Cyber Control System

Introduction to the CyberControl Program and cybersecurity principles.

Controls are the heart of your cybersecurity program. Simply put, controls are the measures you take to prevent a hacker from accessing your data. Controls are processes you put in place to ensure your data is protected.

Controls are the heart of your cybersecurity program. Simply put, controls are the measures you take to prevent a hacker from accessing your data. Controls are processes you put in place to ensure your data is protected.

In the CyberControl System, we will focus on building a cybersecurity program founded on effective controls for YOUR organization. You cannot be everywhere and do everything, so focus on what matters most right now and plan for expansion. If you are just getting started, we can focus our efforts on the most essential controls.

We will take a moment to show you the end game, a five-step process for building a cybersecurity roadmap that fits your needs.

On paper, controls at a large corporation may look the same as those at a small company, but the details are very different. When we design a control, we need to ensure it accomplishes the desired goal and is something we can actually implement with the people and resources we have. 

Administrative controls set the expectations for the organization. We often call these the “Tone at the Top” controls.

Even with strong firewalls and encryption, if someone can walk into your server room and plug in a rogue device or steal a laptop, your cybersecurity is compromised. Physical controls ensure that the infrastructure supporting digital systems is secure from theft, tampering, or sabotage.

When we think of cybersecurity controls, we usually think of technical controls first, ones like firewalls and encryption.

There are many, many other controls in the technical control category. For our purposes, we will talk about these in three major categories: Access Controls, Change Management Controls, and IT Security Controls.

To ensure that security controls are working as intended, vulnerabilities are promptly identified and mitigated, and the organization remains resilient, compliant, and accountable in the face of cyber threats.

Identify risks to communicate them clearly and protect against them. Assess the risk by estimating and prioritizing threats to goals, objectives, assets, or processes. Treat the risk by deciding how to handle the situation.

A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is a structured process organizations use to identify and evaluate how disruptions (like cyberattacks, system failures, natural disasters, or supply chain issues) would affect their critical business functions.

Vendor risk assessments include a due diligence process for evaluating the security posture of current or potential vendors.. These should be conducted before onboarding a new vendor and periodically (often annually or risk-based) for existing ones.

The CVE Program is used to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. There is one CVE Record for each vulnerability in the catalog. The vulnerabilities are discovered and published by organizations from around the world that have partnered with the CVE Program.

Cybersecurity insurance (also called cyber liability insurance or cyber risk insurance) is designed to help organizations absorb the financial and operational impact of cyber incidents such as data breaches, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, or accidental data loss.

Every breach is an incident, but not every incident escalates to a breach.

An IRP is a structured approach to managing and mitigating the impact of cybersecurity incidents. The six-step NIST incident response plan offers a comprehensive framework for organizations to effectively respond to and manage cybersecurity incidents. 

A Phishing Incident Response Plan is a structured playbook that an organization follows when phishing attempts target employees, systems, or customers.

A Ransomware IRP is a structured playbook that guides an organization’s response when ransomware encrypts, steals, or threatens to leak critical data. The goal is to contain the attack quickly, minimize downtime, preserve evidence, and restore operations safely.

A tabletop exercise in cybersecurity is a simulated, discussion-based incident response drill designed to evaluate an organization’s preparedness, decision-making, and coordination during a cyber incident — without actually disrupting systems or operations.

Access control refers to the techniques and mechanisms that govern who—or what—is allowed to access specific resources within a system or environment.

Privileged Access Management is a cybersecurity discipline focused on controlling, monitoring, and auditing the use of privileged accounts — accounts with elevated permissions that can make critical changes to systems, applications, and data.

Change management controls are fundamental controls in any organization. Delve into best practices for establishing a configuration baseline, segregation of duties, and making changes.

Encryption controls convert readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable format (ciphertext) using cryptographic algorithms. Only users with the appropriate decryption key can restore the data to its original form.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) controls are cybersecurity measures designed to detect, monitor, and prevent the unauthorized transmission, sharing, or leakage of sensitive data—whether intentional or accidental. These controls help protect data in use, in motion, and at rest, and are especially important for maintaining compliance with privacy and data protection regulations.

Time to build a long-term strategy founded on effective controls for YOUR organization. You cannot be everywhere and do everything, so focus on what matters most right now and plan for expansion.

A cybersecurity control framework is a structured set of guidelines, best practices, and security controls that organizations use to: Identify and assess cybersecurity risks, implement safeguards to protect systems and data, detect and respond to cybersecurity incidents, recover from breaches or disruptions, and ensure ongoing governance and compliance.

Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) in cybersecurity is the process of identifying, assessing, managing, and monitoring the cyber risks introduced by external entities such as vendors, contractors, service providers, and partners. These third parties often have access to systems, data, or networks and can become a significant attack vector if not properly managed.

Auditing is a systematic process of reviewing and evaluating security-related activities, events, configurations, and controls to ensure that an organization's information systems are operating securely, efficiently, and in compliance with relevant policies, standards, and regulations.

Implementing a CyberControl system doesn’t stop with this training — it’s an ongoing journey. If you have questions, encounter challenges, or need guidance applying what we’ve covered to your environment, don’t hesitate to reach out.