APRIL- 20239GOVERNMENT CIO OUTLOOKwas normally accepted and perhaps financially more appealing. Today, we ask them to maintain systems to the latest version with the last security patches at all times. We ask them to minimize functionality, harden systems, disable unused services, and maintain tight access control to all resources. Ensure that micro-segments are configured optimally in development, test, and production environments. In the past, if it worked, that was a measure of success. Today, it has to work securely and has to be implemented with a secure architecture and all applicable controls. This is overwhelming!The rest of the staff in the organization is also under additional stress because they are constantly targeted by spear phishing attacks and social engineering attacks. We ask them to become experts in recognizing an attack in different vectors such as email, texts, phone calls, and in person! There are plenty of sad stories in which victims lost life savings and, in some cases, large personal assets. They are constantly being targeted everywhere!Businesses are asked to spend more money on Cybersecurity and to protect customers' data. Some fail to adapt and are victims of ransomware, extortion, and theft. Costs are rising because now Cybersecurity needs to be embedded in everything they do. Large companies are targeted by nation-state actors with unlimited resources to steal intellectual property and disrupt business. CXOs are constantly challenged to adapt and meet the demands of the new Cyberworld, or they get ousted by more security savvy individuals or as a result of a large incident.I am not saying that all these pressures should go away or suggesting that we don't ask everyone to contribute to Cybersecurity; what I am saying is that we can do it more gracefully. We need to acknowledge and sympathize with the individuals that are under constant pressure from Cybersecurity demands. We need to thank them for all the effort required to adapt. We need to let them know that without them, a Cybersecurity program would not be nearly effective in meeting the demands of a modern organization. Unfortunately, things will continue to be more challenging, so please hang in there!
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