Severalize Cybersecurity budgeting 2023

With cyberattacks getting more frequent, persistent and precarious, companies cannot exclude them from their IT budget. A single cyberattack can cause severe (and sometimes irreparable) damage to the company. Accordingly, companies must have an elaborate yet relevant and comprehensive cybersecurity budget.

But no matter how much an organization spends, cyber executives must be sure their cyber budget adequately accounts for security blind spots.

Cybersecurity blind spots are minor concerns about which companies do not have complete visibility or the spots aren’t as visible. They are often ignored in the wake of focusing on potentially more significant cybersecurity concerns.?

These blind spots aren’t always internal. They could be external and often go unnoticed as they are disguised. Sometimes, addressing them never occurs to the company’s IT team. As a result, they always remain invisible and never get the attention or budget they deserve.

But each blind spot is a potential entry point for attackers. Consider passwords, for instance. Weak default passwords are easier to crack for hackers to creep in. Maintaining a solid and unbreakable password is the most fundamental principle of cybersecurity. Yet, users create specific passwords or reuse old ones.

Many such areas require attention and inclusion in the cybersecurity budget to get fortified, but some organizations leave gaps in this regard.

Here are some of the common cybersecurity measures underbudgeted for in organizations.

• Non-traditional assets
• Unpatched systems’ criticality
• Encryption concerns
• Flat networks; lack of network segmentation
• Application misconfiguration
• Service fragility denial
• Cyber threats, phishing and ransomware

Some common factors that cause blind spots include new installations, the Internet of Things (IoT), the cloud, network silos, shadow IT and encrypted traffic, among others.

How cybersecurity budgeting can help

Cybersecurity budget management is crucial in increasing a company’s cybersecurity efficiency. Cyber budgeting isn’t only allocating funds to pay vendor fees, onboard technologies, and strengthen the firewalls. Instead, it is about thoroughly reviewing every area, identifying loopholes, realizing gaps and leaks, and, accordingly, coming up with a budget that covers everything.

?I don’t think CISOs budget has gone up 100%, but I think in general we’re seeing a lot of budgets go up. I would like to attribute that to two things –

1. That people understand security is a business differentiator. Security done well is part of maximizing upside for your business, not just minimizing downside. It’s not just insurance. It’s a way to compete more aggressively in your sector.
2. I think people are realizing if we just bring this to the macro-economic climate that exists at the moment that we’re recording this, if you were going to go through a tough time, and you’re a business that’s going shields up and ensuring your business succeeds in the long-term, you realize that security is going to be a big part of that.

If you have a sudden issue that you didn’t plan for and you’re not prepared for from a security, privacy, or trust perspective, you may not survive a time that is not economically easy to operate in. If you are prepared for that and you’re invested in that, your business is going to be more durable and more resilient long-term.

Cybersecurity budget management is crucial in increasing a company’s cybersecurity efficiency. Cyber budgeting isn’t only allocating funds to pay vendor fees, onboard technologies, and strengthen the firewalls. Instead, it is about thoroughly reviewing every area, identifying loopholes, realizing gaps and leaks, and, accordingly, coming up with a budget that covers everything.

Such a budget would address each crucial aspect, no matter how insignificant. Thus, it can help companies strengthen cybersecurity to the best level possible. Accordingly, here are a few cybersecurity budget best practices that can help.

• Review the company’s cyber network, including its blind spots
• Examine the past budget to see the inclusions and exclusions
• Assess the company’s current budget allocation
• Create an inventory of existing products, services and spend
• Monitor the company’s network every day
• Check for better and more cost-effective products and solutions
• Ensure every area of cybersecurity gets the budgetary attention it needs

Besides, responsible CISOs know how to use the cybersecurity budget prudently. While covering every critical area and blind spot, CISOs can identify cost-effective products, services and cybersecurity solutions to save money for the company.