Playbook for professionals to secure C-suite network's protection

In today's IT network, it is common knowledge that security threats to networks are often overlooked and disregarded - until a crisis strikes, often much too late for a simple and quick fix. This becomes a supremely costly, time-consuming and oftentimes embarrassing process in which companies scramble to maintain not only their data and networks, but their reputation and integrity.

Last year, Pricewaterhouse Coopers reported that about 48 million online security incidents were reported, some of which cost extremely large sums to replace irreparable losses.

With the aim of assisting IT professionals to sell preventative security prior to a cyber disaster, WatchGuard Technologies, a leader in unified threat management (UTM) security appliances, released a new e-book: "How to Sell Infosec to the C-Suite: A Playbook to Build Your Case and Get your Budget".

This seven-step guide offers IT security professionals a type of "playbook", with strategies to assist in securing approval, such as: how to properly evaluate your company's security position; best practices for scanning and identifying possible network weaknesses; and guidelines for successfully presenting your business case for resolution to the C-suite.

"Hackers know companies are vulnerable because they struggle with the perceived cost and complexity of properly securing their networks," said Richard Barber, chief financial officer at WatchGuard.

"Companies can no longer afford to wait for a breach to ensure their networks are prepared to face today's cyber criminals. Our new guide helps organisations walk through the process of evaluating their security stance, putting these risks into business impact terms, and guiding them on how to successfully get buy-in from executives or business unit heads."

Here are some of Barber's key plays to consider when presenting to the C-suite:

* Understand the executive's level of technical proficiency;
* Understand the organisation's competing priorities;
* Frame the discussion around organisational impact; and
* Provide a list of potential outcomes with an indication of probability and organisational impact.

For more information on how WatchGuard's next-generation firewalls and UTM appliances are delivering industry-leading performance, click here.