Top 5 Ways CISOs are Shifting to a Proactive Cybersecurity Mindset

Every data breach is a race against time. CISOs know the longer it takes to identify and contain a breach, the more costly the breach will be. According to IBM, the average data breach takes 287 days to realize and contain. Responding to a breach is not enough. To combat this, CISOs are embracing a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

#1 Cost of Reactive vs. Proactive Security:

Research from IBM is showing the value of proactive security measures. While the average data breach costs $4.24 million, not every company is stuck paying that cost. Companies with security AI and automation paid 80% less than those without those technologies. Companies with a high level of compliance pay $2.3 million less per breach. For those with zero trust, approached breaches cost $1.76 million less. These significant reductions are attracting CISOs to move towards a proactive approach in five ways:

#2 Automated Security:

Companies with security AI and automation paid 80% less per data breach. This is in part due to the speed of response, allowing companies to take action quickly. Hence CISOs are looking for tools that look for risk faster than typical alerts. This has led them to AI and automated security to identify malicious activity or negligent actions that expose data. Tools like Data Breach Prevention use machine learning, a subset of AI, to locate publically available data leaks. Computer-powered machine learning allows leaks to be identified much faster.

#3 What Risks to Look for:

Another aspect of proactive security is a broader view of what risks to look for. As companies have more data being shared, far and wide access has increased greatly. Thus instead of having a single point of access to guard, companies need to look to multiple risk components such as exposed credentials, exposed digital assets, and fraudulent domains. This requires a more holistic approach enabled by digital risk protection platforms.

#4 Right Tool for the Right Job:

CISOs are spending more time analyzing their security technology stack in response to a more proactive and holistic approach to cybersecurity. Overlapping technologies exponentially increases the number of alerts that SOC teams receive. But more is not always better. This increase in alerts has led to a plague of duplicates and false positives. In response, many of those on SOC teams have started to ignore alerts leaving companies vulnerable. CISOs are now reviewing tech stacks to cut down on the noise vs. signal.

#5 Set up for Success:

The final step of proactive behaviors CISOs are starting to adopt is increased hiring and investment in education. Aside from educating employees about the threats they face, having more SOC-capable teams allows companies to redress more risks once known. This allows companies to address risks that might have been neglected. As CISOs look to embrace automation, holistic approaches, technology stack optimization, and increased hiring, these proactive responses are enabled by having the right partner. CybelAngel is the most proactive solution to support these actions with our ability to locate digital risks beyond a company’s perimeter. Our high-speed scanning helps locate digital risks before threat actors have an opportunity to exploit them.