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Over the last decade, the topic of cybersecurity has shifted from being a technical subject to a mainstream topic impacting every facet of the organization. As cyberattacks become increasingly more sophisticated, frequent and disruptive executive leaders now face a new complex blend of issues, including economics, business processes, and psychology. 

During a recent event, presented in partnership with Cisco, we featured Michael Daniel, an industry thought leader and expert in cybersecurity. Serving as former Cybersecurity Advisor to the White House and current president and CEO of Cyber Threat Alliance. Michael shared his outlook on the global security landscape and applicable steps to help you avoid becoming the next breaking cybersecurity story.

In the article below, we’ll share the top three strategies to level up your cyber game.

1. Change Your Cybersecurity Mindset

When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s often treated as a problem that you just purchase a solution for. The reality is cybersecurity is constantly evolving and requires a new mindset to protect the organization from emerging threats.

Here are two reasons why cybersecurity isn’t just a technical problem.

1. Cybersecurity is an economic problem. Enterprises need to develop incentives for their employees by addressing cybersecurity as a shared risk and promoting that through collaboration across organizational boundaries.

2. Cybersecurity is a psychological problem. Cybercriminals have been manipulating people for years and enterprises still struggle to apply the correct solutions because they are solving the problem only through technology.

By shifting your mindset about cybersecurity from a problem to be solved to a long-term strategy focused around a blended approach encompassing economics, business processes and human psychology, enterprises are better equip to manage risk and protect the enterprise from emerging threats.

2. Redefine Success For Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity lives inside cyberspace, which doesn’t operate like the physical world does. It’s difficult to understand cyberspace because none of the features of cyberspace work in the real world.

According to Michael, “Everybody will always say that cyberspace is borderless and that’s not true.”

It’s actually the complete opposite – borders are everywhere in cyberspace. There are routers, firewalls, and switches that create the borders. It’s just a difficult concept because the borders aren’t the same arbitrary political boundaries we’ve made in the physical world. Border security doesn't work in cyberspace, and since our mental models can’t translate a borderless network, enterprises struggle with protecting themselves from cybersecurity threats.

Michael explained four ways cybersecurity threats are consistently evolving.

1. Cybersecurity threats have become more diverse. The number and type of devices to attack is getting larger by every passing year. The volume and the diversity of connected devices increases the complexity of cybersecurity threats making it difficult to defend.

2. The volume of malicious activity is increasing as the barriers to entry are low and the returns are high. Cybercriminals can make a lot of money or gain information with the low probability of being arrested and prosecuted.

3. Cybersecurity threats are increasingly more sophisticated. In the last couple of years cybersecurity threats have increased exponentially. The criminal ecosystem is now diversified and highly specialized making cybercrime is far more organized than you think. They have access to key resources making them better prepared and knowledgeable. Cybercrime runs like a business and the “big ticket items” are enterprises. That’s why there has been an increase in ransomware.

4. Cybercriminals are designing cyberthreats that are increasingly more disruptive. The impact of cyber incidents has increased because enterprises and individuals are more digitally dependent than ever. Having a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy involves acknowledging how cybersecurity threats are evolving in order to properly protect ourselves.

Cybersecurity is often seen as something you can simply fix, but rather a part of doing business in the modern world. You want to treat cybersecurity like a core operational risk that will occur throughout the life of your business. If not, one cyber incident could be catastrophic. 

3. Recognize That Cybersecurity Is Still “New”

Cybersecurity is still very “new.” Many enterprises will say cybersecurity has been around for a long time. However, they haven’t been able to develop customs, habits, policies, or laws that consistently work well in cyberspace. We understand cyberspace as this highly connected and interactive environment – the internet. People are connected to the network all the time, more so every single year. Only in the last 20- 25 years has the network really evolved. In regard to customs, policies, and laws this is a very short amount of time.

How Cisco SecureX Aligns With Your Cybersecurity Strategy

Cisco offers a simplified security experience that allows enterprises to continue using the three strategies to successfully protect themselves from cybersecurity threats. SecureX is a cloud-native, built-in platform that connects their secure portfolio and an enterprise’s infrastructure seamlessly for a consistent experience. SecureX unifies visibility, enables automation, and strengthens security across your network. It does this without replacing your current security infrastructure or layering on another technology. SecureX helps your enterprise confidently secure every business aspect, lets you build your own customizable security, collaborates across shared workflows and teams, and turns security from a blocker into an enabler. It aligns with Michael Daniels’ three strategies and will keep you updated on any approaching cybersecurity threats.

NEXT STEPS: Lack of visibility across your entire IT estate is often the biggest challenge when it comes to effectively securing your company from intrusion. Cisco can help you spot those vulnerabilities faster with a proactive security strategy. It really comes down to having the right tools AND frequent cybersecurity training for your employees, but let's start at square one and take a look at what's possible when you have full visibility!