Cybersecurity in 2023: Principle 1 — Single Pane of Glass

This blog post is a part of our 5 Principles Blog series. 

We came up with a new approach that enables organizations to improve their security in a far more holistic and effective way. It's based on a framework of five core principles that we have developed over the years, working to make cybersecurity management much easier to the point it becomes almost trivial.

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Let’s jump right into the 1st principle: Principle 1 — Single Pane of Glass

The Problem

Traditionally, cybersecurity management is a list of disconnected functions involving individual standalone tools or spreadsheets that cannot connect with one another. Having to switch between multiple tools, documents, and screens to deal with different functions is a scenario cybersecurity professionals know only too well. That's inefficient and wastes time, as anyone responsible for a cybersecurity program will know.

Not only is this disconnectedness inconvenient, it also means data and functionality become siloed in different parts of an organization. In terms of cybersecurity, this can leave CISOs with a fragmented and incomplete picture of where risks lie. And because these different applications don't mesh together, sharing information between them is hard. Data must be frequently entered and re-entered into different applications, so it takes time to stitch together details from various applications and then make sense of it all.

This means there's much duplication of effort and a greater chance that something will fall between the cracks and be missed.

The Solution

However, life gets a lot easier when you start thinking about program management, risk, compliance, IR planning, and vendor security reviews as parts of the same function.

The ideal method is to gather all this information together and then present what matters most on a 'single pane of glass' where the data from different cybersecurity functions is gathered side-by-side in a single unified view. Life suddenly gets a great deal easier. You get a complete picture of the security program and can make faster, better decisions.

Free Ebook That Unpacks All This & More

Get the 40+ page ebook and learn the 5 principles that will streamline and simplify your cybersecurity management

Imagine if you had a system that automatically creates a Jira ticket and sends you a Slack message because it recognized a vulnerability management automated KPI had not been met, and the risk had risen beyond a dollar threshold. Then this would be the kind of detailed information any CISO/vCISO could act on with confidence.

And that's exactly what the Rivial Platform does by creating what is, in effect, a 'dashboard of dashboards.'

No more having to log into three or four different tools to download all the information needed to collate a monthly status report for the Board, as many cybersecurity professionals must do.

The platform also ensures information that is entered into one part of the system automatically flows to other areas where it was needed. Again, no more having to inefficiently copy and paste data from one place to another. Think of all the time you could then spend doing things that are more strategic and more important.

And because data is being seamlessly channeled to where it’s needed, nothing falls between the cracks and gets lost, since everything is in plain sight.

When you have a granular view like this, you can tailor controls to the compliance requirements to see how this changes the organization's risk profile. Unsure if you will remain within tolerance if you vary a control slightly? The system will tell you. This means that you can effectively do 'what-if' analyses for different actions to make systems get tighter and more streamlined over time. That leads to ever-better decision-making.

In conclusion, the Rivial Platform can help solve this by automating tasks, promoting efficiency, and providing accurate, real-time insights. It eliminates the tedious tasks of logging into multiple systems and manual data transfer, freeing cybersecurity professionals to focus on strategic initiatives. With it’s advanced capabilities, it offers granular perspectives that enhance decision making, enabling 'what-if' analyses for tighter, streamlined systems. This 'dashboard of dashboards' is more than just a tool; it's an ally in the constant battle to maintain cybersecurity and compliance. It illustrates that with the right technology, managing cybersecurity can be simpler, more effective, and more intuitive.

Free Ebook That Unpacks All This & More 

Get the 40+ page ebook and learn the 5 principles that will streamline and simplify your cybersecurity management