Some examples of Risk Mitigating Controls, according to Vacca in chapter 24, are reviewing security device configuration and management, account monitoring and control, and security education of employees. I personally believe all of these should be treated with equal importance, however, if I had to pick one to focus on I personally believe that security training and employee education would be the most important. As Vacca states several times in the readings that we have conducted so far, human error and lack of preparation is often the biggest hurdle to institutional security, either through possibly malicious downloads, transfer of data, phishing, or other means of human error. Access can be gained through a companies employees and employees themselves, per-Vacca, are often the primary target of initial breaches, so educating staff to possibly avoid breach and access risks is essential to stopping issues before they begin in an institution
I agree with you about educating employees. Most employees don’t know how to differentiate between personal devices and work equipment. Some employees believe that they should be able to access social media, bank websites, etc. with the company provided equipment. Employers should educate their employees to only use company’s devices for work related activities. While surfing the web, there is a tendency to visit malicious websites which could be a threat to the company’s security.
There are three types of mitigation controls: physical, technical, and administrative. All of these controls can help avoid legal, operational, reputational, and other risks. Personally, I believe that all of them are important, but if I had to choose one, it would be technical risk control.
First, physical assets can be replaced with new ones, if they are at risk, it takes time and effort but are material things in the end. Although administrative control is also important, it is difficult to control people’s behavior. Lastly, technical control can prevent the loss of information, which is the most valuable asset in a company.
I like your take on the controls, however administrative can be controlled by your organizations rules, regulations, hiring, firing, etc. Physical can be replaced, however the funds are not always there to do so and the equipment not always east obtain.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are Physical, Technical, and Administrative. I would’t say either is more important than the other; as they can each cause issues if they are not followed. The maturity model indicates how the organization will adapt to address these controls.
Administrative might be the most important only because it is more directly controlled by people. as we discussed in class, people are the biggest risk when it comes to controls. The organization has more direct and possibly more immediate controls of people.
Marc I’m inclined to agree with you that administrative might just be the most important of the three just based on the foundation that it includes policies, procedures, and guidelines that govern an organization’s security practices. Core concepts like security policies, user training, access control procedures, and incident response plans are some of the most importance building blocks in keeping a secure system and it also primarily defends against the weakest link in security, the human aspect. While a good system finds a perfect balance of the three I’m of the belief that a system can’t go anywhere without good administrative controls.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are Attack Resiliency, Incident Readiness and Security Maturity. These make up the core of Information Security CIA.
Attack resiliency provides protection internal and external attacks. Incident Readiness helps detect breaches and Security Maturity is part of response for if and when an incident occurs.
I think Incident Readiness is the most important out of these 3 because it can help detect security breaches or incidents early.
I selected Corrective/Security maturity as the most important control because all breaches cannot be stopped but you want to reduce the impact and down time.
I can also understand why you chose Incident readiness as being the most important of the three mitigating controls as you are able to respond to and hopefully prevent security breaches and incidents before any damage is done and learn your vulnerabilities that were missed.
I think all three mitigating controls are equally important and are critical to manage cyber security risks.
I chose security maturity as the most important mitigating control out of the 3 as I believe that security maturity is the foundation for other security measures. I definitely understand your thought process on why you chose incident readiness as it ensures that an organization is prepared to respond to cybersecurity incidents and threats. However, regardless of our individual choices, they’re all equally important as they’re all technically considered layers of defense and safeguards an organization from cybersecurity threats.
The core strategy of the CIA triad encompasses three fundamental categories of risk mitigating controls: Attack Resiliency, Incident Readiness, and Security Maturity. Out of the strategies, Security Maturity stands out the most for several reasons:
•Security maturity implies that security is not just considered a technical control but a fundamental part of an organization’s values and practices. This long-term commitment is essential as the organization will be able to consistently adapt to evolving security threats.
•Security maturity starts as a foundation for other controls. Without security maturity, an organization may find it challenging to implement security controls. Whether they are in response to an issue or as a preventative measure.
•An organization with a mature security posture is more likely to meet compliance standards and risk management frameworks.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are physical, technical, and administrative. The three mitigating controls are all effective to some extent and should be adhered to. Physical control involves securing the server room with locks, using badge scanners, security cameras, etc. Technical mitigation involves setting up MFA, anti-malware, encryption, etc. Even though the three risk mitigating controls are effective, I will choose administrative control as the most effective. With administrative control, users would be trained on how to secure their data and equipment. Users are the greatest risk to a network because they can visit malicious sites while connected to the network, connect rouge devices to the network, and carelessly review their password. With policies and proper trainings, it will be difficult for an attacker to get into the network.
I completely agree with your assessment that administrative controls hold a special importance because they directly address the human element—often considered the weakest link in cybersecurity. Your focus on training users to secure their data and equipment is spot-on, as this equips individuals to recognize and avoid potential risks, such as visiting malicious sites or using weak passwords.
Furthermore, you make an excellent point about the role of policies and trainings in making it difficult for attackers to penetrate a network. I’d like to add that the importance of upper management’s support cannot be overstated in this context. Many security tools come with out-of-the-box settings that may not capture the unique behavioral threats a company faces. Administrative controls, which often include Identity and Access Management protocols, provide the necessary framework to tailor these tools to an organization’s specific needs. Therefore, Administrative controls serve not just as a guideline but also as a customizable defense mechanism.
Hi Akintunde,
I agree with you that all three controls are important and effective. While I personally prefer using technical controls, I understand that the biggest risk comes from human error. Computers cannot harm a device on their own. Therefore, implementing proper administrative controls can prevent both technical and physical attacks.
Akintunde,
What differs from your explanation is that it is basic, fundamental, and takes a common sense approach. Physical, technical, and administrative controls encompass the entire structure, both business and IT. I agree that administrative is the most important as it directly involves the user. They are the first line of defense and are typically the first to realize something’s wrong. In harmony with your point that users need training, I would go a bit further to recommend the training be ongoing in an attempt embed the idea of security into the company’s culture.
The 3 types of risk mitigating controls are :
Attack Resiliency (Preventative): Controls to prevent security incident from occurring. e,g, IPS Intrusion Prevention System which monitors the network looking for malicious activity to prevent a breach, firewalls, etc..
Incident Readiness (Detective): Controls are designed to identify suspicious activity or security incidents when they occur. The system should send alerts, log data, and capture evidence at this time. E.g. Intrusion Detection System
Security Maturity (Corrective): Controls that are activated in response to an attack/ security breach to minimize the impact of the breach. These controls are important as they should have an incident response plan in place to stop the breach and reduce company / system downtime.
