How to survive and thrive through the economic storm

With turbulent global economic conditions ahead, and rapidly evolving and emerging technology and geopolitical threats becoming increasingly pertinent, cyber security professionals are under more pressure than ever to prove their value and justify continued security investment.

NCC Group proudly sponsored Gartner’s EMEA Security & Risk Management Summit in 2023. During the event we exclusively launched our AI Whitepaper “Safety, Security, Privacy & Prompts: Cyber Resilience in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”.

We were also delighted to host a cyber security leadership dinner with NCSC’s Director of Operations, Paul Chichester MBE as our special guest speaker. Both activities enabled us to connect with public and private sector cyber professionals grappling with these challenges, and we discussed our own research and perspectives with them to support their cause.

Across a very busy 3 days, I heard first hand from analysts and cyber leaders who provided current, relevant tips for optimizing a cyber security strategy and maximize budgets.

To further support our cyber community and my fellow professionals, I wanted to share four insights I took away from proceedings and I’d be curious to hear your perspectives too:

1) Focus Resources for Maximum Impact

Gartner busted the myth that maximum effort leads to maximum security. Rather than trying to cover everything, prioritize actions that will provide the greatest risk reduction. Follow the “minimum effective effort” approach - do the least required to adequately protect the organization's vulnerabilities.

For example, don’t get bogged down in endless risk assessments. Only gather the essential data needed to inform priority actions. Adopt pragmatic cyber security metrics that clearly link spending to risk reduction.

Likewise, don’t buy every new security tool just because it promises better protection. Carefully evaluate your existing tech stack first, and only acquire tools that fill critical gaps or reduce complexity.

Think “minimum effective toolset.”

2) Build Business-Wide Cybersecurity Capabilities

With IT management responsibilities shifting to business units, don’t try to centralize all cyber security roles and decision-making. Instead, enable employees to make informed security decisions themselves. Provide guardrails without being overly restrictive.

For instance, address shadow IT by giving people the tools and permissions to safely and productively collaborate. Promote a cyber-aware culture through education and incentives rather than just mandates. Make cybersecurity intrinsic to everyone’s work rather than an obstacle.

3) Adopt Continuous Testing and Monitoring

Point-in-time assessments provide limited value. The analysts emphasized implementing continuous frameworks for identifying and closing vulnerabilities throughout the threat lifecycle. For example, regularly penetration testing critical systems rather than just annually.

Likewise, leverage threat intelligence to monitor for emerging exposures in your environment on an ongoing basis. Consider adding offerings like managed threat detection and response to provide 24/7 monitoring and rapid response capabilities.

4) Secure Identities from End to End

With identities becoming the new security perimeter, the analysts highlighted major gaps in organizations’ identity and access management strategies. They advised taking an end-to-end approach - from architecture, to implementation, to ongoing lifecycle management - to truly secure identities.

For instance, build identity threat detection and response capabilities by feeding identity telemetry into your SIEM and SOAR platforms. Leverage trusted experts who understand the full identity lifecycle to assess and enhance your IAM practices.