Six Key Cybersecurity Strategies that should be considered during Digital Transformation

My previous article discussed at length about six key drivers for successful digital transformation. While digital transformation accelerates business operations, there is a dire need for enterprises to curtail the spread of cyber risks that rise from these new gen tech initiatives. 'Cybersecurity First' mindset and ‘Secure by Design’ are must for any digital implementations among others. Following are six key cybersecurity strategies that should be considered during any digital transformation.

1.??????An approach to assuring digital trust - A comprehensive approach to cybersecurity involves a wide array of security controls that an enterprise must harness to maximize the protection of its assets and ensure digital trust, in the era of remote working.?

2.??????Securing the cloud - Security controls that handled traditional on-premises infrastructure need not suffice for a secure cloud-native infrastructure. While cloud-specific security standards such as ISO 27017 or ISO 27018 give a good guideline, the enterprise may not have visibility of security posture on the cloud, leaving them blindsided.

Some of the critical considerations in a cloud security framework are its ability to address visibility, compliance, securing workloads, zero trust etc. At an operational level, this translates into taking care of cloud native as well as custom security, authenticating and authorizing on-premises and cloud workloads to prevent data breaches, providing centralized dashboards to enhance visibility into the security posture, and ensuring compliance.

3.??????Securing the ecosystem – The ever-expanding modern-day enterprise accommodates several regions and third-party entities into its operating fabric. Combined with new processes and stakeholders introduced through digital transformation, enterprises must contend with a new set of risks. Multiple entry points materialize, threat surface expands and the risk of a cyberattack cascading across the ecosystem grows. Governance, third party risk, and compliance management assume immense importance in this context. Market research estimates a formal compliance charter saves a business about half a million dollars on average[1]. ?

4.??????Securing the digital development – Enterprises employ Agile methodologies and DevOps practices to accelerate development and shorten the go-to-market cycle. Security practices need to be aligned to these new methodologies. What can make a significant difference is to adopt the DevSecOps framework in the development methodology where security is embedded right from the start and not as an afterthought. It requires a complete understanding of the role of cybersecurity in development/integration phases and delineating clear responsibilities of all involved teams such as developers.?A recent study revealed that almost 70% of companies are incorporating DevSecOps into their software development teams[2].

5.??????Securing the workplace - New models such as zero trust architecture, secure access service edge (SASE) etc are fast emerging esp due to the thinning of workplace perimeters. They are specially designed to cater to the threats emanating from a cloud environment and today’s extended office environment. Gartner expects SASE to become the new mantra for security soon, with at least 40% of enterprises adopting SASE strategies by 2024 [3].

6.?????Instilling the culture of security and building Cyber resilience - Enterprises are experiencing a changeover to digital mindset as they embrace the digital transformation. They also must now prepare to adopt a cybersecurity first mindset. It means making all employees, irrespective of their role and responsibilities, cognizant of cyber threat surface, vulnerabilities in the systems and processes, and the consequences of not being a responsible cyber employee/citizen. In addition, characteristic of the agile way, architectures may be designed to fail fast, recover and progress. Failures do not indicate external breaches; rather, they stem from internal exercises that diagnose issues with the cloud, ecosystem and development frameworks.

In organizations with a cyber aware mindset, employees are receptive to behavioral, technological and process changes driven by cybersecurity priorities. While bringing about this transformation, expectation is that cybersecurity teams will include digital transformation considerations such as faster and better user experience. This signals a true integration of cybersecurity into the digital agenda.

[1] 50+ Compliance Statistics to Inform Your 2020 Strategy | Hyperproof

[2] 20 Statistics That Today’s DevSecOps Teams Should Know - Security Boulevard

[3] Emerging Technology Analysis: SASE Poised to Cause Evolution of Network Security - Gartner