All controls, in my opinion, are equally vital when it comes to reducing risks. Yes, you would want to protect any customer or business information by “preventing” the breach in the first place. As a result, some people would view the “Corrective” control as being the most crucial. However, since you cannot completely control people, they pose the greatest threat to security lapses. Also, given that no firm is 100% breach-proof, the “corrective” control and how quickly a business can respond to a breach, limit the impact, and bring the system back online, in my opinion, should be the most crucial control. I think the most important controls depends on the type of data that was impacted during the security breach and the information/information system.
Three types of the top 20 risk mitigating controls as shown by figure 24.7 are: Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation, Data Recovery Capability, and Security Skills Assessment and Appropriate Training to Fill Gaps. I’d reason that the third of which is the most important as like our previous discussion humans have been and will continue to be the primary attack vector for security and will probably continue to be forevermore therefore they will be biggest security risk to a system, regardless of how tight security is.
I also stated in my response that human training is likely most important. The reality of information security, especially in a large organization or entity is that, no matter how much you secure systems from the back end, there will always be security vulnerabilities relating to simple human error. The truth is most users are fairly inexperienced with technology and security concerns and, from my experience in HD roles, I can tell you that many clients will fall for phishing schemes etc. and even if only one user is compromised, sometimes that is all it takes to access the system and cause issues
I also aligned my response to this question with the 20 information security controls listed in Vacca’s chap 24 and, after doing further readings, I completely agree with your last point on trainings. Every single employee in an organization can present a threat to the organization if not knowledgeable to the ways of prevention. This is also the hardest control to implement, in my opinion, since this includes the rounding up of people of various backgrounds to get on the same page about something. This is already such a hard feat (especially in the workplace if the proper incentive is not attached) that hopefully the stance on security can be in sync almost unanimously. But, of course, this also comes with many variables.
With so many risk mitigating controls, it can be difficult to select which takes priority. The common threat I have seen is the most important mitigating tools all involve the end user. There are severe training gaps within organizations that have caused problems and cost money. This in my opinion, security training should be aligned with the day to day on the job training you receive when you start your job. Access where the users are from a security standpoint and work with them get them on par. It is important that you make the user feel like they have a role in protecting the organization, because they do. Once this idea is planted, it has to potential to grow the organization.
a. Data Encryption. Encrypting data at rest as well as in motion. It is highly advised to encrypt data in motion and often overlooked to encrypt data at rest according to Vacca. At rest encryption is important for sensitive data such as social security numbers that sit on your file server or inside a data base (Vacca, page 401). This is important for breaches such as information theft or data leakage.
b. Event Logging. Logs are significant when you’re attempting to investigate the root cause of an issue or incident and, in my opinion, I believe this is also the most important mitigating control. The most important controls, in my opinion, are the steps taking to investigate root cause analysis… (also eludes to OS hardening guidelines (Vacca, page 401)
c. Backup and Restore. Backing up servers and clients in a timely fashion will protect against the information objective of availability.
i. I also want to add that the importance of packet sniffing and network recording comes in handy as another tactic once a breach has occurred. (Vacca, page 402)
The note about packet sniffing and network recording are interesting. I like how you present them as a risk mitigation control following a theoretical breach. The ability to not only anticipate and attempt to prevent breaches before they happen, but to also respond effectively to and monitor activity within an organization are both very important and should be considered necessary for institutional security
1. What are 3 types of risk mitigating controls? Which is the most important? Why is it the most important?
There are many controls for mitigating risk, according to the text this week, it listed twenty. Out of those twenty I went with application software security, wireless device control and data recovery capability. Out of those randomly selected three I would pick wireless device control. The reason that I picked that is that the majority of business professionals use a wireless device to do business that has sensitive information on said device. In this week’s reading you will also notice a common theme that comes up with all the information; BUSINESS CONTINUTY. Without continuity, you have a broken business which means devices are down, when devices are down people cannot work, business cannot get done. If you look at another common theme, it is the executives that are on these wireless devices that are not educated on risk and security, being able to wireless control and administer security remotely is huge, especially in a business environment.
Notes from readings:
I also wanted to point out three fundamental areas of implementation: Attack Resiliency, Incident Readiness, and Security Maturity.
Risk- Threat x Vulnerability x Impact
Attack Resiliency- helps protect core business assets from internal and external attacks by implementing string technical control and adhering to industry best practices.
Incident Readiness is a key strategic component that can help in early detection of security breaches or incidents.
Even today, organizations have not reached a level of security maturity that will significantly deter attackers from compromising their data. Building a mature information security program with a comprehensive, risk-based, and business-aligned strategy is necessary for other controls to be effective. Policies that make sense, a detailed incident response plan, and an all-inclusive user awareness program.
Computer and Information Security Handbook, edited by John R. Vacca, Elsevier Science & Technology, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/templeuniv-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4858374.
Created from templeuniv-ebooks on 2023-09-04 20:07:50.
I agree with your point about organizations not having made a significant deterrence method. Half the problem of information security is that it is often a response or defensive method that must continually adapt to changes in not only human behavior but also technology. new and creative tools for accessing, breaching or otherwise compromising data are constantly evolving and we may never reach a state where we are able to do anything more than attempt to prevent breaches, but we must continue to keep ourselves updated and be prepared for anything
Thanks Andew. Yes, as I go down all the posts it looks like a lot of students are posting about the administrative control side and like you stated how we must continue to keep ourselves updated and be prepared for anything, which I totally agree with, it is the actual buy-in from leadership and then to get it implemented. Another interesting aspect Kelly pointed out is how all three are just important but that you do get a better ROI on the administrative side, and it is easier to get a buy-in from leadership when they start to understand the risk and the ROI.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are Physical, Technical, and Administrative. While each type of control is crucial and they often work interdependently, the priority can be context dependent. For instance, in a data center, Physical controls might be vital, while a SaaS business may emphasize technical controls. That said, if forced to prioritize, I’d lean towards administrative controls, as they address the human element, which is often the source of security vulnerabilities. Administrative controls offer arguably the best ROI by guiding behavior across the organization and can adapt to the changing cybersecurity landscape.
