Types of Controls in Cybersecurity: A Comprehensive Guide

What’s stopping cybercriminals from turning your business into their next target? With cyber threats lurking everywhere, the question is no longer if you will face an attack but when.

In 2022 alone, there were 5.4 billion malware attacks worldwide, and nearly 40% of them led to confidential data leakage. Even more troubling, 83% of companies targeted by ransomware paid the ransom, emphasizing how unprepared many are to handle such incidents.

That’s not all; according to IBM, these data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.9 million

Despite these alarming numbers, only 4% of organizations feel confident in their current security measures, a reminder of the security gaps that leave countless businesses vulnerable

Introducing the MSSP

Despite these alarming numbers, only 4% of organizations feel confident in their current security measures, a reminder of the security gaps that leave countless businesses vulnerable

Cybersecurity covers a wide range of areas, including server security, network security, mobile device security, data security, and electronic systems security. Most MSSPs will even service your camera system because it’s essential for overall security.

Without strong internal cybersecurity controls, you’re left vulnerable. In this blog, we’ll delve into the necessity of cybersecurity controls and the different types available to protect your sensitive data and ensure long-term resilience.

What Are Cybersecurity Controls?

Cybersecurity controls are measures and mechanisms designed to protect information systems and data from cyber threats. These controls help detect, prevent, and mitigate security risks while ensuring critical assets’ confidentiality, integrity, and availability. They serve as the building blocks of a robust cybersecurity strategy, providing layers of defense against internal and external threats.

Why Must Your Business Consider Cybersecurity Controls?

Looking to minimize your cyber risks? Implementing robust cybersecurity controls prevents threats, mitigates potential damage, and supports sustainable business growth.

Even if you outsource IT and cybersecurity, you must implement cybersecurity controls. Here’s why:

Shared Responsibility

Outsourcing doesn't eliminate your responsibility for data security. You must publish and enforce internal policies and procedures to protect your data, such as Acceptable Use and Bring Your Own Device. You also must ensure your MSSP follows robust security practices and complies with relevant regulations.

Vendor Management

Effective vendor management includes assessing the security measures of your outsourced cybersecurity provider. This involves ensuring the provider has adequate tools and talent to protect your environment. Some low-cost MSSPs use off-shore technicians, and many employ free, open-source applications that are often compromised. Not all MSSP stacks are equal. The majority of them are inadequate.

Maintain Regulatory Compliance

Many industries have specific regulatory requirements for data protection. You must ensure that your internal practices and your outsourced IT provider meet these standards. Note STACK Cybersecurity is SOC 2 Type 2 certified, ensuring we comply with the highest cybersecurity standards.

Incident Response

Having an incident response plan is crucial. You should coordinate with your MSSP to ensure quick and effective responses to security incidents.

Features like real-time threat detection, data recovery systems, and incident response plans minimize operational downtime and facilitate rapid recovery. For businesses reliant on uninterrupted service delivery, such measures are indispensable to avoid cascading losses and maintain customer satisfaction.

Internal Controls

You should maintain internal controls to protect sensitive information and ensure only authorized staff access critical systems and data.

Advanced Controls for Modern Cybersecurity

As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, it’s crucial to implement advanced cybersecurity measures that holistically address vulnerabilities. By combining administrative, technical, and physical controls, we can help you build a well-rounded security posture that keeps your systems and data safe.

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls are the foundation of a strong security strategy. They include policies, procedures, and guidelines that cultivate a security-first culture in your organization. These controls guide how risks are assessed, mitigated, and managed while ensuring everyone is on the same page and accountable for protecting sensitive information.

Here are some ways administrative controls can strengthen your defenses:

• Security Awareness Training: We help educate your team on recognizing phishing attempts, creating strong passwords, and following security protocols. Regular training significantly reduces the risk of human error, a leading cause of breaches.
• Access Control Policies: We define who has access to critical systems and data, and privileges are assigned based on roles and responsibilities.
• Incident Response Documentation: Clear, actionable guidelines ensure your team knows exactly what to do when responding to security incidents, minimizing damage and downtime.

By embedding cybersecurity into daily operations, you create a team that’s proactive about security. With the proper training and policies, everyone contributes to defending against threats like phishing and social engineering.

Technical Controls

Technical controls use software and hardware solutions to protect your digital assets from modern threats. These controls use innovative technologies to detect, prevent, and respond to attacks in real-time.

For example, AI-powered threat detection systems analyze patterns and anomalies across your network, identifying potential attacks before they cause harm. By automating many security tasks, these tools free up your team to focus on what matters most.

Here’s how we implement technical controls:

• Encryption Standards: Protect sensitive data by converting it into unreadable formats for unauthorized users, keeping your information secure during transmission and storage.
• Network Segmentation: Divide your network into smaller, isolated segments to limit the spread of threats, making it easier to monitor and manage.
• Secure Configurations: We help configure your systems for maximum security, ensuring there are no weak spots for attackers to exploit.
• Threat Hunting: Our advanced tools and analytics proactively search for potential risks in your environment, identifying and neutralizing them before they escalate.

These solutions evolve alongside the threat landscape, keeping your systems ahead of attackers.

