CTO Guide To The Business of Cybersecurity

This is the CTOvision guide to the megatrend of Cybersecurity. This post provides a high level overview of key factors in cybersecurity that we recommend any technology professional should be familiar with, as well as insights that can help assess the near future of cybersecurity solutions. The report also captures insights from recent reporting done on the topic as well as information on cybersecurity vendors we track in the CTOvision solutions directory.

The Megatrend of Cybersecurity

We can make a prediction with absolute certainty: In the future, there will be times when adversaries will surprise even the most well defended organizations. History just makes that totally clear.

Said another way, cybersecurity in the future, like cybersecurity today, is a bit like a rodeo. Sometimes the rider will ride and sometimes the rider will be thrown.

We can also say this about the future of cybersecurity: When organizations are led by leaders that care they can make a huge impact in mitigating risks. Cybersecurity professionals know how to configure existing technology in ways that raise costs for adversaries and can also engineer things to make it easier to spot when an adversary has been successful. Experienced professionals know how to mitigate risks in ways that reduce risks, but what is sometimes missing is support from the most senior executive and/or peers to the security leadership. If the executive team does not really care, the security program will be sub-optimized. That is just a fact.

Cybersecurity In Relation To Other Tech Trends

Cybersecurity is especially important because of the newfound complexity arising in our systems. All the megatrends we review here, and everything we see in doing assessments in the market, point to dramatically enhanced complexity. And all indications are that tricking future systems will become easier not harder. Said another way, every trend we track, including Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Mobility, Bigdata, Robotics and IoT, all require more focus on cybersecurity. Without enhanced cybersecurity, none of those can be optimized.

A key factor in Cybersecurity

Bottom line: No organization should think they can handle their security needs by themselves. We will all need help.

A snapshot of the Cybersecurity trend right now indicates:

• Some of humanity’s greatest thinkers, business leaders and computer scientists have struggled to enhance cyber security. Their approaches are not working.
• Cybersecurity will have to advance or none of the other megatrends we review will be optimized.
• Cybersecurity is especially important because of the newfound complexity arising in our systems.
• Behavioral analytics is seen as a promising approach to enhancing our response
• Machine learning and advanced analytics are also seen as promising approaches.

Open Cybersecurity questions decision-makers should track include:

• Is humanity sleepwalking into a preventable catastrophe?
• Will it be easier to trick future systems?
• Will any organization be able to defend itself without help?
• What is the role of behavioral analytics?

Cybersecurity and Due Diligence:

Due Diligence in Cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of M&A.

• On the sell side: Firms should take every effort to ensure they are in solid shape from an information security perspective before being offered for sale or seeking growth investment. Review and pre-sale diligence can make a massive difference in how well a firm will be valued.
• On the buy side: Buyers should pay particular attention to how well the target understands their digital risks and how well they are governing their risk mitigation efforts. External and independent verification and validation of security policies and practices should include a review of the technical architecture, as well as the degree that the target is complying with appropriate compliance regimes.

Strategically, the acquisition of cybersecurity technology firms is also an art requiring assessment of how unique the capability is and how much in demand it will be in the market. We provide due diligence consulting in the cybersecurity domain via our parent company, OODA LLC.

Other Cybersecurity Reporting at CTOvision:

• Leader of U.S. Intelligence Community delivers warning of cyber threat
• Recorded Future Posts Assessment on Geopolitical and Supply Chain Risks From Huawei
• The Internet has a problem: Repeating random numbers
• It is not my fault if your WiFi Signals Are Hitting My Laptop and Phone Antennas
• Back to the future – Moonlight Maze
• DNC hack requires swift, forceful response from Washington
• Senators Mark Warner and Cory Gardner announce creation of Senate Cybersecurity Caucus
• Pushing Computers to the Edge: Next Generation Security and Privacy Controls for Systems and IoT Devices
• A common language for computer security incidents
• Quantum Computing for Everyone
• Gain Insights Into How Bad Guys Are Manipulating You Via YouTube
• Protecting against Malvertising
• CTO Bob Gourley in People Magazine: Security tips for the general public
• Things To Do Right Now About Your Cybersecurity Workforce Crisis
• HIPPA and Ransomware in the Healthcare Sector: “Your PHI or your life”

Latest Entries in the CTOvision Directory of Cybersecurity Firms:

There are seven key megatrends driving the future of enterprise IT. You can remember them all with the mnemonic acronym CAMBRIC, which stands for Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Mobility, Big Data, Robotics, Internet of Things, CyberSecurity.