If you want to have strong cybersecurity, you should be aware of the cybersecurity systems and assets that you have, what they cover, how they interact with your data, and whether or not they have been updated. In a sense, that’s what is meant by the term ‘cybersecurity asset management’ (CAM). It’s easy to understand, isn’t it? 

However, anyone who has been given the responsibility of keeping track of ongoing software updates, upgrades, and information technology (IT) system rewrites is aware that maintaining the coordination of all of this data isn’t always an easy process.

Fortunately, the field of cybersecurity asset management has continued to develop throughout the years, and it’s now simple to find solutions that enable you to handle your digital assets. That said, a competent managed service IT provider (MSP) such as XL.net and others can serve as your partner in this task. But why do you need it? 

Understanding Cybersecurity Asset Management (CAM)

Cybersecurity asset management manages IT and operational technology assets from creation/procurement to disposal, keeping them safe to prevent threat actor compromise.

Effective cybersecurity asset management includes the following:

  • In a managed approach, assets are developed or acquired by following a predetermined process;
  • Rogue assets are immediately recognized and brought under management for their own protection;
  • All assets are safe during operation; and
  • Decommissioning end-of-life assets safely prevents data leaks.

The CAM program’s scope should be expanded to include not just physical and virtual systems, but also cloud-based assets. The term ‘assets’ is frequently used as a synonym for ‘server’ or ‘network device,’ but it’s also capable of referring to the data sets that are stored on those devices.

Why Is CAM Important For Doing Business

Listed below are reasons why effective management of IT assets is essential to a company’s cybersecurity. Read on to learn more.

1. Accurately Reports Security And Compliance

An IT inventory that’s up to date and accurate offers a single source of truth, which enables administrators to verify that every IT asset possesses the required security measures. In addition to this, it can make it easier for admins to identify what is ‘in scope’ for the various regulatory requirements, as well as to conduct risk assessments.

2. Integrates With Existing Security And IT Management Vendors

Most IT management and security apps integrate via application programming interface (APIs) or custom integrations. Strong cybersecurity asset management interacts with popular management and notifies third-party apps to send alerts, update ticketing, and update vulnerability assessments. Top cybersecurity asset management software lets users take action within the program, rather than switching to another dashboard.

3. Mitigates Risks

IT security managers face more security threats, legal responsibilities, and unanticipated events when they don’t know where assets are, how they’re managed, or if they’re vulnerable. IT asset management shows the IT assets in the common operating environment. Administrators can reduce security threats from unidentified, lost, or misconfigured IT assets when they’re properly tracked.

4. Offers Control Over The Cost of Software Assets

When businesses know what software they have, they can recover underutilized software, reallocate it, and avoid buying a new license. An excessive amount of software applications exposes a business to more security vulnerabilities. IT asset management helps organizations handle software requests and purchases.

5. Miscellaneous Benefits For The Company’s IT

Cybersecurity asset management covers numerous tasks since IT resources and business hazards are so complex. The specific nature of cybersecurity asset management will vary in every business based on the resources at stake, but these are the examples for a typical business:

  • By identifying network endpoints and examining each one for security vulnerabilities, teams can take immediate measures to address concerns, such as disconnecting unsafe endpoints.
  • CAM detects and addresses active vulnerabilities, such as unpatched software.
  • Modern clouds are sophisticated, multidimensional environments with many services and resources. Cybersecurity asset management identifies cloud resources with unsafe software or poor access control.
  • It helps the incident response team pinpoint the root cause of an issue and fix it.
  • It offers fast diagnosis and correction if a resource breaches your team’s security regulation. New devices that match a profile with an active policy are automatically protected.

Many of the listed resources change often. As demand fluctuates, network devices may come and go, and internet services may change their configurations as they expand. To keep up with quickly changing settings, cybersecurity asset management must be continuous and real-time.

Conclusion

As you can see, it’s clear that your cybersecurity asset management program serves as the primary basis for your overall cybersecurity program. Additionally, a cybersecurity strategy is a necessity for any business, regardless of its size. The first step in the process of safeguarding your organization will be to manage your assets.