However, it’s crucial to remember that the effectiveness of any one type of control is often contingent on the other types. Moreover, compliance requirements and resource constraints also play a significant role in shaping the priority of these controls. Therefore, maturity models serve as valuable guides for organizations to make informed decisions on how to balance investments among these different areas.
Kelly, I appreciate your reasoning with importance lying with the context of the system and with it how priority might skew. Further I like that you brought up the larger return on investment associated with administrative controls as like you said the human element is a flaw we rarely can fully overcome so we must prioritize safeguarding against it. Your mention of maturity models as valuable guides is a key point. Such models help organizations assess their current security infrastructure, identify gaps, and set realistic goals for improvement. By aligning security investments with the organization’s maturity level and risk profile, they can make informed decisions about how to allocate resources effectively among the different control areas.
After this week’s reading and seeing your post, you sum it up well on how the administrative side is your biggest ROI. As an auditor I think this one would get the best buy in from leadership showing them that and the adaptability that you pointed out. You can also hold people more accountable on this side which also could be a good selling advantage to the leadership team. Maybe having accounting sit in on these meetings as well you could get them to but in prior which would make more sense when you go to sell it to leadership for them to have the go with the admin controls.
The main objective of implementing security controls is to minimize risk in any organization. The three types of risk mitigating controls are as follows: Physical, technical and administrative.
Physical controls involve implementation of security measures in a defined structure used to deter or prevent unauthorized entrance and/or access. Examples include fences, cameras, alarm systems.
Technical controls otherwise called logical controls are software or hardware mechanisms used to protect information assets, networks and environments that process store and transmit data. Examples are firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), data encryption, digital certificates.
Administrative controls consist of policies, procedures and/or guidelines that define best business practices in accordance with the organization’s security goals.
Administrative controls encompass a wide range of approaches, including formal policies, procedural guidelines, risk mitigation strategies, and training activities. In contrast to technical controls, which focus on technology, and physical controls, which pertain to physical objects and spaces, administrative controls are all about human behavior.
Great post, one thing that comes to mind when doing this week’s readings and your post is how much more of a risk the administrative part can be. The reason I say that is that you cannot control the actual people. Let me say that you can only control them so much and having such policies, procedures and guidelines in place is a great way to mitigate the risk but like you stated in the end admin controls are all about human behavior and that is exactly my point. I believe that a good ongoing training session on this on the admin side would help mitigate the risk along with what was already listed with guidelines, policies etc.
Risk mitigating controls are essential in safeguarding organizations from potential threats and vulnerabilities. There are three primary types of these controls that play a crucial role in ensuring security and minimizing risks.
Firstly, preventive controls aim to proactively address risks by minimizing their occurrence through implementing measures such as strong encryption, access restrictions, or security training. These measures act as a shield against potential threats, deterring attackers and reducing the likelihood of incidents.
Secondly, detective controls serve as a watchful eye, identifying and alerting organizations to any potential breaches or intrusions. These controls include intrusion detection systems, security monitoring, and regular audits, allowing prompt response and mitigation of any potential threats.
Thirdly, corrective controls focus on remedying the aftermath of a breach or incident. By rapidly investigating and recovering from security breaches, organizations can minimize the impact and prevent further damage.
Of these three controls, preventive measures are considered the most important. Preventive controls aim to eliminate risks before they can inflict harm, reducing the likelihood of successful attacks and minimizing potential damage. By investing in robust preventive controls, organizations can build a strong security foundation, proactively protecting their assets and ensuring operational integrity.
In conclusion, risk mitigating controls play a vital role in an organization’s overall risk management strategy. Preventative controls aim to reduce the likelihood of incidents, detective controls provide early warning systems, and corrective controls help with recovery and resilience. The importance of each type of control depends on an organization’s specific context and risk profile. To effectively manage risks, organizations should strive for a balanced approach that combines all three types of controls and adapts to evolving threats and vulnerabilities.
Explanation:
Risk mitigating controls are measures or strategies put in place to reduce or manage various types of risks within an organization. While the importance of specific controls can vary depending on the context and the nature of the risks involved, here are three types of risk mitigating controls:
1. Preventative Controls:
Preventative controls are measures or strategies that aim to stop risks or threats from occurring in the first place.
They focus on reducing vulnerabilities and making it more difficult for attackers or adverse events to exploit weaknesses.
Preventative controls are fundamental to a robust risk management strategy because they can significantly reduce the likelihood of incidents.
Here are some key preventative controls and their importance:
1. Access Controls:
Access controls restrict access to systems, applications, and data based on user roles and permissions.
They ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information or critical systems.
Implementing strong access controls is crucial because it limits the potential attack surface and reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
2. Firewalls:
Firewalls are network security devices that monitor and filter incoming and outgoing network traffic.
They are designed to prevent unauthorized access, malware, and malicious traffic from entering a network.
Firewalls act as a barrier between an organization’s internal network and the external world, helping to block threats before they can reach vulnerable systems.
3. Security Policies and Procedures:
Establishing and enforcing security policies and procedures is essential for maintaining a secure environment.
These policies outline best practices, rules, and guidelines that employees must follow to protect sensitive data and maintain security.
Regularly updated and well-communicated policies help ensure that everyone within the organization understands their security responsibilities.
4. Employee Training and Awareness:
Human error is a significant source of security incidents.
Training and raising awareness among employees about cybersecurity risks and best practices can be a highly effective preventative control.
When employees are educated about potential threats and how to recognize and report them, they become a crucial line of defense against social engineering attacks and other security risks.
5. Patch Management:
Regularly updating and patching software and systems is essential for preventing known vulnerabilities from being exploited.
Attackers often target outdated software with known weaknesses, making patch management a critical preventative control.
6. Encryption:
Encrypting sensitive data at rest and in transit is a preventative control that protects data from unauthorized access even if a breach occurs.
Encryption ensures that even if an attacker gains access to the data, it remains unreadable without the proper decryption keys.
7. Network Segmentation:
Segmenting a network involves dividing it into smaller, isolated subnetworks.
This limits the lateral movement of attackers within a network, making it more challenging for them to access sensitive data or critical systems.
–> While preventative controls are vital in reducing the likelihood of incidents, it’s important to recognize that no control can guarantee 100% security. Therefore, organizations should complement preventative measures with detective and corrective controls to create a comprehensive risk management strategy.
2. Detective Controls:
Detective controls are measures or strategies implemented to identify and detect risks or threats when they occur.
While preventative controls aim to stop incidents from happening, detective controls focus on timely detection to minimize the impact.
