Secure All Together: 5 Principles for Building a Culture of Cybersecurity

Cyber attacks continue to grow in volume, speed and sophistication. With the proliferation of ransomware, increasingly cunning identity-based breaches and complex geopolitics of nation-state actors, cyber adversaries are a threat to everyone, everywhere. The traditional perimeter-based security model has been turned on its head by digital transformation, remote work, IoT, cloud computing and now the rapid adoption of AI. Cyber teams must balance proper protective measures with the innovation that business leaders demand. 

Despite the unprecedented risk to organizations, security is still too often an afterthought bolted on at the end of projects rather than included in the development of every initiative. 

That doesn't mean catastrophe is inevitable or that we should live in fear. At WWT, we empower organizations and their employees, customers, partners and communities to stand together against cybersecurity threats. 

When we work together — across all departments of an organization, in partnership with vendors and between peer organizations — we are better equipped to keep our organizations and communities safe from the looming threat of breaches. 

We've identified five core principles to help CISOs break down silos across departments and lines of business; integrate the right mix of OEMs, vendors, partners and trusted advisors; and work peer-to-peer across the broader security community to share knowledge and harden attack surfaces. This framework is designed for security leaders across industries to make our world more secure, all together.

Principle 1:  Make cybersecurity the core of your organization's strategy and operations 

Cybersecurity can no longer be a task relegated to the realm of IT. Today, protecting your data, assets and applications requires a foundational shift: Putting cybersecurity at the intersection of everything and embracing it as a core element of organizational strategy, culture and growth. 

With rising threats, regulatory scrutiny and the financial impact of breaches, cybersecurity has become a board-level imperative. With this increased influence and scrutiny, the role of the CISO is transforming, with organizational and personal liability intensifying the pressure. Security and risk leaders must be prepared to articulate the organizational risk posture in business terms and demonstrate how the security program — and budget — is mitigating the most pressing threats. 

In this environment, security must span virtually every facet of business — and CISOs must lead the charge. Every employee has a critical role to play within human resources, marketing, business lines, boards and senior leadership. Security training can help staff members recognize and avoid sophisticated social engineering and phishing attempts, while incident response playbooks and tabletop exercises ensure each department knows the specific actions to take in case of a breach. 

Together, we can make security a core strategic priority for our organizations.

Principle 2: Gain clarity on the assets and threats that matter most 

The IT and cybersecurity landscape has never been more complex. Amid the chaos and noise, many security teams have rushed to purchase and implement point technology solutions to combat the latest threats. Most organizations have dozens, if not hundreds, of security tools that overlap and don't communicate with each other. 

The resulting shift toward vendor consolidation and platformization adds complexity and uncertainty for security leaders making technology decisions. At the same time, unsegmented networks, mounting technical debt, and legacy hardware and software leave organizations vulnerable to a breach. 

It's impossible to protect every asset against every threat. With finite resources, CISOs must focus protection where it matters most. How do you know what to prioritize and get the most out of your existing tooling?  

Gain clarity on the threats and assets that matter most to your business. Comprehensive visibility of your entire IT ecosystem is an essential first step. A holistic view of the network infrastructure, including users, assets, data, devices and AI systems, and visibility into third-party vendors and supply chain, will help you determine the assets most important to your business. 

Ask yourself: What applications and services are critical to keeping the business running? This will form the roadmap to creating a clear plan on how to address and remediate the most pressing threats. 

In light of recent high-profile supply chain attacks, third-party risk management should be treated as a strategic function, not just a compliance requirement. Every partner with access to your systems or data — from accounting software to industrial control systems — should be vetted thoroughly, with cybersecurity teams assessing potential vulnerabilities before onboarding and continuously monitoring evolving threats.

Together, we can gain comprehensive visibility to secure our most critical assets.

Principle 3: Prioritize resilience to keep the business running 

Security breaches are becoming increasingly common. The principles of cyber resilience — anticipate, withstand, recover and adapt — can help organizations keep mission-critical processes up and running when a cyber attack occurs. 

But potential breaches are not the only factor shaping the cybersecurity industry, nor the only thing security teams need to plan for. CISOs need to prepare to weather any storm while minimizing disruption and protecting the organization's most important assets. 

Design your security strategy with resilience in mind and keep your business moving forward above the chaos. This requires the right mix of people, skillsets, technology and partners working in harmony against cyber threats. 

Consider the following questions to determine if your security strategy is built to endure:  

• Are you prepared to block and contain an attack to limit the damage when your network is breached?
• If you were to be hit with ransomware today, do you have playbooks in place to respond and recover?
• Are your most critical systems and data backed up, segmented and recoverable?
• Do you have the necessary talent on your staff to manage an attack, or do you need to outsource certain functions?

Together, we can prepare for everything to build a more resilient business. 

Principle 4: Exercise rigor and build confidence in security initiatives  

The threat landscape is constantly changing and evolving; what works today won't work tomorrow. There is simply no room for complacency. Your approach must be rigorous, precise and thorough across the entire spectrum of your cybersecurity program.

Small habits will set you up for long-term success in day-to-day security hygiene. At a minimum, organizations must meet various standards, regulations and frameworks and be prepared for potential audits or face steep fines. It's also imperative to stay rigorous about software updates and patches. 

Then you can move toward a more measured, risk-based approach that incorporates automation, secure agile development and DevSecOps approaches. Cyber range exercises are an excellent way to hone the technical skills of your cybersecurity team members in both red team (attack) and blue team (defend) scenarios. 

Together, we can inspire confidence in cybersecurity through precision and rigor.

Principle 5: Embrace creativity and boldness to outmatch adversaries  

Cybersecurity teams must maintain constant vigilance to prevent, detect and respond to breaches. Hackers only need to get it right once, and they have an extremely compelling profit motive to keep trying. Without the barriers that slow down governments and businesses, adversaries can continually evolve their approach to circumvent the latest cybersecurity measures. 

To outmatch these adversaries, cybersecurity practitioners must shed preconceived notions of what's possible and innovate at the speed of hackers. Embrace creativity and boldness and seek out diverse perspectives in utilizing your people, processes and technology. 

For example, nearly all organizations are affected by the talent shortage in the security space. Think outside the box when it comes to recruiting. Are there existing team members in your organization who are interested in practicing cybersecurity? An employee with a law background could be an asset in preparing for and navigating how to respond to ransomware attacks. 

AI is rapidly becoming a powerful force multiplier for cybersecurity teams, helping defenders think faster and act smarter. Today, practitioners are using AI-driven tools to detect deepfakes and voice clones, automate routine help desk requests, and create incident reports and threat intelligence summaries — freeing up analysts to focus on high-impact work. 

Looking ahead, AI has the potential to play an even more strategic role, from proactively predicting attack paths to enabling autonomous cyber defense that adapts in real time. Embracing this technology with creativity and caution will be key to staying a step ahead of increasingly sophisticated adversaries.

Together, we can innovate to stay competitive and secure.

Get started today 

These five principles serve as your roadmap to proactively build security into your business. No matter where you are in your cybersecurity journey, our team can advise, architect and transform your security organization from idea to secure outcome. WWT's cybersecurity solutions bring together business acumen with full-stack technical know-how to develop innovative solutions that address your most complex cyber challenges.