GoKawiilBut it can be done, with the right philosophy and strategy, and the right tools and insights.
We must first understand the contemporary cybersecurity landscape. This understanding can unlock the right strategy and then onward to identify the tools and insights necessary to protect an enterprise’s network effectively.
There are five primary factors influencing the landscape, some old, some new, all dynamic. These factors are distinct but often interdependent, both within themselves and with one or more of the others. Another meaningful way of looking at them is “internal” and “external”; as ever, understanding and dealing with what is in your control can also help to navigate and mitigate what is beyond your control.
Five key factors influencing today’s dynamic cybersecurity landscape
1. Expectations
The first factor is predicated on the fundamental reality of an enterprise’s reliance on its network. Most enterprises have already undergone some form of digital transformation and are reaping the day-to-day benefits. This means that the number of people, devices, and things using the network continues to grow; it also means that people’s expectations of the network are higher than ever before – they demand that it does exactly what they need it to do, typically across a proliferation of devices and from multiple locations. Conversely, many employees might not be fully aware of cyber threats and infiltration methods, so their skillsets can easily be the weak point that admits bad actors into the network.
Equally, senior management and board members have high expectations at a meta level. Embracing digital transformation and network reliance means the enterprise’s function and reputation are inextricably tied to that. Loss of reputation due to a security breach is a chilling prospect, as is the threat of financial penalty and revenue loss. So, in the minds of leadership, the network has to be safe from cyber threats and be compliant.
2. Financial pressures
The first factor arguably contradicts its neighbor in the landscape: general financial constraints and the pressure on CISOs and CIOs to achieve more with less. Despite the strategic reliance on the network and the expectation that it will be protected from cyber threats regardless, the appropriate latticework of defenses (e.g., skilled and right-sized IT teams using progressive tools and meaningful data insights, plus constant workforce education) is not always properly funded and sustained, particularly in the current tough economic climate.