Building a common language to get to “Here’s the proof of cyber resilience”: CISOs can reframe the discussion using data and evidence. Modern cybersecurity tools produce a large volume of data and information on how they operate at any point in time, the status of controls deployed, the validation of configuration and more. There’s an opportunity to collect such data, sanitize it and derive continuous insights that validate, at any point in time, not just compliance with cybersecurity regulations but also overall cybersecurity posture. Because these insights are proof of actual state, the CISO can illuminate gaps in protection on an ongoing basis and either address these gaps or help the business determine mitigation priorities. And in some cases, a perfectly appropriate business decision is to accept a risk. It’s important to capture that acceptance formally, document why it was accepted and ensure that the acceptance is reviewed on an appropriate cadence so the level of risk over time doesn’t outpace a company’s appetite.This will remove subjectivity and confusion from board reports. CISOs can show proof of readiness and effectiveness, and boards can interpret results in familiar business terms.
Practical steps for CISOs to prove resilience: Cybersecurity deployment is critical, but insufficient. Every day, even organizations with robust cybersecurity investments fall victim to cyber attacks. Board and business leaders put the burden on cybersecurity leaders, but actually demand more: they want cyber resilience.Cyber resilience is the ability to continue critical operations under degraded circumstances, like a cyber incident, and the agility to return to normal operations quickly and with minimal financial impact. It’s more than the deployment of cybersecurity tools. Backups must be recoverable, and cyber insurance policies need to pay claims. Ideally, the organization knows how long it takes to restart systems from backup and has all information at hand for claims to be paid fully and quickly. Today, no single role owns cyber resilience, but different aspects are the purview of the CISO (safeguards), the CIO (backups) and the CFO (insurance). Collaboration between all three is required to assess that all safeguards are in place. It’s also time to upgrade manual tracking of safeguards to evidence-based, automated tracking.The next step is to shift from activity reporting to evidence sharing and decision support. This includes providing a clear view of the state of cybersecurity, which then surfaces risks that the business needs to make decisions on in terms of whether to mitigate or accept. To use evidence to demonstrate whether the business is meeting its goals for cyber resilience, data must replace prediction. Next, automate low-value work. Free teams from repetitive audit preparation by using tools to aggregate and provide tamper-proof evidence. Focus human expertise on strategy and decision-making for cyber resilience instead of administrative tasks.Finally, educate and contextualize for the board. Deliver short, outcome-focused updates that tie cybersecurity performance to cyber resilience goals. Reinforce the point that business risk and continuity ultimately reside with the board, not the CISO.
Better language, stronger trust: Cyber resilience is a business problem, not an IT and cybersecurity problem. The board will understand it when evidence-driven communication fosters transparency, trust and clarity of action. As they hear information relayed in language they can understand, boards gain confidence in investments and governance decisions. This results in fewer redlines on board reports, more meaningful conversations and longer CISO tenures. It moves cybersecurity from a reactive cost center to a proactive value driver. When CISOs can show proof tailored to the company’s own risk tolerance, the conversation changes from uncertainty to clarity.This article is published as part of the Foundry Expert Contributor Network.Want to join?
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