Your team members resist cybersecurity measures. How can you balance innovation and security?

Balancing innovation and security requires fostering a security-first mindset by emphasizing the importance of protecting data and systems. Provide training and clear communication on the value of cybersecurity. Involve team members in designing security measures to ensure they enhance, rather than hinder, innovation. Streamline processes to minimize friction, making secure practices intuitive and integrated into daily workflows.

The Digital team needs to pivot by being not just an enabler but to be the partners within the entire enterprise ecosystem. As for security, cybersecurity plays a huge role in the governance and policies domain. Matters regarding security measures needs to be addressed and implications by not adhering to one. Often, sharing actual use cases of data breaches and security breaches creates a high impact awareness. Continuous awareness sessions need to be done throughout all mediums within the organization to help facilitate the understanding of why cybersecurity is crucial and how the enterprise and including them needs to be protected. Conduct regular security awareness and phishing exercises and continuously educate the organization.

To address your team's resistance to cybersecurity, engage them with hands-on workshops or simulations that show the real-world impact of breaches. For instance, role-playing a simulated breach can make risks more tangible and highlight the importance of security. Additionally, involving team members in developing security protocols can foster a sense of ownership and increase acceptance. By making the connection between security and both their productivity and the success of the business, you can shift their perspective to see these measures as essential rather than obstructive.

Balancing innovation and security requires alignment. Start by framing cybersecurity as an enabler of innovation, not a blocker. Highlight real-world risks and demonstrate how security measures protect both creativity and progress. Offer simple, user-friendly solutions and integrate security training into regular workflows. Empower team members by making them part of the solution, fostering a shared responsibility for safeguarding innovation. #Cybersecurity #InnovationBalance #TeamCollaboration #SecurityCulture

Balancing innovation and security requires clear communication about the importance of both. Start by educating your team on the risks of neglecting cybersecurity and how it can undermine innovation. Involve them in developing security measures that align with their work processes to reduce resistance. Foster a culture where security is seen as an enabler of innovation, not a barrier. This helps ensure that cybersecurity becomes a shared priority while maintaining a focus on creativity and progress.

In my experience, the key is open communication. Teams need to feel heard. I scheduled regular check-ins with the IT department and the innovation teams, facilitating discussions where each side could express their concerns and suggestions. According to a Ponemon Institute study, 70% of employees believe that involving them in cybersecurity decisions makes them more likely to follow policies. By encouraging dialogue, we created a space where both security and innovation were prioritized, not seen as mutually exclusive.

Most often overlooked, the technology offerings nowadays allow diversified types of solutions where controls and monitoring can be done in one single pane of view. Minimizing the diversity with a wider integrations of end points, devices or connectivity allows teams such as SOCs and NOCs to have better focus and implement steadfast actions to remedy any breaches or issues. I have experimented an AIOps approach where almost 90% of the NOC is being catered by AI in real-time. This allows the team to shift their focus to a more value-added and become a cross-functional team member. With the simplicity of deploying fixes through cloud without being onsite physically is what the technology today can offer, and it has been done and practiced.

To ease adoption of cybersecurity practices, gather feedback from your team on their current challenges with security. This helps tailor measures to their needs. For instance, if manual updates are problematic, prioritize automatic updates, or if managing multiple passwords is tough, implement single sign-on. By involving your team in the process and addressing their concerns, you can make security more convenient and less intrusive, increasing acceptance and minimizing resistance.

One thing I've found helpful is breaking down complex security processes into bite-sized, manageable steps. A McAfee survey found that 43% of employees avoid cybersecurity measures because they find them too complex. When we simplified the onboarding process for new cybersecurity software, usage spiked by 25% in the first month. Instead of dumping technical jargon on my team, I worked with IT to create easy-to-understand guides that showed how cybersecurity tools actually streamlined their work.

Balancing innovation with security starts with awareness on your team. Educate them about cybersecurity threats: Regular training sessions could also demystify security concepts and help them connect those to daily tasks. Real-world examples showing the result of phishing or weak passwords drive home the importance of cybersecurity. Demonstrate relevance: If the staff members understand why they need to implement certain security measures, they're more likely to adopt those as part of their innovation toolkit. Security should be part of the innovation. Demonstrate how good security can enable, not stand in the way of, innovation by making an environment much safer to create and experiment in.

In my experience, many team members resist security measures because they don’t fully understand the risks. Data breaches cost companies an average of $4.24 million in 2021, according to IBM. I started incorporating real-world case studies of businesses that suffered from poor security practices into our meetings. This brought the risks to life and made cybersecurity feel like an essential part of innovation, not an obstacle.

Explain the risks of not taking security seriously, listen to their concerns, and work together as a team is crucial to find solutions that work for everyone.

One time at work, we were rolling out a new project that required advanced analytics, and security was getting in the way—or so the team thought. Instead of positioning cybersecurity as an "IT thing," I tied it directly to the project's success metrics. By showing that robust security protocols could protect our intellectual property and foster trust with clients, we were able to align everyone’s goals. When innovation and security are framed as complementary, teams are 33% more likely to comply with security measures, according to a study by Cisco.

It takes decades to build a reputation and one incident can turn everything upside down, make sure all the team members are aware of those substantial use cases. Train the team, ensure all team members know how to stay safe online, and reward them for good behavior. Be a role model and show the team team and as a leader yourself to take security seriously.

Empower cybersecurity champions who are tech-savvy and respected within the team. These individuals can act as liaisons between the security team and other departments, offering tailored support and fostering a positive security culture. Encourage them to share their personal experiences and successes with cybersecurity to build credibility. When the team sees trusted peers actively valuing security, it can shift attitudes and boost overall acceptance of cybersecurity practices.