Here are some key detective controls and their importance:
1. Log Monitoring and Analysis:
Monitoring system and network logs for unusual or suspicious activities is a crucial detective control.
Anomalies or signs of potential security incidents can be spotted early, allowing for a rapid response.
2. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS):
IDS and IPS are technologies designed to detect and, in the case of IPS, prevent unauthorized access or malicious activities on a network.
They analyze network traffic and behavior patterns to identify potential threats.
3. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems:
SIEM systems aggregate and correlate data from various sources, including logs and alerts, to provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s security posture.
They enable security teams to identify and respond to security incidents effectively.
4. Vulnerability Scanning and Assessment:
Regularly scanning systems and applications for vulnerabilities is a detective control that helps organizations identify weaknesses before attackers can exploit them.
It allows for proactive remediation efforts.
5. Penetration Testing:
Penetration testing involves simulating cyberattacks to identify vulnerabilities in an organization’s systems and processes.
This control helps organizations understand their security weaknesses and prioritize corrective actions.
6. User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA):
UEBA solutions use machine learning and behavioral analysis to identify deviations from normal user or entity behavior.
This can help detect insider threats and advanced persistent threats that may go unnoticed by traditional controls.
7. Incident Response Planning:
Having a well-defined incident response plan is essential for effective detection and mitigation of security incidents.
It outlines the steps to take when an incident is detected, ensuring a coordinated and efficient response.
Detective controls are critical because they enable organizations to detect incidents in real-time or shortly after they occur. This early detection is crucial for minimizing the potential damage and responding effectively to security breaches or other adverse events.
3. Corrective Controls:
Corrective controls are measures or strategies implemented after a risk or threat has been identified.
They are designed to mitigate the impact of an incident and remediate the situation.
Corrective controls are essential for restoring normal operations and preventing future incidents.
Here are some key corrective controls and their importance:
1. Incident Response and Containment:
When a security incident occurs, it’s crucial to have an incident response plan in place.
This plan outlines how to contain the incident, minimize its impact, and start the process of recovery.
Rapid containment can prevent further damage and data loss.
2. Data Recovery and Backup:
Regularly backing up critical data and systems is a fundamental corrective control.
In the event of data loss due to a cyberattack or other disaster, organizations can restore operations from backups, reducing downtime and potential financial losses.
3. Patch Management and Remediation:
Correcting vulnerabilities and weaknesses identified through vulnerability assessments and penetration testing is an important aspect of corrective controls.
Timely patching and remediation can prevent future exploitation of the same vulnerabilities.
4. Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
Corrective controls may also include actions necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements following a security incident.
This may involve reporting the incident to authorities or notifying affected individuals in the case of a data breach.
5. Lessons Learned and Post-Incident Analysis:
After an incident is resolved, it’s essential to conduct a post-incident analysis to understand what happened, how it happened, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future.
This analysis informs future security improvements and measures.
6. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans:
These plans outline how an organization will maintain essential functions during and after a disruptive event.
They are corrective controls that ensure the organization can recover and continue operations in the face of various risks. Determining which type of risk mitigating control is the most important depends on the context, the specific risks an organization faces, and its risk management strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question because the effectiveness and importance of each type of control can vary widely based on individual circumstances. However, it’s possible to argue for the importance of each type of control depending on the perspective taken:
The Importance of Balancing Preventative, Detective, and Corrective Controls:
The importance of each type of control—preventative, detective, and corrective—varies depending on the organization’s risk profile, industry, and specific threats it faces. The most crucial control often depends on the context. Here’s why each type of control is vital:
1. Preventative Controls:
Preventative controls are considered critical because they aim to reduce the likelihood of incidents happening in the first place.
By minimizing vulnerabilities and reducing the attack surface, organizations can avoid the potential financial, reputational, and operational consequences of security incidents.
2. Detective Controls:
Detective controls are essential because they provide visibility into ongoing security events.
While preventative controls aim to stop incidents, they cannot eliminate all risks.
Early detection allows organizations to respond swiftly, minimizing the impact and preventing further damage.
3. Corrective Controls:
Corrective controls are crucial for recovery and resilience.
Even with the best preventative and detective controls in place, incidents can still occur.
Corrective controls help organizations restore normal operations, minimize downtime, and learn from incidents to prevent future occurrences.
–> The key to effective risk management is finding the right balance among these three types of controls. Relying solely on preventative controls can create a false sense of security because no system is entirely immune to attacks. On the other hand, overly relying on detective and corrective controls can result in higher costs and damage that might have been preventable.
In practice, organizations should conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify their specific threats, vulnerabilities, and risk tolerance. This assessment helps in determining which controls to prioritize and invest in.
For example:
Organizations in highly regulated industries may need to prioritize preventative controls to ensure compliance with strict security standards and regulations.
Organizations with a history of security incidents may prioritize detective controls to enhance their incident detection capabilities.
Organizations with critical business functions may focus on corrective controls and business continuity planning to ensure they can quickly recover from disruptions.
The effectiveness of risk mitigating controls also depends on continuous monitoring, testing, and adaptation. Threat landscapes evolve, and controls must evolve with them. Regularly reviewing and updating controls is essential to maintaining a robust risk management strategy.
Three types of mitigating controls Policies, Plans, and Programs; Security Operations, and Security Education and Training. To some they all have equal footing when it comes to mitigating potential threats. While there is some merit in that thinking, I tend to disagree. While the system needs all these controls successfully implemented to ensure success, there is importance placed on which control takes priority. Policies and planning help to develop the programs and governance surrounding IT security. This is also where the training curriculum is developed. Security operations acts as the insurance policy of the organization per say. Ensuring things run smooth and there to act just in case. At the same time providing ongoing user education and reminders on security guidance. Lastly and the most important in my opinion is Security Education and Training. I have always believed that the user is the first line of defense in any organization. Most times, when something is going on, the users are the first to identify it and report it. Most know enough to be dangerous to working closely with users to show them what to look for and how to spot when something does not look right. Often it is the seamlessly harmless download or opening an attachment that can end up crippling your network. This is why having a properly educated staff working in tandem with the Information Technology department leads to a secure network and assets.
I concentrated on continuous education part of your post. Users paying attention to incidents and reporting as soon as possible should also be encouraged during training.