Physical Controls

Physical controls protect your hardware, facilities, and tangible assets from unauthorized access and environmental risks. While often overlooked, they’re critical to a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

You can secure your physical spaces with measures like:

• Surveillance Systems: Keep an eye on your facilities with advanced monitoring tools that deter unauthorized access and provide valuable evidence if needed.
• Biometric Access Control: Ensure only authorized personnel can access critical areas using fingerprint scans, facial recognition, or other unique identifiers.
• Secure Facility Design: Protect your infrastructure with reinforced doors, fire suppression systems, and controlled access zones.

In the era of hybrid security, where digital and physical threats often overlap, physical controls complement technical measures. For example, biometric systems allow only authorized individuals to access server rooms, reducing the risk of insider threats and hardware tampering.

How Does STACK Cyber Implement Cybersecurity Controls?

At STACK Cyber, we take a structured approach to cybersecurity by implementing preventive, detective, and corrective controls that work together to protect your business from sophisticated threats. Here’s how we approach each aspect:

Preventive Controls

Our preventive controls act as the first layer of protection and stop cyber threats before they impact your operations. Here is how we focus on implementing these critical measures:

• Managed Security Operations Center (SOC): We offer a SOC that provides 24/7 monitoring, detection, and response to cyber threats. This service reduces the cost and complexity of building and maintaining your own SOC, allowing you to focus on your core business.
• Password Management: Weak or reused passwords are a common vulnerability, making businesses easy targets for attackers. Our password manager generates strong, unique passwords for every account that adheres to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, securely stores them using encryption, and simplifies management with easy access across devices.
• Dark Web Monitoring: We actively monitor breaches and leaks on the Dark Web to identify if your credentials have been compromised. Early detection allows us to act swiftly, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
• Firewalls: We implement firewalls that monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules. They help block unauthorized access and malicious traffic, keeping your network secure.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): With MFA, we add an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple methods, such as a password and a one-time code. This dramatically reduces the risk of unauthorized access, even if credentials are compromised.
• Secure Software Development Practices: For businesses developing custom applications, we integrate security at every stage of the software development lifecycle. This includes practices like code reviews, static analysis, and penetration testing to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
• eXtended Managed Detection and Response (MXDR): Our MXDR service integrates technology with human expertise to deliver real-time monitoring, swift detection, and rapid response. By continuously analyzing network activity, system logs, and security events, MXDR ensures proactive threat management, helping you stay ahead of potential risks and maintain a strong security posture.
• Endpoint Protection Systems: Your devices are a common target for cyberattacks. We implement endpoint protection solutions that safeguard computers, smartphones, and other devices from malware, ransomware, and other threats. These systems often include antivirus software, data encryption, and device control.

By deploying these preventive controls, we help you establish a solid foundation for cybersecurity, minimizing vulnerabilities and reducing the likelihood of attacks.

Detective Controls

Preventive measures are not enough; detecting threats that bypass initial defenses is essential. Our detective controls identify and alert you to potential security incidents in real-time.

• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Our IDS solutions monitor network traffic for suspicious activities or attack signatures. If a threat is detected, we respond immediately to contain and address the issue.
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM provides a centralized view of your security landscape, enabling proactive threat identification. We aggregate and analyze data from across your systems—such as logs, alerts, and user activity—to identify patterns that could indicate a threat.
• Anomaly Detection Tools: We use machine learning and behavioral analytics to spot deviations from regular activity. These anomalies can indicate a breach, allowing us to address issues before they escalate.

Our detective controls give us the visibility needed to catch and address threats early, minimizing their impact on your business.

Corrective Controls

Corrective controls are critical to minimizing damage and restoring normal operations when an incident occurs. We help your business prepare to recover as quickly and effectively as possible.

• Data Recovery Systems: We set up reliable backup and restore mechanisms, so if ransomware strikes or data is accidentally deleted, you can recover your critical information quickly and with minimal downtime.
• Incident Response Plans: A clear, predefined response plan ensures that your team knows exactly what to do when a breach happens. We work with you to develop and refine these plans, ensuring your response is timely and effective.
• Patching Vulnerabilities: After an incident, closing any security gaps that may have been exploited is crucial. We help you identify and patch these vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of a similar event occurring in the future.

Our corrective controls help you confidently respond to incidents, allowing your business to recover and move forward with minimal impact.

With these cybersecurity controls, we help enterprises build a strong, multi-layered cybersecurity strategy that protects assets and ensures long-term operational resilience.

Deploy Effective Controls with STACK Cybersecurity

Securing your organization requires more than basic protective measures—it demands a comprehensive approach to managing risks and strengthening your defenses. By combining help desk support with robust cybersecurity controls, STACK ensures clients’ IT systems remain secure and operational.

For instance, our Managed eXtended Detection and Response (MXDR) solution recently identified unusual login patterns at a client site, allowing us to intervene before data could be compromised.

For our manufacturing clients, implementing preventive controls like endpoint protection ensures compliance with CMMC standards while safeguarding intellectual property critical for defense contracts.

So far this year, we have prevented thousands of attempted breaches using Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) backed by a 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC). Our clients appreciate our Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a perfect 100%, as is our Facebook rating.

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