As more companies embrace digitalisation, there is an increased need for robust security measures to protect data, assets, and systems against various cyber threats. However, implementing an effective cybersecurity strategy is becoming increasingly challenging, and organisations are struggling to keep up with the evolving threat landscape.

Let’s look at some of the challenges that organisations face:

Multi-cloud Adoption:

One of the top complexities facing organisations in the next two years is multi-cloud adoption. As more companies move to the cloud, we recognise that the industry CISOs and their teams must stay on top of where all the organisation's assets are located. The more assets an organisation has, the higher the number of potential threats it faces, making it difficult to manage security effectively.

The Proliferation of Point Security Solutions:

Another challenge facing small businesses and organisations is the proliferation of point security solutions. We understand that businesses are implementing various security solutions to meet specific business needs, but this has resulted in a fragmented security architecture. Stitching together all these solutions can be a massive challenge, and organisations often end up spending a lot of money but still fail to cover all security points.

Security Product Procurement:

With so many enterprise security tools on the market, it is becoming increasingly difficult to evaluate and identify the right solution for a specific organisation. It is crucial to showcase the ROI and business outcomes of security solutions to ensure that the right value is generated.

Digital Business Diversification:

In addition to these challenges, organisations must keep up with rapid digital business diversification.

We recognise that business leaders perceive security to slow down their operations and efficiency, and there is always a trade-off between making business fast but less secure or making business slow but more secure. As businesses continue to expand, value chains get renewed, new value chains are set up, and new business models are experimented with, making it challenging to keep up with security needs.

Skills and Resources:

The shortage of skills and resources to manage security is also a significant issue. We believe it is essential to update skill sets constantly, set up processes for security, and allow them to mature before bringing in automation. Government compliance systems are outdated, and security audits can take months or even years, which sometimes do not match up with new-age security solutions that companies implement.

RoI and TCO of Cybersecurity Investment:

Among many ICT investments that are made as per legacy benchmark the TCO and RoI of the hardware is more often discussed at the investment phase. This is a pertinent question that a CIO has to answer to assess the real productivity of the investment. However, when it comes to investments in security the overarching answer for both RoI and TCO is the impending risk of not making the investment. To define this in a lighter vein, many times the bitter truth of RoI of the security investments or the lack of it is realised after the cyberattack.

Outcome-based approaches:

Shared Model:

To address these challenges, CISOs prefer a shared model. However, preferences differ based on the organisation's needs. We recognise that some prefer to only share the platform, while others prefer to share resources or instances. The appointment of dedicated CISOs in every company is highly recommended, and virtual CISOs can be considered in tier 2 and 3 areas.

Service Assurance:

Service assurance is crucial, and security providers must have robust processes in place to combat threats effectively. Manufacturing companies rely heavily on identity and access management, and legacy systems pose the most significant threats. At VI, we provide consultation on how to onboard these systems onto the latest security technology to make them highly secure.

Legacy Equipment and Systems:

The security landscape is rapidly evolving, and security solutions that were valid two years ago are no longer valid today. Legacy equipment and systems make it difficult to keep pace with security solutions, and organisations must adopt an outcomes-based approach, achieve zero trust, balance the trinity of business, security, and budget, and follow metrics that are aligned with the business.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT problem but an organisational challenge that requires a robust strategy. Businesses must embrace the complexities and challenges that come with digitalisation. The trends and challenges discussed in this article highlight the need for organisations to evaluate their security and identify areas that require improvement.

The path to addressing security challenges requires a holistic approach that balances business needs, security, and budget. We recognise the importance of staying up to date with the latest security solutions, continually updating our skills, and setting up robust processes to combat cyber threats effectively.

The future of cybersecurity is about creating a culture of security awareness and education across the organisation. Employees must be trained to identify and report potential security threats, and security policies must be communicated and enforced throughout the organisation.

The challenges and trends in cybersecurity are constantly evolving, and organisations must stay ahead of the curve to protect their assets and systems. By adopting a proactive approach to cybersecurity, organisations can mitigate the risks of cyber threats and maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their data.

We believe that organisations must invest in the right cybersecurity solutions, prioritise their security needs, and work with trusted partners to achieve their cybersecurity goals.

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