Some examples of Risk Mitigating Controls, according to Vacca in chapter 24, are reviewing security device configuration and management, account monitoring and control, and security education of employees. I personally believe all of these should be treated with equal importance, however, if I had to pick one to focus on I personally believe that security training and employee education would be the most important. As Vacca states several times in the readings that we have conducted so far, human error and lack of preparation is often the biggest hurdle to institutional security, either through possibly malicious downloads, transfer of data, phishing, or other means of human error. Access can be gained through a companies employees and employees themselves, per-Vacca, are often the primary target of initial breaches, so educating staff to possibly avoid breach and access risks is essential to stopping issues before they begin in an institution
I agree with you about educating employees. Most employees don’t know how to differentiate between personal devices and work equipment. Some employees believe that they should be able to access social media, bank websites, etc. with the company provided equipment. Employers should educate their employees to only use company’s devices for work related activities. While surfing the web, there is a tendency to visit malicious websites which could be a threat to the company’s security.
There are three types of mitigation controls: physical, technical, and administrative. All of these controls can help avoid legal, operational, reputational, and other risks. Personally, I believe that all of them are important, but if I had to choose one, it would be technical risk control.
First, physical assets can be replaced with new ones, if they are at risk, it takes time and effort but are material things in the end. Although administrative control is also important, it is difficult to control people’s behavior. Lastly, technical control can prevent the loss of information, which is the most valuable asset in a company.
I like your take on the controls, however administrative can be controlled by your organizations rules, regulations, hiring, firing, etc. Physical can be replaced, however the funds are not always there to do so and the equipment not always east obtain.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are Physical, Technical, and Administrative. I would’t say either is more important than the other; as they can each cause issues if they are not followed. The maturity model indicates how the organization will adapt to address these controls.
Administrative might be the most important only because it is more directly controlled by people. as we discussed in class, people are the biggest risk when it comes to controls. The organization has more direct and possibly more immediate controls of people.
Marc I’m inclined to agree with you that administrative might just be the most important of the three just based on the foundation that it includes policies, procedures, and guidelines that govern an organization’s security practices. Core concepts like security policies, user training, access control procedures, and incident response plans are some of the most importance building blocks in keeping a secure system and it also primarily defends against the weakest link in security, the human aspect. While a good system finds a perfect balance of the three I’m of the belief that a system can’t go anywhere without good administrative controls.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are Attack Resiliency, Incident Readiness and Security Maturity. These make up the core of Information Security CIA.
Attack resiliency provides protection internal and external attacks. Incident Readiness helps detect breaches and Security Maturity is part of response for if and when an incident occurs.
I think Incident Readiness is the most important out of these 3 because it can help detect security breaches or incidents early.
Unnati,
I selected Corrective/Security maturity as the most important control because all breaches cannot be stopped but you want to reduce the impact and down time.
I can also understand why you chose Incident readiness as being the most important of the three mitigating controls as you are able to respond to and hopefully prevent security breaches and incidents before any damage is done and learn your vulnerabilities that were missed.
I think all three mitigating controls are equally important and are critical to manage cyber security risks.
Hey Unnati,
I chose security maturity as the most important mitigating control out of the 3 as I believe that security maturity is the foundation for other security measures. I definitely understand your thought process on why you chose incident readiness as it ensures that an organization is prepared to respond to cybersecurity incidents and threats. However, regardless of our individual choices, they’re all equally important as they’re all technically considered layers of defense and safeguards an organization from cybersecurity threats.
The core strategy of the CIA triad encompasses three fundamental categories of risk mitigating controls: Attack Resiliency, Incident Readiness, and Security Maturity. Out of the strategies, Security Maturity stands out the most for several reasons:
•Security maturity implies that security is not just considered a technical control but a fundamental part of an organization’s values and practices. This long-term commitment is essential as the organization will be able to consistently adapt to evolving security threats.
•Security maturity starts as a foundation for other controls. Without security maturity, an organization may find it challenging to implement security controls. Whether they are in response to an issue or as a preventative measure.
•An organization with a mature security posture is more likely to meet compliance standards and risk management frameworks.
Alyanna, I like your reasoning for why security maturity is the most important. You have some strong arguments.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are physical, technical, and administrative. The three mitigating controls are all effective to some extent and should be adhered to. Physical control involves securing the server room with locks, using badge scanners, security cameras, etc. Technical mitigation involves setting up MFA, anti-malware, encryption, etc. Even though the three risk mitigating controls are effective, I will choose administrative control as the most effective. With administrative control, users would be trained on how to secure their data and equipment. Users are the greatest risk to a network because they can visit malicious sites while connected to the network, connect rouge devices to the network, and carelessly review their password. With policies and proper trainings, it will be difficult for an attacker to get into the network.
Akintunde,
I completely agree with your assessment that administrative controls hold a special importance because they directly address the human element—often considered the weakest link in cybersecurity. Your focus on training users to secure their data and equipment is spot-on, as this equips individuals to recognize and avoid potential risks, such as visiting malicious sites or using weak passwords.
Furthermore, you make an excellent point about the role of policies and trainings in making it difficult for attackers to penetrate a network. I’d like to add that the importance of upper management’s support cannot be overstated in this context. Many security tools come with out-of-the-box settings that may not capture the unique behavioral threats a company faces. Administrative controls, which often include Identity and Access Management protocols, provide the necessary framework to tailor these tools to an organization’s specific needs. Therefore, Administrative controls serve not just as a guideline but also as a customizable defense mechanism.
Hi Akintunde,
I agree with you that all three controls are important and effective. While I personally prefer using technical controls, I understand that the biggest risk comes from human error. Computers cannot harm a device on their own. Therefore, implementing proper administrative controls can prevent both technical and physical attacks.
Akintunde,
What differs from your explanation is that it is basic, fundamental, and takes a common sense approach. Physical, technical, and administrative controls encompass the entire structure, both business and IT. I agree that administrative is the most important as it directly involves the user. They are the first line of defense and are typically the first to realize something’s wrong. In harmony with your point that users need training, I would go a bit further to recommend the training be ongoing in an attempt embed the idea of security into the company’s culture.
The 3 types of risk mitigating controls are :
Attack Resiliency (Preventative): Controls to prevent security incident from occurring. e,g, IPS Intrusion Prevention System which monitors the network looking for malicious activity to prevent a breach, firewalls, etc..
Incident Readiness (Detective): Controls are designed to identify suspicious activity or security incidents when they occur. The system should send alerts, log data, and capture evidence at this time. E.g. Intrusion Detection System
Security Maturity (Corrective): Controls that are activated in response to an attack/ security breach to minimize the impact of the breach. These controls are important as they should have an incident response plan in place to stop the breach and reduce company / system downtime.
