Road Mapping Your Journey to Security Resilience

For years, as CISOs worked to spearhead stronger cybersecurity measures, they often had to pull other department heads and board members along, hampered by disinterest or other pressing priorities. But new data reveals the tides have turned. A recent PwC survey found that cybersecurity is considered the top business risk for executives and board members. Forty percent of all respondents consider cybersecurity attacks to be a serious risk, with 38% deeming them a moderate risk. What’s more telling is that this is true for board members and non-IT roles, indicating that cybersecurity culture is effectively informing company-wide initiatives and decisions. 

This shift in priorities is only natural when the digital danger keeps rising. Since the start of the global pandemic, cybercrime has skyrocketed, totaling $7 billion in losses in 2021, powered largely by ransomware attacks. And this year was no different. In just the first six months of 2022, security researchers measured a 48% increase in email-based attacks.  

But even in the midst of chaos, business leaders remain optimistic and focused on the future. The PwC survey found that 53% of executives are making significant investments to power their ongoing digital transformations, and almost as many are funding IT (52%), cybersecurity and privacy initiatives (49%). And with an increase in company-wide buy-in, these efforts are sure to experience a higher return on investment. The time is right for CISOs and business leaders looking to lay the groundwork for a more resilient future. 

Strike while the iron is hot: What you need to build your security resilience  

Now that cybersecurity is on the minds of most C-suite executives and stakeholders, many CISOs are using this opportunity to push new security measures through. And a handful of Gartner predictions are setting the tone for these efforts: be ready for anything. 

While these initiatives might differ somewhat based on industry, compliance demands, and resources available, a common theme of security resilience is emerging. Now more than ever, companies are recognizing the business case for security resilience, and working to gain the capabilities needed to navigate the volatile changes and increasing threats that are fast becoming status quo.  

To help clear a path to security resilience, Cisco has identified the five capabilities organizations should have in place.  

1. Integrate your environment. Disparate security tools hamper your ability to unearth decision-making data, manage assets and applications without interruption, and achieve technology integration. Closing these gaps allows you to monitor and protect your assets consistently, surface problems or forgotten applications, and aggregate data faster.   
2. Increase your visibility. With attack surfaces expanding out of control, the ability to see your entire environment becomes vital. Increased visibility enables teams to spot outliers, draw parallels, identify drivers, and uncover attacks faster.   
3. Predict the next big threat. Without the ability to anticipate future exploits, teams are left to assume a reactive security stance, always a step behind an attacker. However, risk-based prioritization allows teams the upper hand, thanks to predictive analytics and machine learning-driven analysis. 
4. Go risk-based. The last two years have opened the vulnerability floodgates, and with no end in sight, teams need an effective and efficient way to weed out the highest priority vulnerabilities. Risk-based vulnerability management uses advanced algorithms, data science, and enhanced threat intelligence coupled with organizational context to isolate the vulnerabilities that pose the biggest risk to your organization.  
5. Embrace automation. Resource-strapped teams are slowed down by wasteful workflows which can contribute to friction, low morale, and ongoing frustrations; not an ideal scenario for fighting cybercrime. Identifying opportunities to automate those cumbersome processes helps teams smooth out remediation inefficiencies and respond faster.  

The CISO Kit: Your roadmap to resilience  

Even with these critical capabilities itemized, future-proofing security operations can be a daunting task. To help guide CISOs in building security resilience, we’ve created the CISO Kit which includes essential resources that highlight best practices, share expert insight, and provide actionable tips you can implement today. 

Some key CISO Kit pieces include: 

• How to Build a Modern VM Program in 6 Steps. A buyer’s guide that walks prospects through the 6 steps needed to implement a risk-based vulnerability management program. 
• 7 Questions to Ask Every VM Vendor. An eBook outlining the 7 pivotal questions security decision-makers need to ask when comparing vendor effectiveness. 
• How to Eliminate Friction Between Security & IT. This infographic details how risk-based vulnerability management enables seamless coordination between the Security and IT teams to focus their collaborative efforts on the riskiest vulnerabilities. 

Explore the CISO Kit and learn how you can face an unknowable future with confidence.