According to the CrowdStrike 2023 Threat Hunting Report, organisations are confronting an increase in cyberthreats, including significant rises in identity-based intrusions and adversaries targeting the cloud. These attacks can severely impact business operations and reputation. Legacy security measures are no longer sufficient to protect against these evolving threats, leading to the need for security transformation.
This article explores the evolving role of security from risk mitigation to enabling organisations, the impact of security transformation on an organisation’s risk posture, and critical areas for CIOs and CISOs to focus on for effective enterprise security.
The evolving role of security
Legacy security solutions are facing new challenges and limitations in the face of modern cyberthreats. As organisations grapple with increasingly sophisticated attacks, security transformation becomes a vital strategy to reevaluate and enhance security posture.
Traditionally, security focused on protecting on-premises assets and data, primarily relying on perimeter defences and signature-based approaches. However, the evolving threat landscape, characterised by hacktivists, nation-state actors, e-crime actors, and shifts in the tactics, techniques, and procedures of advanced persistent threats, has rendered these methods inadequate. The limitations of legacy security approaches, such as those that are signature-based, are evident in their inability to detect and thwart novel attacks that exploit vulnerabilities across various entry points or malware-free attacks, which constitute 71% of interactive intrusions.
Security transformation involves a comprehensive overhaul of security strategies, emphasising proactive measures to detect, prevent, and respond to threats. This approach necessitates embracing modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and behavioural analytics to identify anomalous patterns and potential breaches. By adopting a proactive, dynamic, and context-aware defence mechanism, organisations can enhance their ability to identify and mitigate risks promptly.
Centralising security data allows organisations to comprehensively understand threats, vulnerabilities, and attack patterns, leading to more informed strategic decision-making. Adopting an intelligence-driven approach, focused on staying informed about emerging threats and adversary tactics, is crucial for proactive defence. This strategy prepares organisations to effectively respond to evolving threats, ensuring a dynamic and adaptable security posture.
The impact of security transformation
Security transformation brings numerous benefits. It significantly reduces risks and minimises the potential fallout from cyberattacks. It also addresses the complexity that has built up in the security stack by identifying consolidation opportunities. These not only improve visibility across various logical domains but also reduce overall costs for businesses.
By embracing proactive measures and advanced technologies, organisations bolster their resilience against evolving threats. Moreover, security transformation reshapes an organisation’s security posture, enhancing its capability to confidently defend against threats. Security transformation not only encompasses technological advancements but also organisational structure, cultural shifts, workforce empowerment, and adjustments to operational models across the business.
CIOs and CISOs play a pivotal role in driving security transformation within organisations. Their focus spans critical aspects, starting with the adoption of a holistic security strategy. This involves orchestrating a blend of advanced technologies to fortify defences against modern threats. Equally vital is nurturing a security-conscious culture across all levels of the organisation, fostering a collective commitment to safeguarding assets. And they’re doing all of this often under the spectre of tightened budgetary controls.
An approach starting with endpoint security, enabling visibility, detection, prevention, and response to breaches is essential. Moving to identity protection is crucial due to the surge in complex attacks and the shift from runtime compromise to identity exploitation. Cloud environments emerge as another vital area, given the acceleration of digital transformation in businesses. This demands a tailored approach considering the unique architecture and operations. Integrating security into the development cycle, or “shifting security left,” is pivotal to preemptively address vulnerabilities before runtime. CIOs and CISOs must navigate these domains, ensuring cohesive security strategies that align with evolving threat landscapes and organisational structures.
Continuous monitoring of threats remains paramount. Security leaders must champion adaptive security measures that can swiftly respond to emerging threats. Such agility ensures a proactive stance, enabling rapid mitigation and reducing potential damage.
In terms of organisational structure, aligning security with the goals of other teams and departments is key to better business processes. Whether the security organisation is part of the IT business or not, and regardless of the IT department’s capabilities and cost structure, having different data sets across teams consolidated in one solution provides greater operational consolidation and visibility into threats and risks.
By embracing these multifaceted responsibilities, CIOs and CISOs not only safeguard data but also position their organisations to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and evolving digital ecosystem.
