection, remote access, and other technology components.

INFOSEC also plays a role in the organisation's strategy for security measures around DevOps for product development. Organisations investing in DevOps to support the rapid deployment of new applications to support internal and external customers need an INFOSEC strategy. Without a comprehensive security policy supporting the software development lifecycle (SDLC), it will expose applications to hacker attacks and data breaches.

Is Cybersecurity Equality Important?

Cybersecurity’s core focus is to secure digital information stored on hardware and software computer servers. Locating and identifying critical information regarding vulnerabilities is a must in safeguarding data. This awareness helps defend confidential information from being accessed by unapproved people or exposed to external dangers.

Security experts in INFOSEC and cybersecurity often collaborate to look at ways to become more proactive in their protection practices by reviewing past threats affecting their organisation.

Are the INFOSEC and Cybersecurity Teams the same?

Cybersecurity is safeguarding digital data from theft and damage. Organisations' business leaders will structure their INFOSEC and cybersecurity teams into separate operational and engineering groups. Maintaining separation of duties is a critical checks and balances organisations need regarding INFOSEC and Cybersecurity.

INFOSEC teams create the processes and policies to help protect the organisation. Cybersecurity teams protect their organisation by deploying and maintaining the security protection layers. By maintaining a clear separation while promoting organisational collaboration, these teams validate each other's efficiency and relevance. Cybersecurity teams will implement a policy created by INFOSEC. INFOSEC will develop a policy and an approach based on an adaptive security control gained by the cybersecurity team.

By supporting the separation of duties, this business structure helps reduce possible insider threats and cyber fraud and improve operational security. 

Unified Goal of INFOSEC and Cybersecurity

The core element of cyber security and information security recognises the value of data and the risk of attack. Cybersecurity prevents unapproved digital access, while information security is the organisational strategy. Both groups also play a critical role in developing and maintaining business continuity if an organisation suffers from a supply chain attack, denial of service attack, or social engineering attack. 

The Role of the MSSP in Supporting INFOSEC and Cybersecurity

Organisations seeking a clear separation of duties between INFOSEC and cybersecurity often need help hiring and retaining security engineers and information security specialists. Most organisations will merge the two business functions into one group to save money and flatten the organisation's reporting structure. 

Security operations(SecOps) is the core team behind enabling adaptive security controls, monitoring all systems, and handling incident response for all cyber-attacks. INFOSEC activities in this merged model align more with risk management, compliance teams, or department-level IT services.

Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) augment organisations by providing a variety of services, including INFOSEC activities including:

  • Policy Creation
  • Security Process Improvement
  • Process Review
  • Penetration Services, including Red and Blue Team Engagement

By providing INFOSEC services, organisations will maintain separation of duties by retaining an MSSP. These providers also offer cybersecurity services, including:

  • Security adaptive control setup and management
  • Defensive protection control maintenance
  • Incident Response Services
  • Syslog collection and XDR telemetry

The Value of a Managed Security Service Partner (MSSP)

MSSPs like LinearStack have the expertise and resources to help organisations execute INFOSEC and cybersecurity strategies, including SecOps, policy, and compliance monitoring. LinearStack has access to global talent 24x7x365 to help organisations with pre and post-assessment workflows.

About LinearStack

Founded in 2013, focusing strongly on world-class cyber security services, we built LinearStack from the ground up in Auckland, New Zealand. Our passion for making information security simple and accessible for all organisations is the fuel that fires our engine.

"We’re a growing team of certified Cyber Defence Analysts, Threat Hunters, Incident Responders, CTI specialists, malware analysts, security architectures, and engineers with two geo-redundant operations centres across the globe."

Managed Services Offering

We designed our Managed Services for firms who don’t have the desire to recruit for and maintain this relentless, 24/7 task in-house.

With teams in two time zones, you can be confident that your security analysts are always alert and fresh when defending your infrastructure. As your partners, you can reach out to any of our analysts 24/7 to understand the journey of a threat.

Culture

We’re100% privately held, grown with a family mindset. When working with clients, we’re well-integrated within their teams and act as an extension of their operations. Augmenting existing teams is a transition we manage smoothly, empowering our customers to prioritise cyber security strategy while we protect their business from cyber threats 24x7.

Maintaining thriving IT systems and assuring data protection are fundamental needs that all businesses deserve.

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