Intelligent CXO Issue 29 | Page 21

EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

ANDREW OBADIARU , CISO , COBALT

Volatile economic conditions and shrinking budgets are leaving cybersecurity professionals stretched thin , opening organisations to cybersecurity threats . Security teams are stretched thin given the slim budgets and smaller teams , resulting in higher chances of cybercriminals exposing vulnerabilities . Change is the constant security teams live by , and a proactive approach to an organisation ’ s security posture can prevent reputational and financial damage .

At Cobalt , we take a serious approach to cybersecurity and empower our people to regularly educate themselves and update security policies and procedures as needed . This mentality enables our team to be agile and shift quickly as the threat landscape changes and new processes are
adopted . For example , we recently rolled out a new policy regarding the use of generative AI tools and how to exercise caution with what information is shared through a public platform . To improve the overall cybersecurity of an organisation , leaders and employees alike must stay on top of the everevolving threat landscape and be ready to adapt and pivot on a moment ’ s notice . as a technical one . At Cobalt , we work with a group of vetted cybersecurity professionals called the Cobalt Core . By channelling a hacker ’ s point of view , we are able to pinpoint faults in internal systems that may have been overlooked . Gaining an outside perspective is critical to improving cybersecurity because this mindset allows teams to objectively view vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for improvement .
As technology evolves , regular cybersecurity education is crucial in battling threats as the threatscape evolves . With more sophisticated attacks and generative AI capable of creating malicious code , cyberattacks are only going to become harder to detect and more commonplace . Ultimately , business security posture needs to evolve at the pace of new cyberthreats . Efforts to maintain a strong security posture are never complete , and when leaders implement a proactive mindset , they can be better prepared for the latest threats .
In managing a cybersecurity programme , it ’ s always better to be proactive than reactive . With a proactive mindset , organisations can be forward-thinking in mitigating vulnerabilities and streamlining organisational processes and access controls . We encourage our customers and their security teams to routinely utilise pentesting to check every possible access point to ensure they are not current – or future – victims of an attack . Additionally , the OWASP Top 10 and SANS Top 20 are key tools helping organisations prevent malicious attackers and resources that we check and refer back to often .
Although people often think of security as a technical issue , the threats and inner workings of attacks are often deeply rooted in psychological tactics . Security is just as much a human problem
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