All controls, in my opinion, are equally vital when it comes to reducing risks. Yes, you would want to protect any customer or business information by “preventing” the breach in the first place. As a result, some people would view the “Corrective” control as being the most crucial. However, since you cannot completely control people, they pose the greatest threat to security lapses. Also, given that no firm is 100% breach-proof, the “corrective” control and how quickly a business can respond to a breach, limit the impact, and bring the system back online, in my opinion, should be the most crucial control. I think the most important controls depends on the type of data that was impacted during the security breach and the information/information system.
Three types of the top 20 risk mitigating controls as shown by figure 24.7 are: Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation, Data Recovery Capability, and Security Skills Assessment and Appropriate Training to Fill Gaps. I’d reason that the third of which is the most important as like our previous discussion humans have been and will continue to be the primary attack vector for security and will probably continue to be forevermore therefore they will be biggest security risk to a system, regardless of how tight security is.
I also stated in my response that human training is likely most important. The reality of information security, especially in a large organization or entity is that, no matter how much you secure systems from the back end, there will always be security vulnerabilities relating to simple human error. The truth is most users are fairly inexperienced with technology and security concerns and, from my experience in HD roles, I can tell you that many clients will fall for phishing schemes etc. and even if only one user is compromised, sometimes that is all it takes to access the system and cause issues
I also aligned my response to this question with the 20 information security controls listed in Vacca’s chap 24 and, after doing further readings, I completely agree with your last point on trainings. Every single employee in an organization can present a threat to the organization if not knowledgeable to the ways of prevention. This is also the hardest control to implement, in my opinion, since this includes the rounding up of people of various backgrounds to get on the same page about something. This is already such a hard feat (especially in the workplace if the proper incentive is not attached) that hopefully the stance on security can be in sync almost unanimously. But, of course, this also comes with many variables.
Alex,
With so many risk mitigating controls, it can be difficult to select which takes priority. The common threat I have seen is the most important mitigating tools all involve the end user. There are severe training gaps within organizations that have caused problems and cost money. This in my opinion, security training should be aligned with the day to day on the job training you receive when you start your job. Access where the users are from a security standpoint and work with them get them on par. It is important that you make the user feel like they have a role in protecting the organization, because they do. Once this idea is planted, it has to potential to grow the organization.
Three types of mitigating controls are:
a. Data Encryption. Encrypting data at rest as well as in motion. It is highly advised to encrypt data in motion and often overlooked to encrypt data at rest according to Vacca. At rest encryption is important for sensitive data such as social security numbers that sit on your file server or inside a data base (Vacca, page 401). This is important for breaches such as information theft or data leakage.
b. Event Logging. Logs are significant when you’re attempting to investigate the root cause of an issue or incident and, in my opinion, I believe this is also the most important mitigating control. The most important controls, in my opinion, are the steps taking to investigate root cause analysis… (also eludes to OS hardening guidelines (Vacca, page 401)
c. Backup and Restore. Backing up servers and clients in a timely fashion will protect against the information objective of availability.
i. I also want to add that the importance of packet sniffing and network recording comes in handy as another tactic once a breach has occurred. (Vacca, page 402)
The note about packet sniffing and network recording are interesting. I like how you present them as a risk mitigation control following a theoretical breach. The ability to not only anticipate and attempt to prevent breaches before they happen, but to also respond effectively to and monitor activity within an organization are both very important and should be considered necessary for institutional security
1. What are 3 types of risk mitigating controls? Which is the most important? Why is it the most important?
There are many controls for mitigating risk, according to the text this week, it listed twenty. Out of those twenty I went with application software security, wireless device control and data recovery capability. Out of those randomly selected three I would pick wireless device control. The reason that I picked that is that the majority of business professionals use a wireless device to do business that has sensitive information on said device. In this week’s reading you will also notice a common theme that comes up with all the information; BUSINESS CONTINUTY. Without continuity, you have a broken business which means devices are down, when devices are down people cannot work, business cannot get done. If you look at another common theme, it is the executives that are on these wireless devices that are not educated on risk and security, being able to wireless control and administer security remotely is huge, especially in a business environment.
Notes from readings:
I also wanted to point out three fundamental areas of implementation: Attack Resiliency, Incident Readiness, and Security Maturity.
Risk- Threat x Vulnerability x Impact
Attack Resiliency- helps protect core business assets from internal and external attacks by implementing string technical control and adhering to industry best practices.
Incident Readiness is a key strategic component that can help in early detection of security breaches or incidents.
Even today, organizations have not reached a level of security maturity that will significantly deter attackers from compromising their data. Building a mature information security program with a comprehensive, risk-based, and business-aligned strategy is necessary for other controls to be effective. Policies that make sense, a detailed incident response plan, and an all-inclusive user awareness program.
Computer and Information Security Handbook, edited by John R. Vacca, Elsevier Science & Technology, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/templeuniv-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4858374.
Created from templeuniv-ebooks on 2023-09-04 20:07:50.
I agree with your point about organizations not having made a significant deterrence method. Half the problem of information security is that it is often a response or defensive method that must continually adapt to changes in not only human behavior but also technology. new and creative tools for accessing, breaching or otherwise compromising data are constantly evolving and we may never reach a state where we are able to do anything more than attempt to prevent breaches, but we must continue to keep ourselves updated and be prepared for anything
Thanks Andew. Yes, as I go down all the posts it looks like a lot of students are posting about the administrative control side and like you stated how we must continue to keep ourselves updated and be prepared for anything, which I totally agree with, it is the actual buy-in from leadership and then to get it implemented. Another interesting aspect Kelly pointed out is how all three are just important but that you do get a better ROI on the administrative side, and it is easier to get a buy-in from leadership when they start to understand the risk and the ROI.
The three types of risk mitigating controls are Physical, Technical, and Administrative. While each type of control is crucial and they often work interdependently, the priority can be context dependent. For instance, in a data center, Physical controls might be vital, while a SaaS business may emphasize technical controls. That said, if forced to prioritize, I’d lean towards administrative controls, as they address the human element, which is often the source of security vulnerabilities. Administrative controls offer arguably the best ROI by guiding behavior across the organization and can adapt to the changing cybersecurity landscape.
