For cybersecurity professionals, it’s easy to become almost numbed by the constant barrage of headlines about ransomware attacks, data breaches, vulnerabilities and other cyberthreats. The latest case in point: the federal government of Costa Rica, hit by a very serious ransomware attack that has crippled operations.
Cybercriminals, like the Russia-based Conti gang behind the Costa Rica attack, are constantly ratcheting up their game, meaning that security professionals must do likewise. But too often, the C-suite views security as an expense rather than an investment. A recent survey by industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan found that 40% of respondents indicated a lack of management awareness of data breach implications and costs, and 36% reported difficulty communicating the importance of cybersecurity to the board of directors.
Worse yet, almost a quarter of participants experienced a reduction in security budgets in the past year.
Given what’s at stake in the event of a major breach or attack – damage to company reputation, lost sales, penalties, potential lawsuits and more – something’s got to change when it comes to cybersecurity. If we don’t invest up front, and instead go with a haphazard ‘Band-Aid’ approach, security teams will always be a step behind and remain vulnerable. To effectively counter increasingly sophisticated and targeted cyberthreats, security leaders need to establish the resilience and flexibility needed to react quickly when a breach occurs and mitigate the damage immediately.
Changing the Conversation
According to the Frost & Sullivan report, “Essentially, organizations—particularly businesses—have been hesitant to invest heavily in cybersecurity because they see it as an expense rather than an element of risk management.”
The last part of that quotation goes right to the heart of the matter. For almost any organization, the goal is to keep expenses as low as possible. Conversely, risk management is seen as an investment that has tangible value – by reducing risk, organizations can protect company reputation and even gain a competitive advantage.
Somehow, we need to change the perception of cybersecurity from an expense to an investment. “How do you go about that?” you may ask.
At Hillstone, we’ve long had a slogan of “see, understand, act,” which refers to the enhanced visibility, actionable insights, and strong defensive mechanisms embodied in our security solutions. This same methodology can be used to start the cybersecurity conversation with upper management.
By clearly displaying our work in cybersecurity for everyone to see, even team members who aren’t security experts can begin to understand the many threats that confront network resources on a daily basis – and how the security team and its resources thwart them. Demonstrating how security can be an investment to prevent future incidents like the Costa Rica catastrophe can go a long way in convincing the C-suite to act.
It’s not likely to be an overnight process, but it’s far better than waiting for the ‘blame game’ to start if and when a major security event hits your organization.
How Hillstone Can Help
With a reputation for security that works, Hillstone’s broad product suite includes NGFW, breach detection, SD-WAN, VM and cloud security, extended detection and response (XDR) and other solutions. Our cutting-edge solutions leverage AI/ML and integrate seamlessly into SecOps frameworks, providing assurance to CISOs that their enterprises are well-protected.
Named a “Customers’ Choice” in the 2022 Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Network Firewalls, Hillstone’s cybersecurity solutions offer superior return on investment. For example, our cloud-based XDR solution, iSource, is designed for teams with limited security budgets. iSource integrates massive security data, correlates and investigates incidents, identifies potential threats, and automatically orchestrates security to respond cohesively across multiple security products and platforms.
Hillstone offers a pragmatic approach to enterprise security, providing visibility and intelligence that allows security teams to comprehensively see, thoroughly understand, and rapidly act against multilayer, multistage threats. In short, to become more resilient and proactive. To learn more about Hillstone’s network security products, visit our website or contact your local Hillstone representative or authorized reseller today.
