The difference between compliance and safety

Guy Golan at Performanta explores the importance of avoiding a tick-box mentality with regards to cyber-security compliance, and explains why compliance is only the first step for organisations that want to keep safe

  

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements and an evolving digital landscape, there is no space for suboptimal strategies. Despite this, a large portion of companies are allowing significant oversight when it comes to cyber-security.  

 

The traditional narrative of cyber-security has revolved around adhering to regulatory compliance standards. However, the reality is that a compliance-centric approach, while important, falls short of effectively addressing the dynamic and intricate nature of modern cyber threats. While cyber-security professionals are focused on the ‘how’, they’re losing sight of the ‘why’: protecting their organisation. 

 

However, a major shift is taking place - one where forward-thinking companies are re-evaluating their strategies, moving away from a tick-box mentality, and embracing a more comprehensive concept: cyber-safety.  

 

It’s time the industry truly acknowledged the limitations of compliance-driven tactics to move beyond minimum requirements to install a safer digital environment for all.  

 

Where does compliance fall short? 

From SMEs to large enterprises, businesses have traditionally aligned cyber-security defence to cyber-security compliance. While compliance forms the first step for digital security, cyber-security experts understand that it is the bare minimum standard of defence.   

 

Cyber-security compliance contains certain practices and protocols under a single umbrella without guidelines tailored to meet unique organisational needs. For example, regulated industries such as military or pharmaceutical companies intrinsically require more security than other sectors, but simply complying with cyber-regulations fails to take this into account.   

 

Treating compliance as the end destination rather than the beginning of a journey toward cyber-safety is a dangerous oversight for businesses. If cyber-security becomes a tick-box exercise, instead of a proactive and diligent approach toward championing business safety, companies can become complacent when deliberating risk, opening them up to an increasing array of threats. 

 

Tick-boxing compliance also leads to siloed defence departments. IT and security teams, helmed by the CISO or CTO, have direct control over cyber-security measures without the support of other relevant stakeholders. This is the reality, yet Accenture’s latest State of Cybersecurity Report found that 98% of C-Suite level executives believe cyber-security is the responsibility of the entire C-suite.  

  

However, as the C-Suite continues to spin an ever-increasing number of plates, pushing the envelope for better cyber-security is lost, so long as compliance is adhered to.   

 

If stakeholders do not understand the risks posed to their business, cyber-security departments are unlikely to receive the support they need to pursue cyber-safety. Equally, siloed cyber-security efforts lead to misunderstanding and oversight in the C-Suite’s cyber decision-making, as they do not fully recognise the risks at hand.   

 

It’s time for a mindset shift 

Realigning to prioritise cyber-safety marks a pivotal shift in the landscape of modern businesses. This new strategy is founded on three pivotal principles: visibility, transparency, and contextualisation.  

 

Elevating visibility and transparency to new heights is vital. At the heart of this is the need to level the playing field and make security processes visible and more accessible to the entire business. Currently, 48% of C-level security specialists state that security jargon and industry terminology are a barrier to company-wide understanding and effective management of cyber-security. Businesses must find a way to discuss security in a manner accessible to all relevant stakeholders. 

 

Increased visibility enables organisations to start to gain a clearer ‘big picture’ view of the challenges they face. Within this, they can begin to form smarter defence strategies by analysing security touchpoints accurately and investing in tools or resources for certain areas that require the most improvement. 

 

Another crucial element of transparency is reporting. Enhancing reports by utilising data and presenting them in a clearly illustrated way serves as a bridge between the technical team and the C-Suite. This facilitates seamless alignment between cyber strategies and the wider business to encourage cross-functional collaboration. Businesses will likely see more proactive involvement from the C-Suite once they better understand the challenges at hand. 

 

Each report must be underpinned with relevant context, outlining the impact across the entire business. Only then will the company as a whole understand the far-reaching influences of cyber-threats and the efforts to combat them. Armed with this level of insight, the C-Suite and stakeholders will be able to feed directly into strategies moving forward, whereas before they were removed from decision-making.  

 

Once increased visibility has been implemented, context is required. By providing context to cyber-security efforts, whereby understanding is gained from a more complete business perspective, organisations can gain actionable insights into its strengths and weaknesses. Simple compliance means that security teams are likely directing resources to the wrong places, as they don’t have the information available to form a strategy that will tackle more significant problems.

 

By gaining context and directing resources in the right direction, businesses can tackle problems more holistically. Dealing with the most significant problems consequently solves smaller weaknesses, improving defence and resource allocation. 

 

The pursuit of cyber-safety leaves tick-box exercises in the past. It becomes more than just a strategy; it’s a mindset that ultimately shapes a company’s attitudes toward digital security. Now more than ever, organisations need an approach that weaves into the very fabric of their business.  

 

Without a doubt, compliance is a vital part of security, but it must only be treated as the baseline upon which to build further strategies. After all, modern business requires a safety-first attitude to deal with increasingly cunning threats. 

 

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Guy Golan is Co-Founder and CEO at Performanta  

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com