Building an Effective Information and Cyber Security Strategy

As digital infrastructure becomes more integrated and globally distributed, large international organisations face an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape. Business operations often span multiple jurisdictions, involve thousands of users and systems, and depend on third party service providers and cloud platforms. In this environment, a clear and disciplined information and cyber security strategy is essential.

A successful strategy must be practical, scalable, and directly aligned with business priorities. It must also be embedded into governance structures and operational processes, not treated as an add-on or a compliance checkbox. Below are the key elements that form the foundation of an effective security strategy for global enterprises.

Governance That Embeds Accountability

Security must start with governance. Clear roles and responsibilities should be defined for security leadership, operational teams, and business stakeholders. This includes formal policies and control frameworks, but also regular reporting, documented ownership of key risks, and structured decision making processes.

A centralised strategy office or governance function should coordinate regional and functional activities. However, authority must also be delegated to ensure decisions can be made close to the operations they affect. Board level oversight and executive sponsorship are essential to maintain alignment with business risk appetite and ensure sustained investment.

Good practice includes mapping security governance to enterprise risk frameworks, defining escalation thresholds, and establishing a security steering group that includes both technology and business representatives.

Identity and Access Management as a Control Layer

Access to systems and data must be strictly controlled based on the principle of least privilege. Role based access models should be used to align permissions with job functions, and all elevated access must be time limited and monitored.

Authentication should be multi layered and context aware. Conditional access policies based on device health, user location, and behavioural indicators can greatly reduce exposure. Legacy protocols that lack modern security features should be removed.

Centralised identity management should be implemented across cloud and on premises systems. This ensures visibility and control, simplifies audit, and enables consistent enforcement of policies.

Third Party Risk Managed Across the Lifecycle

Third party suppliers, platforms, and partners must be managed with the same rigour as internal operations. The attack surface created by external relationships is one of the most common sources of data breaches and service disruption.

A structured onboarding process should include security due diligence, contract clauses that define responsibilities, and assurance reviews. High risk suppliers should be subject to deeper scrutiny and technical validation. Contracts must include terms for data handling, incident reporting, access restrictions, and audit rights.

Access provided to third parties must be limited, monitored, and revoked as soon as it is no longer required. Ongoing reviews and reclassification based on current usage and risk posture are good practice.

Detection and Response Must Be Continuous and Integrated

Large organisations generate high volumes of data across multiple regions, systems, and services. Effective detection depends on the ability to correlate activity across domains and identify signals of compromise early.

Central security operations capabilities must include monitoring, investigation, and response functions. These should be supported by threat intelligence, behaviour analytics, and automation tools that help reduce response time and contain threats before they spread.

Incident response plans must be documented, tested, and updated regularly. They should include clear roles, communication protocols, legal considerations, and thresholds for escalation to executive leadership.

The use of frameworks such as MITRE ATT and CK provides structure for identifying and prioritising detection efforts based on known attacker behaviours.

Vulnerability and Configuration Management

Security gaps often exist not because of unknown risks, but because known issues remain unresolved. A disciplined vulnerability management program is essential.

Scanning, asset inventory, patching processes, and configuration reviews must be continuous. All issues should be prioritised based on business impact and likelihood of exploitation. Every vulnerability must have an owner, a deadline, and a documented resolution process.

Critical systems should be hardened according to secure configuration baselines. Exceptions should be recorded and reviewed regularly. Change management should ensure that updates do not reintroduce known weaknesses.

Integration with Business Objectives and Risk

Security strategy must not be isolated from business operations. It should directly support strategic goals such as customer trust, operational resilience, and regulatory compliance.

To achieve this, security leaders must engage regularly with other business functions. Metrics should be meaningful to senior decision makers, and security risk must be presented in business terms. Trade offs between risk reduction and operational flexibility must be understood and documented.

Aligning the security program with enterprise architecture, procurement, human resources, and legal teams creates shared ownership and stronger execution.

In Summary

Large international organisations operate in a complex environment that demands clarity, consistency, and discipline in the way security is managed. A successful information and cyber security strategy is not built on tools alone, but on structured governance, integrated controls, and continuous execution across the organisation and its partners.

When these principles are followed, security becomes a business enabler, protecting value and supporting sustainable growth in a connected world.