Ride the Lightning

Make This Your 2023 Cybersecurity Resolution

January 17, 2023

Dark Reading published a post on January 11 describing the resolution that every CSO,CISO (and I would add law firm managing partner) should make this year.

The current scenario isn’t great. There are budgetary constraints which hamper cybersecurity in a time when threats are more frequent and, often, more powerful. Working from home continues to present difficulties.

I agree that cybersecurity leaders should have cyber resilience first on their list for 2023.

It is clear that being struck by the bad guys is a “it’s not if, but when” proposition. Identifying risks and implanting mitigating controls is key.

We’re seeing a shift in organizations prioritizing resilience and not just risk, even though effective risk management is an important component of cyber resilience. According to a recent Forrester report, there has been a significant increase in chief risk officers (CROs) reporting directly to the CEO. This is one example of a much-needed change in the enterprise mindset, with security evolving from a compliance checkbox to an investment in a strategy for cyber resilience. For companies with inadequate protections in place, CISOs will need to focus their budgets on having a resourced team, proper tools, and robust training.

The message to firm leadership needs to be something like this: “According to industry research in our vertical, here are the top threats that attackers can leverage in our type of environment, and here’s how we can improve our environment. Our strategy is to be more resilient.”

This gives leadership something measurable which lets you build a reasonable cybersecurity program road map.

It is a given these days that attackers are ahead of defenders. The question isn’t whether you are safe – you are not. The question is how ready are you? And when you have any kind of cyber incident, what did you learn and what did you implement?

Successful cybersecurity means continuous improvement of your security program as more is learned. Constantly measure your progress, use your budget wisely – and reevaluate regularly. If you learn nothing and improve nothing, your cybersecurity resilience diminishes. That is the lesson for 2023.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225, Fairfax, VA 22030
Email:   Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
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