How do you align cybersecurity goals with your mission and vision?

Cyber security is not a part time job or an afterthought. Even though it's not your core competency it must be part of all your plans, from idea to delivery. Embed cyber security in all your processes and make it part of your core values.

Cybersecurity will help work towards shaping policies, educating the public, and advocating for cybersecurity awareness to mitigate risks and foster a more secure digital environment

Cybersecurity goals should be to enable innovation and growth of the business while building customer and employee trust. This can be done by focusing on what matters most to achieve the vision.

The state of cybersecurity will rapidly improve globally as soon everyone -- employees, executives, boards, regulators, and reflectively GPT that generated this article -- stop calling it "an issue" and begin handling it as a business function.

In today's world of technology, keeping your information safe from hackers and protecting the trust of your customers and partners is extremely important. Cybersecurity is not just an option anymore; it's a must-have. As cyber threats and attacks are on the rise, it's important that everything you do, including how you run your business, develop products, and offer services, follows the best practices of cybersecurity.

Regularly scheduling audits should not be seen as a sign of ongoing problems, but ongoing solutions. In a field where the threat is constantly changing, evolving, and improving, you’re never going to be done assessing. Make audits part of the framework of a normal battle rhythm and it will continue to serve you well and keep your network security at the forefront of your goals and priorities.

Only when an organization understands its current maturity levels and baseline metrics is it possible to carve out a roadmap to where it wants to position itself against its own organization objectives. Using other tools such as a SWAT or PESTLE analysis can also add value in mapping current and future states.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” As part of any business operation, audits are essential for quality assurance and ensuring that we are on the right path.

Having a realistic and unbiased view of where you are today is the self-awareness needed to being the journey of improvement. Where it's alignment to industry best practices, accepted standards, or regulatory requirements, it's important to select the most appropriate measurement of "now".

A North Star (or constellation) is important for any journey. Simple, clear desired state that is agreed with key stakeholders and supports the business vision and mission. The "how" to get there can change along the way, but the destination must be well established, socialized and agreed.

Be practical in assigning and allocating resources both technical and human. There is a difference between a financial institution and a small-medium business.

It’s one thing developing a strategy and road map and another sharing it with all interested parties. Without full transparency and shared vision the strategy is destined to failure from the start. Make a point of sharing the vision at every opportunity and make sure you know it back to front.