What is cybersecurity transformation? Best practices for success

Why is cybersecurity transformation important?

Cybersecurity transformation is vital in today's interconnected world, where technological advancements outpace traditional security measures. As organizations digitize their operations and adopt cloud computing, IoT devices and AI-driven processes, the attack surface for malicious actors expands exponentially. Cyber threats have evolved from simple phishing attempts to sophisticated ransomware campaigns, nation-state-sponsored attacks, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Without a proactive approach to cybersecurity transformation, organizations risk facing catastrophic breaches that can severely damage their reputation and financial stability.

Additionally, regulatory landscapes are changing rapidly, with governments and industry bodies enforcing stricter compliance requirements. New U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules require public companies to disclose material cybersecurity incidents and demonstrate oversight at the board level. Failing to implement and report on cybersecurity measures can lead to shareholder litigation and regulatory fines.

Cybersecurity transformation ensures that organizations remain agile and compliant, embedding security into every layer of their operations. By prioritizing security as a core business function, companies can protect sensitive data and build trust with customers, partners and stakeholders, while reinforcing their market position.

At its core, cybersecurity transformation is about shifting the perspective of security from being a reactive checkbox to a strategic enabler of business growth. It fosters a culture of resilience, where security teams collaborate with business leaders to integrate risk management into long-term planning. When cybersecurity becomes a shared responsibility across all departments, organizations can confidently embrace innovation.

Does your organization need cybersecurity transformation?

Below are some critical questions a leader might consider when determining whether their organization needs cybersecurity transformation:

• Is your organization consistently experiencing security incidents?
  • If so, are you seeking to identify root causes or focusing on the symptoms without addressing the problem?
• Are all departments actively engaged in cybersecurity practices?
  • Is there business participation in disaster recovery exercises?
  • Does the business maintain and practice downtime resiliency plans?
  • Are there regular tabletop exercises that incorporate business leadership to role-play incidents and identify opportunities to address shortcomings before they occur in an actual incident?
• Are employees required to take annual training on cybersecurity best practices?
  • Does your organization regularly test to determine the effectiveness of the training, such as a phishing simulation?
• Is your cybersecurity independently assessed by a third party against recognized frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF)?

Addressing these questions can provide valuable insights into a security program's weaknesses and opportunities, paving the way for meaningful cybersecurity transformation.

Benefits of cybersecurity transformation

By modernizing security frameworks, technologies and practices, organizations can achieve multiple benefits. These benefits highlight why cybersecurity transformation is essential for organizations looking to thrive in this complex threat environment while still maintaining a competitive advantage.

• Risk management. Improved ability to identify, assess, prioritize, and mitigate or manage risks effectively.
• Business resilience. Minimized downtime, enabling IT teams to fully recover systems based on recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives.
• Improved compliance. Alignment with regulations and industry standards, avoiding penalties and reputational damage.
• Strengthened trust. Bolstered confidence from stakeholders, clients and customers in the organization's security posture.
• Cost management. Reduced financial losses from breaches and reduced costs for cyber insurance.
• Business enablement. Encourage the adoption of secure technologies and practices through standard architectures, enabling rapid deployment.

How to implement cybersecurity transformation

This five-step framework provides a practical roadmap and starting point for organizations to improve their security posture with a cybersecurity transformation.

1. Assess the current cybersecurity program by using a third-party assessment to evaluate its maturity level against common frameworks, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. This will uncover strengths and weaknesses within your program.
2. Align your organization's risk register or risk priorities against the cybersecurity framework. Ensure that your organization's top risk priorities are aligned with the maturity score corresponding to each risk. For example, if your organization's top risk is third-party risk, ensure that your cybersecurity supply chain risk management (NIST 2.0 GV.SC) capability is appropriately mature.
3. Address cybersecurity technologies in terms of both technical debt and establishing standards to prevent future spread. For example, don't focus your attention entirely on patch and vulnerability management of existing systems. Establish baseline standards to prevent systems from being deployed into production environments without the necessary patches and technical controls. Focus on replacing legacy systems versus bringing them up to standard.
4. Build an employee training and awareness program. Unfortunately, end users are a common weakness that malicious actors often exploit. Ensuring your end users are vigilant about suspicious emails and requests not only strengthens your cybersecurity program but also ensures that everyone understands that cyber defenses are not just the responsibility of the cybersecurity department.
5. Develop a communication plan that addresses the concerns of the board and executive leadership and includes front-line workers who are likely to experience the impacts of new security tools firsthand, such as data loss prevention. Invite stakeholders from all business lines to participate in technology rollouts and develop a Cybersecurity Champion program.

Challenges of cybersecurity transformation

Organizations embarking on cybersecurity transformation often face numerous obstacles, with some of the main challenges including:

• Executive buy-in and employee resistance. Culture is key to the success of cybersecurity transformation. Getting all employees and executives to understand the importance of the cybersecurity transformation can be difficult and is often one of the biggest cybersecurity challenges. Regular communication and training are essential to help create the culture needed to address cybersecurity needs on all levels.
• Resource constraints. Limited cybersecurity budgets and a shortage of skilled personnel can hinder the implementation of comprehensive cybersecurity improvements. According to Cyberseek, there are currently over 500,000 available cybersecurity positions in the U.S. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, cybersecurity salaries exhibited geographic variability. Today, organizations are competing for talent, demanding salaries that were previously reserved for the East and West coasts.
• Cross-department collaboration. Ensuring alignment and effective communication across all business lines is essential, but it is often difficult to achieve. My former CISO stated, "We want cybersecurity to be something we do with you and not to you." Before launching a cybersecurity transformation program, invest the time in building relationships with business leaders. Create a cross-representative cyber risk committee from various departments to help address security issues throughout the organization. This committee should also meet regularly with the CISO and other security leaders to address any security concerns.

How AI is changing cybersecurity transformation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how organizations operate across all facets of business, including cybersecurity. Adopting AI processes and workflows can reduce or eliminate the need for entry-level cybersecurity analysts, enabling organizations to focus on strategy and business alignment. Below are some areas that organizations should consider using AI as part of their cybersecurity transformation.

• Automation of routine tasks. AI automates repetitive tasks, such as incident prioritization and log analysis, freeing up cybersecurity teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced threat detection. AI-driven systems can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, identifying anomalous behavior and potential threats more quickly than traditional methods.
• Improved incident response. AI-powered tools streamline incident response processes by providing actionable insights and reducing the time taken to mitigate breaches.

However, AI has some security risks, including adversarial attacks that manipulate input data for harmful outputs and data breaches. When implementing AI in the organization, creating an AI security policy will help mitigate any security issues.

As AI adoption accelerates, C-level leaders will be held responsible for its safe and ethical use. The EU AI Act and emerging U.S. policies hold organizations accountable for AI model bias, explainability and data usage. This is why cybersecurity transformation must also include AI governance, such as creating an AI ethics committee or adopting frameworks such as NIST AI RMF, to maintain stakeholder trust and compliance.

John Doan is the senior director of cybersecurity advisory and cybersecurity domain architect for a world-renowned healthcare organization.