Deloitte Cyber & Strategic Risk 2023 Predictions | Embracing Change and Uncertainty with Grit and Resilience

As we move into a post-pandemic world, change is more prevalent than ever. The #cybersecurity industry is no stranger to it. In fact, change spurred by the pandemic—from emerging technologies creating new threats to a reimagined workforce reshaping how teams are viewed—has uncovered new business risks and challenges. Viewing cybersecurity simply as a necessary step to mitigate risk leaves significant opportunities on the table. It’s critical that organizational leaders view cybersecurity not only as a challenge, but also as an opportunity and a business enabler that can accelerate growth. Instead of shying away from disruption, it’s important to lean into these inflection points. By remaining steadfast in our vision, meeting the moment with the grit and curiosity that fuels innovative approaches, and unlocking opportunities that differentiate marketplace impact, we enable organizations to outpace their competitors.

In the spirit of disruption, it’s no surprise that Deloitte ’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk team embraced change in 2022, helping our clients discover creative ways to maximize new opportunities, while navigating complexity, to drive their business forward.   Looking ahead, embracing change as the only constant, let’s encourage one another to evolve conversations and actions about cybersecurity. The discussions typically start with protection of critical assets (and cost optimization – not to mention modernization and performance), but the conversation should not end there. To prepare for the opportunities ahead (and fully realize potential!), the conversations need to include reflection on the challenges experienced in the past year—applying lessons learned—to steer through (and accelerate!) the opportunities around the corner. With a focus on leveraging cybersecurity as a powerful business enabler, we can tackle challenges, especially during times of intense competition and disruption.

Talking with my Deloitte US Cyber & Strategic Risk colleagues, we devised several shared predictions based on our experiences regarding the cyber and risk landscape and its continued evolution. More importantly, we formulated ways businesses can catalyze change to be better prepared for the future. Here are three considerations as you prepare for the changes ahead:

Prioritizing security in emerging technologies will be important in building (and retaining!) customer trust.

My colleague Kieran Norton , Deloitte’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk – Emerging Technology Leader, expects the application of IoT, Blockchain, 5G, Quantum, and other technologies to evolve as organizations and consumers adapt in this uncertain world. These technologies create opportunities to streamline customer experiences, with successful adoption of new technology depending on organizations’ ability to build trust into these operations…and where else to start but with the early adoption (and integration) of security measures. Often, that’s easier said than done.

Organizations (and their products and assets) will need to embrace data privacy, security, and compliance on behalf of customers to create secure, agile operations that customers can trust. If organizations fail to cultivate security-minded teams collaborating with the business (in the early stages of development), they risk jeopardizing customer relationships at a time when brand reputation is a priority – organizations need to be proactive in their readiness.

“Digital engagement between businesses and customers is a new way of life. With that, digital engagement has brought heightened awareness among customers, vendors, and alliances to have greater control over their data and increased transparency about organizations’ policies surrounding data handling, breaches, and security,” said Criss Bradbury , Deloitte’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk – Data & Privacy Leader. “As a result, there’s a growing sense of urgency for organizations to enable dimensions of trust to bolster traditional methods for strengthening customer experience and brand perception,” he said.

As attack surfaces expand, organizational resilience is critical.

Emerging technologies are opening new possibilities for organizations to digitize their operations, create operational efficiencies, and connect with more customers in new ways, as my colleague Vikram Kunchala , Deloitte’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk Cloud Leader, recently discussed.

“The proliferation of cloud services and the advent of new development methodologies like DevOps are creating unprecedented possibilities, driving many organizations to migrate to the cloud and modernize existing applications. This evolution presents opportunities for business growth through accelerated development, enhanced scalability and collaboration, new revenue streams, business agility, and greater technical resilience,” he said.

He noted that while cloud transformation is a mechanism to drive innovation and competitive advantage, organizations should also stay vigilant to avoid regulatory missteps and damaging cyberattacks if security is not woven into the transformation process. As the world becomes even more interconnected, organizations’ attack surfaces are expanding, creating exposure to more vulnerabilities and risks.

With that in mind, the evolving hyperconnected, digitally driven world, inclusive of secure DevOps, means resilience—the ability to adapt to change, overcome challenges, and come back stronger—is an organizational imperative. It’s one of the foundational elements of strong cybersecurity and risk management programs that are equipped to respond to expanding attack surfaces, including those within the cloud and across digital operations.

“To address challenges ranging from natural catastrophe-driven supply chain disruption to DDoS attack operational disruption, organizations need to establish resilient digital operations to enhance their situational awareness on emerging threats and improve their ability to respond to disruptions,” said Pete Renneker , Deloitte’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk – Cyber Technical Resilience Leader.

The labor market is changing – providing an opportunity to develop cyber and tech talent in unexpected places.

In the year ahead, and as organizations continue to address work (and talent) models, it’s imperative to challenge the orthodox workforce expectations by addressing the newly created tensions and reimagining the possibilities for professionals. Organizations will need to consider alternatives such as outsourcing management of core cybersecurity functions – not only to streamline day-to-day management, but also to leverage talent to deliver cybersecurity for mission critical functions. That way, businesses can focus on strategic business initiatives (recognizing a continued cybersecurity talent shortage). Building teams to meet these client needs requires diverse skillsets. In some cases, we’re creating talent opportunities in unexpected places, including discovering and training talent who may not have traditional technology and cybersecurity backgrounds.

“At Deloitte, we have several game-changing programs underway to help address the talent shortage and foster the next generation of cyber and technology talent, including our Deloitte x Flatiron School Deloitte Cyber Career Accelerator,” said Jennifer Sullivan , Deloitte’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk – Strategic Growth Offering Talent Leader.

“The program focuses on recruiting our next class of cybersecurity trainees by providing a competitive training program for candidates with little to no cybersecurity experience and giving them the opportunity to learn essential skills across cybersecurity and cloud computing. Innovative training programs—grounded in real-world experience—are fostering the next generation of cyber talent that industries need to build future-ready businesses.”

Deloitte offers trainees who complete the program and meet hiring requirements a full-time position in Deloitte’s US Cyber & Strategic Risk Practice. We are incredibly proud of our recent class of graduates (congratulations!), and we are looking forward to the next class to begin shortly. I can’t wait to learn about their experiences…and #WhyCyber is their passion – and YOURS!

We have a lot of exciting changes ahead, especially as businesses continue their transform journey. The industry’s evolution shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, change will likely only accelerate this year, creating new and more complex conditions for organizations and their teams to navigate and opportunities to uncover – so be sure to proactively view the landscape. This year, it’s vital to be resilient – lean into change (and drive it!), stay agile, and adapt to #CreatingTheChange for the future!!

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