Scaling Cybersecurity for Overseas Expansion
Expanding operations into new countries introduces prolific new cybersecurity considerations for organisations.
New regulatory environments, staff training needs, response planning, third-party oversight, and segmentation strategies must all be addressed to secure global growth. So how can scaling up organisations implement strategic cyber policies and procedures to enable a smooth transition overseas?
That’s what this guide looks to uncover to empower you to undertake this endeavour with confidence and ensure your overseas expansion is successful.
Understanding Local Laws and Obligations
The regulatory compliance obligations in your new overseas location, should be fully researched and understood right from the start. Researching any new territories in depth that your business has identified as viable to enter should be the first part of your strategy.
Engaging experienced, professional legal counsel can help fully identify applicable cybersecurity regulations and repercussions of non-compliance. These should be baked into security and privacy policies from the outset. Special firms exist to help enterprises set up facilities in territories like Gibraltar with consolidated experience, advising foreign entities on establishment and regulatory obligations across technology and cybersecurity.
It’s always prudent to consult legal assistance and advice before taking operations overseas to understand the full extent of legal criteria your operation will have to meet.
Key areas to cover include (but are not limited to):
- Data residency laws – Some countries require data on citizens to remain within their borders and not to be shared externally. Moving certain data overseas may be restricted.
- Data protection regimes – Privacy rules like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the EU or CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) in the U.S. may apply with requirements like data subject consent, access rights, and breach notification.
- Industry regulations – Sectors like finance and healthcare often have more stringent and legislation-backed cybersecurity rules to adhere to. Each region will have specific criteria to meet which is worth paying heed to if you operate in these industries.
- Law enforcement cooperation – Mandatory data sharing and assistance for government inquiries sometimes are enforced in certain regions.
- Breach notification laws – Timeframes for reporting breaches, and potential regulatory fines or lawsuits. These may be different to your native country of operation so pay close attention to these relevant cybersecurity regulations.
Training Local Teams on Security Best Practices
Do not assume any overseas staff – whether full-time hires or independent contractors – are familiar with your preferred cybersecurity practices and protocols. If you have spent time refining processes based on EU or US legislation and regulations, and you’re taking your enterprise to a new territory altogether, you may need to bring native workers up to speed.
Extensive training is required to uphold consistent policies across the organisation, regardless of geographical location.
You should enforce the following baseline protective measures for all workers, wherever they are located:
- Password policies – Mandate complex passwords be used and changed regularly, ideally using enterprise-wide password managers.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) – Request users submit an additional credential like biometrics or one-time codes to access shared or collaborative systems.
- Data handling – Deploy secure storage, encryption, access controls, proper sharing, and disposal procedures.
- Physical security – Establish procedures concerning physical risks such as workstation lock screens, closed-door policies, and badge access controls.
- Phishing awareness – Train all users on identifying and reporting potential phishing attempts. Conduct simulated phishing tests to reinforce learning.
- Travel security – Familiarize all workers with proper protocols for bringing devices abroad, avoiding public WiFi, and spotting social engineering attempts.
Schedule regular refresher training to keep security top of mind. Bring in outside experts to deliver bespoke training where necessary.
Tailoring Incident Response for Local Realities
Existing incident response plans likely focus on infrastructure that’s established in your home territory. It’s likely that you will need to expand your plans to encompass any setup or facility that relies on connected and collaborative systems, particularly with more workforces working remotely on occasion
Cover overseas considerations like:
- Jurisdictional variances – The likelihood of different breach notification and liability laws. This will also include potential interaction with foreign law enforcement agencies depending on the severity of a breach.
- Language barriers – Communication plans to bridge language gaps during investigations and notifications, along with remedial efforts. Consistent communication is key during a crisis.
- Public relations – Managing PR and communications across geographic regions during and after incidents. This will require careful consideration if a breach is particularly severe.
- Alternative infrastructures – Response contingencies for any foreign data centre outages or loss of cloud access.
Vetting Third-Party Security Posture
Relying on vendors native to your new territory introduces risks, which is why it’s crucial to scrutinize their security carefully. While most firms will exercise proper security across their operations, don’t always judge a book by its cover.
For third parties like local infrastructure, software, and payment processors, as well as marketing and PR agencies, make sure that you do the following before committing to any agreement.
- Review privacy controls – Do they meet relevant data protection obligations in the region?
- Audit security measures – Request documentation on encryption, access controls, pen testing, and business continuity to support small businesses and larger corporations.
- Check subcontractors – Any additional parties they use may provide alternate attack routes.
- Visit facilities – Inspect physical security firsthand where possible.
- Build review rights into contracts – Include audit, info sharing, and site visit rights.
Regular reviews of supplier security should be scheduled once under contract. Require swift remediation of any findings.
For organisations with constrained in-house resources, third-party cybersecurity services can provide quick capabilities for global growth. This can include the aforementioned penetration testing of incumbent systems to broader incident response retainers, policy implementation, vulnerability assessments, compliance consulting, detection & response capabilities and cyber threat monitoring.
While it’s safe to assume most qualified and accredited cybersecurity specialists will uphold data integrity, make sure that they can capably handle any anomalies that lie in your new overseas setup.
Controlling Data Access Abroad
Digital transformation has accelerated the adoption of systems that can coexist with geographically dispersed teams.
With most company data able to be accessed overseas, the benefits this can bring are apparent. However, managing and limiting access is still critical, particularly for workers who have less familiarity with best cybersecurity practices.
Companies should enforce strategies such as:
- Data classification – Categorise sensitivity levels, and restrict offshore access to more sensitive data. Use the least privilege principle when allocating user permissions and access.
- Access logging – Closely monitor who is accessing what data from foreign offices and validate any anomalies, blocking requests if necessary.
- Data masking – Anonymise or randomise sensitive fields in datasets prior to sharing abroad. Make sure that all infrastructure is using valid TLS/SSL encryption for transmission.
- Data loss prevention – Deploy DLP to monitor and control data exfiltration from foreign offices.
- Remote access controls – Centrally manage identities and monitor remote access from abroad via VPNs. Enforce multi-factor authentication where applicable for additional security.
- Data exfiltration prevention – Inspect outbound network traffic for unauthorised data transfers from foreign sites.
Expanding operations overseas generates plenty of viable growth opportunities. However, among those lie major new cybersecurity considerations, from local laws to new human and vendor risks.
Addressing these proactively enables organisations to scale securely and with complete peace of mind. With proper vigilance, foreign markets offer more growth upside than downside.