However, it’s crucial to remember that the effectiveness of any one type of control is often contingent on the other types. Moreover, compliance requirements and resource constraints also play a significant role in shaping the priority of these controls. Therefore, maturity models serve as valuable guides for organizations to make informed decisions on how to balance investments among these different areas.
Kelly, I appreciate your reasoning with importance lying with the context of the system and with it how priority might skew. Further I like that you brought up the larger return on investment associated with administrative controls as like you said the human element is a flaw we rarely can fully overcome so we must prioritize safeguarding against it. Your mention of maturity models as valuable guides is a key point. Such models help organizations assess their current security infrastructure, identify gaps, and set realistic goals for improvement. By aligning security investments with the organization’s maturity level and risk profile, they can make informed decisions about how to allocate resources effectively among the different control areas.
Hey Kelly, great post.
After this week’s reading and seeing your post, you sum it up well on how the administrative side is your biggest ROI. As an auditor I think this one would get the best buy in from leadership showing them that and the adaptability that you pointed out. You can also hold people more accountable on this side which also could be a good selling advantage to the leadership team. Maybe having accounting sit in on these meetings as well you could get them to but in prior which would make more sense when you go to sell it to leadership for them to have the go with the admin controls.
https://www.f5.com/labs/learning-center/what-are-security-controls
The main objective of implementing security controls is to minimize risk in any organization. The three types of risk mitigating controls are as follows: Physical, technical and administrative.
Physical controls involve implementation of security measures in a defined structure used to deter or prevent unauthorized entrance and/or access. Examples include fences, cameras, alarm systems.
Technical controls otherwise called logical controls are software or hardware mechanisms used to protect information assets, networks and environments that process store and transmit data. Examples are firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), data encryption, digital certificates.
Administrative controls consist of policies, procedures and/or guidelines that define best business practices in accordance with the organization’s security goals.
Administrative controls encompass a wide range of approaches, including formal policies, procedural guidelines, risk mitigation strategies, and training activities. In contrast to technical controls, which focus on technology, and physical controls, which pertain to physical objects and spaces, administrative controls are all about human behavior.
Hey Chidi
Great post, one thing that comes to mind when doing this week’s readings and your post is how much more of a risk the administrative part can be. The reason I say that is that you cannot control the actual people. Let me say that you can only control them so much and having such policies, procedures and guidelines in place is a great way to mitigate the risk but like you stated in the end admin controls are all about human behavior and that is exactly my point. I believe that a good ongoing training session on this on the admin side would help mitigate the risk along with what was already listed with guidelines, policies etc.
Risk mitigating controls are essential in safeguarding organizations from potential threats and vulnerabilities. There are three primary types of these controls that play a crucial role in ensuring security and minimizing risks.
Firstly, preventive controls aim to proactively address risks by minimizing their occurrence through implementing measures such as strong encryption, access restrictions, or security training. These measures act as a shield against potential threats, deterring attackers and reducing the likelihood of incidents.
Secondly, detective controls serve as a watchful eye, identifying and alerting organizations to any potential breaches or intrusions. These controls include intrusion detection systems, security monitoring, and regular audits, allowing prompt response and mitigation of any potential threats.
Thirdly, corrective controls focus on remedying the aftermath of a breach or incident. By rapidly investigating and recovering from security breaches, organizations can minimize the impact and prevent further damage.
Of these three controls, preventive measures are considered the most important. Preventive controls aim to eliminate risks before they can inflict harm, reducing the likelihood of successful attacks and minimizing potential damage. By investing in robust preventive controls, organizations can build a strong security foundation, proactively protecting their assets and ensuring operational integrity.
In conclusion, risk mitigating controls play a vital role in an organization’s overall risk management strategy. Preventative controls aim to reduce the likelihood of incidents, detective controls provide early warning systems, and corrective controls help with recovery and resilience. The importance of each type of control depends on an organization’s specific context and risk profile. To effectively manage risks, organizations should strive for a balanced approach that combines all three types of controls and adapts to evolving threats and vulnerabilities.
Explanation:
Risk mitigating controls are measures or strategies put in place to reduce or manage various types of risks within an organization. While the importance of specific controls can vary depending on the context and the nature of the risks involved, here are three types of risk mitigating controls:
1. Preventative Controls:
Preventative controls are measures or strategies that aim to stop risks or threats from occurring in the first place.
They focus on reducing vulnerabilities and making it more difficult for attackers or adverse events to exploit weaknesses.
Preventative controls are fundamental to a robust risk management strategy because they can significantly reduce the likelihood of incidents.
Here are some key preventative controls and their importance:
1. Access Controls:
Access controls restrict access to systems, applications, and data based on user roles and permissions.
They ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information or critical systems.
Implementing strong access controls is crucial because it limits the potential attack surface and reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
2. Firewalls:
Firewalls are network security devices that monitor and filter incoming and outgoing network traffic.
They are designed to prevent unauthorized access, malware, and malicious traffic from entering a network.
Firewalls act as a barrier between an organization’s internal network and the external world, helping to block threats before they can reach vulnerable systems.
3. Security Policies and Procedures:
Establishing and enforcing security policies and procedures is essential for maintaining a secure environment.
These policies outline best practices, rules, and guidelines that employees must follow to protect sensitive data and maintain security.
Regularly updated and well-communicated policies help ensure that everyone within the organization understands their security responsibilities.
4. Employee Training and Awareness:
Human error is a significant source of security incidents.
Training and raising awareness among employees about cybersecurity risks and best practices can be a highly effective preventative control.
When employees are educated about potential threats and how to recognize and report them, they become a crucial line of defense against social engineering attacks and other security risks.
5. Patch Management:
Regularly updating and patching software and systems is essential for preventing known vulnerabilities from being exploited.
Attackers often target outdated software with known weaknesses, making patch management a critical preventative control.
6. Encryption:
Encrypting sensitive data at rest and in transit is a preventative control that protects data from unauthorized access even if a breach occurs.
Encryption ensures that even if an attacker gains access to the data, it remains unreadable without the proper decryption keys.
7. Network Segmentation:
Segmenting a network involves dividing it into smaller, isolated subnetworks.
This limits the lateral movement of attackers within a network, making it more challenging for them to access sensitive data or critical systems.
–> While preventative controls are vital in reducing the likelihood of incidents, it’s important to recognize that no control can guarantee 100% security. Therefore, organizations should complement preventative measures with detective and corrective controls to create a comprehensive risk management strategy.
