Organizations must take a holistic view to vulnerabilities in cybersecurity – Albert Yirenchi Danquah

The Head of Information Security at Stanbic Bank Ghana, Albert Yirenchi Danquah, has urged organizations to take a comprehensive and unified view of cybersecurity vulnerabilities since every vulnerability in cybersecurity is a potential risk. Albert Yirenchi Danquah said this at the 2022 State of Cybersecurity Posture Webinar, hosted by Cybersecurity Insiders.

According to him, vulnerabilities taken in isolation can be a dangerous enterprise because vulnerabilities can escalate. He said “Taking a unified view to vulnerabilities is critical because, in cybersecurity, everything is a risk. It is not the best if we look at cybersecurity in isolation because one vulnerability can multiply and escalate risks. The real cybersecurity risks that an organization faces come into view when there is a comprehensive and unified consideration”.

Albert Yirenchi Danquah further mentioned in his submission that even though all vulnerabilities are important, it is critical to prioritize cybersecurity vulnerabilities depending on the kind of asset the vulnerability affects, the location of the asset on the network as well as its value. “As our network infrastructure becomes more complex and widespread, it becomes harder to prioritize.

However, prioritizing vulnerabilities helps in attacking which ones present the most risks for a focused and targeted intervention. And every organization depending on what they do will inform their priorities relative to cybersecurity”, he noted.

He also advised organizations to as much as possible, quantify risk in monetary terms as that will help in the prioritization of remediation given the constant limitation we all have on human and capital resources.

The webinar brought together cybersecurity experts to deliberate on the complexities of vulnerabilities and risks in cybersecurity in the face of growing technological diffusion and ways to mitigate the impact and effects of such vulnerabilities. The panel included Vinay Sridhara, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Engineering at Balbix, and Vasu Surabhi, Director – Cybersecurity at Microland.

The panel discussed topics including ‘quantifying cybersecurity posture in monetary terms’, ‘improving the visibility of cybersecurity vulnerabilities', and ‘unifying on-premises and cloud security posture’.