How Cybersecurity Contributes to Business Growth

Myth leadership believes: Cybersecurity is a cost center. Many cybersecurity pros struggle to get buy-in from leadership on investments they need to secure their operations. “This tool will make it easier for me to manage our endpoints and make us more secure” is not always a winning message. A different communication and justification approach is sometimes needed to make the case. Facts to tell leadership: Cybersecurity drives revenue, efficiency, AND protects against losses. 💸 Revenue - Having a cybersecurity program can be the difference between customers won and customers lost, especially when you start competing for big contracts. ⚙️ Efficiency - Practices like internal audits, code reviews, and vendor reviews can identify bad processes, bugs, and wasteful spending, resulting in efficiency and savings.  📉 Protects against Loss - Cybersecurity attacks are often major loss events, costing many thousands or millions of dollars, and frequently impact stock prices. “A phishing attack recently cost Comparable Co. $1.2M in damages. This tool will help protect our employees from these attacks, and save me 5 hours per week on endpoint management so I can focus more on product development.” is much more effective. While it’s not as easy as calculating the value generated by a sales team or marketing campaign, cybersecurity IS a value-add to every business.  What do you think? #fciso

#Cybersecurity as a #CompetitiveAdvantage - We typically think about Cybersecurity in the same category as dirty laundry and crazy uncles (i.e. stuff you don't want to talk about.) After reviewing Accenture's State of Cybersecurity, I'm impressed with how businesses that have leaned into developing a proper defense have achieved tangible business results by "reinventing the whole enterprise." (e.g. 18% more likely to achieve revenue targets, market share, improved customer satisfaction, and greater employee productivity, 6x more effective #DigitalTransformation) It makes sense. Effective organizational change occurs when there is a compelling, driving need for specific outcomes. The escalating threat of #ransomware provides an unrelenting flood of reminders of the need to take action. An effective cyber defense requires a comprehensive, holistic understanding of the org's business systems and processes across many dimensions (e.g. marketing, sales, operations, customer service, finance, legal, etc.) A proper defense requires a competent, essential understanding of what to defend and tighter operational controls over the business to maintain the integrity of the defense. Cyber investments are most effective and least expensive when planned rather than when added on as an afterthought. A robust cyber defense justifies proactive investments in elevating an organization's operational processes. It is refreshing to realize that cybersecurity is not merely a necessary chore to be completed; when done correctly, cybersecurity can return highly favorable business outcomes. #TimTang Hughes #NRFBigShow #NRF2024

Cybersecurity: A strategic business investment; not just a cost. Investing in cybersecurity isn’t about avoiding the next breach, but about building a resilient, trusted, and future-ready sustainable business. * Cybersecurity is business-critical infrastructure. It protects revenue streams, brand reputation, and customer trust. * It's an enabler of innovation and growth. Without secure foundations, digital transformation efforts become a high risk. * It's a differentiator. Clients and partners increasingly choose businesses that take security seriously. * It reduces long-term enterprise risk. Is your organization investing in security as a strategic advantage? How are you framing cybersecurity spend, as a cost or as a strategic investment? #CyberSecurity #CISO #BusinessLeadership #RiskManagement #SecurityInvestment #DigitalTrust #ExecutiveAlignment #Resilience

The rising strategic role of the #CISO is one we’ve been tracking through our #FutureOfCyber surveys. As Diana Kearns-Manolatos (she/her) notes, the acceleration of #GenAI and increase in sophistication and frequency of cyber threats have contributed to the CISO’s involvement in business-critical technologies and strategic conversations. This is a very good thing for several reasons . . . ✅ First, the evolution of the CISO role underscores the importance of cybersecurity in business strategy. ✅ And, the CISO’s active contribution to business decisions involving technology is driving greater cyber maturity. ✅ Lastly, CISOs are more successful when positioned as value drivers for the business. When cyber is included in business strategy, it can enable revenue growth, protect future revenue streams, drive cost efficiencies, and even create sustainable competitive advantage. https://lnkd.in/esp8ZNxk Diana Kearns-Manolatos (she/her) Ian Blatchford Karel de Zoete Dick van Veldhuizen