2. Detective Controls:
Detective controls are measures or strategies implemented to identify and detect risks or threats when they occur.
While preventative controls aim to stop incidents from happening, detective controls focus on timely detection to minimize the impact.
Here are some key detective controls and their importance:
1. Log Monitoring and Analysis:
Monitoring system and network logs for unusual or suspicious activities is a crucial detective control.
Anomalies or signs of potential security incidents can be spotted early, allowing for a rapid response.
2. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS):
IDS and IPS are technologies designed to detect and, in the case of IPS, prevent unauthorized access or malicious activities on a network.
They analyze network traffic and behavior patterns to identify potential threats.
3. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems:
SIEM systems aggregate and correlate data from various sources, including logs and alerts, to provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s security posture.
They enable security teams to identify and respond to security incidents effectively.
4. Vulnerability Scanning and Assessment:
Regularly scanning systems and applications for vulnerabilities is a detective control that helps organizations identify weaknesses before attackers can exploit them.
It allows for proactive remediation efforts.
5. Penetration Testing:
Penetration testing involves simulating cyberattacks to identify vulnerabilities in an organization’s systems and processes.
This control helps organizations understand their security weaknesses and prioritize corrective actions.
6. User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA):
UEBA solutions use machine learning and behavioral analysis to identify deviations from normal user or entity behavior.
This can help detect insider threats and advanced persistent threats that may go unnoticed by traditional controls.
7. Incident Response Planning:
Having a well-defined incident response plan is essential for effective detection and mitigation of security incidents.
It outlines the steps to take when an incident is detected, ensuring a coordinated and efficient response.
Detective controls are critical because they enable organizations to detect incidents in real-time or shortly after they occur. This early detection is crucial for minimizing the potential damage and responding effectively to security breaches or other adverse events.
3. Corrective Controls:
Corrective controls are measures or strategies implemented after a risk or threat has been identified.
They are designed to mitigate the impact of an incident and remediate the situation.
Corrective controls are essential for restoring normal operations and preventing future incidents.
Here are some key corrective controls and their importance:
1. Incident Response and Containment:
When a security incident occurs, it’s crucial to have an incident response plan in place.
This plan outlines how to contain the incident, minimize its impact, and start the process of recovery.
Rapid containment can prevent further damage and data loss.
2. Data Recovery and Backup:
Regularly backing up critical data and systems is a fundamental corrective control.
In the event of data loss due to a cyberattack or other disaster, organizations can restore operations from backups, reducing downtime and potential financial losses.
3. Patch Management and Remediation:
Correcting vulnerabilities and weaknesses identified through vulnerability assessments and penetration testing is an important aspect of corrective controls.
Timely patching and remediation can prevent future exploitation of the same vulnerabilities.
4. Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
Corrective controls may also include actions necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements following a security incident.
This may involve reporting the incident to authorities or notifying affected individuals in the case of a data breach.
5. Lessons Learned and Post-Incident Analysis:
After an incident is resolved, it’s essential to conduct a post-incident analysis to understand what happened, how it happened, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future.
This analysis informs future security improvements and measures.
6. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans:
These plans outline how an organization will maintain essential functions during and after a disruptive event.
They are corrective controls that ensure the organization can recover and continue operations in the face of various risks. Determining which type of risk mitigating control is the most important depends on the context, the specific risks an organization faces, and its risk management strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question because the effectiveness and importance of each type of control can vary widely based on individual circumstances. However, it’s possible to argue for the importance of each type of control depending on the perspective taken:
The Importance of Balancing Preventative, Detective, and Corrective Controls:
The importance of each type of control—preventative, detective, and corrective—varies depending on the organization’s risk profile, industry, and specific threats it faces. The most crucial control often depends on the context. Here’s why each type of control is vital:
1. Preventative Controls:
Preventative controls are considered critical because they aim to reduce the likelihood of incidents happening in the first place.
By minimizing vulnerabilities and reducing the attack surface, organizations can avoid the potential financial, reputational, and operational consequences of security incidents.
2. Detective Controls:
Detective controls are essential because they provide visibility into ongoing security events.
While preventative controls aim to stop incidents, they cannot eliminate all risks.
Early detection allows organizations to respond swiftly, minimizing the impact and preventing further damage.
3. Corrective Controls:
Corrective controls are crucial for recovery and resilience.
Even with the best preventative and detective controls in place, incidents can still occur.
Corrective controls help organizations restore normal operations, minimize downtime, and learn from incidents to prevent future occurrences.
–> The key to effective risk management is finding the right balance among these three types of controls. Relying solely on preventative controls can create a false sense of security because no system is entirely immune to attacks. On the other hand, overly relying on detective and corrective controls can result in higher costs and damage that might have been preventable.
In practice, organizations should conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify their specific threats, vulnerabilities, and risk tolerance. This assessment helps in determining which controls to prioritize and invest in.
For example:
Organizations in highly regulated industries may need to prioritize preventative controls to ensure compliance with strict security standards and regulations.
Organizations with a history of security incidents may prioritize detective controls to enhance their incident detection capabilities.
Organizations with critical business functions may focus on corrective controls and business continuity planning to ensure they can quickly recover from disruptions.
The effectiveness of risk mitigating controls also depends on continuous monitoring, testing, and adaptation. Threat landscapes evolve, and controls must evolve with them. Regularly reviewing and updating controls is essential to maintaining a robust risk management strategy.
Three types of mitigating controls Policies, Plans, and Programs; Security Operations, and Security Education and Training. To some they all have equal footing when it comes to mitigating potential threats. While there is some merit in that thinking, I tend to disagree. While the system needs all these controls successfully implemented to ensure success, there is importance placed on which control takes priority. Policies and planning help to develop the programs and governance surrounding IT security. This is also where the training curriculum is developed. Security operations acts as the insurance policy of the organization per say. Ensuring things run smooth and there to act just in case. At the same time providing ongoing user education and reminders on security guidance. Lastly and the most important in my opinion is Security Education and Training. I have always believed that the user is the first line of defense in any organization. Most times, when something is going on, the users are the first to identify it and report it. Most know enough to be dangerous to working closely with users to show them what to look for and how to spot when something does not look right. Often it is the seamlessly harmless download or opening an attachment that can end up crippling your network. This is why having a properly educated staff working in tandem with the Information Technology department leads to a secure network and assets.
I concentrated on continuous education part of your post. Users paying attention to incidents and reporting as soon as possible should also be encouraged during training.