3 reasons why you’re paying too much for your cybersecurity
You know the statistics. You’ve seen the headlines. Now you’re trying to do the right thing but you don’t have a plan. Is that causing you to spend too much on your cybersecurity?
Did you know that most businesses overspend on cybersecurity? This happens because businesses are too focused on adding new tools to their security stacks and not on understanding what they actually need.
Spending money on cybersecurity won’t help you if it’s not being done effectively. Are you shelling out too much money for your cybersecurity? Here are three reasons why you might be wasting your money.
Reason #1: You buy tools simply because they’re new
New = good, right?
Not always. In an industry that’s constantly evolving, investing in every new piece of security can get to be pricy and does not guarantee results. Unfortunately, there is no golden, one size fits all answer to solving security challenges. The real question is if you’re addressing your network’s true vulnerabilities. If you’re focusing on simply getting new tools because they’re new, you might be creating a false sense of security.
Reason #2: Your security tools aren’t doing what you expect
More than half of the cybersecurity industry’s money is invested in marketing. Really good marketing at that. They have shiny websites, great branding, and seemingly great features.
But while there is plenty of flashy marketing, there’s also inaccurate marketing. An ad may be persuasive, but it may not accurately show how a tool works. Marketing may simplify the concept or only scratch the surface of the complex problems your organization faces. The solution seems eloquent and a no-brainer thanks to marketing, but it really doesn’t work for you.
What does this mean?
Tools that disrupt things: These are the tools users might turn off to get specific work done.
Tools that require you to train them: Some tools rely on your team training them. If you don’t put in the time, some tools will never work. They require a lot of time to train and effectively implement. And if your environment changes? You’ll probably have to retrain that tool.
Tools may make very specific promises but those promises usually come with caveats.
Reason #3: You don’t have a cyber strategy
Are you frequently reassessing your security needs or are you just adding new tools?
It’s important to have a strategy that takes into consideration the following:
What are the most important parts of your business?
What data is critical and is the focus of your tools?
Do your core processes work with or against your security program?
If you layer tools within your environment, you may end up assuming everything is OK when you still have gaping holes.
What you want to do is invest time in planning a strategy. This will help alleviate much of your spending and reduce your security risks. Without taking this step, your team is likely overinvesting energy and money in certain areas while ignoring other important risks.
Security is a moving target. So are risks. If you don’t evaluate where those risks are and address them – whether with specific tools, changes to process, or a combination – you may be putting your organization at risk of an attack even if you’ve invested considerable money into your security program.
Successful companies invest in risk management.
The security puzzle boils down to accessing and managing risks. Risk management means knowing the following:
Where are your critical data assets?
How accessible are they?
What are the potential worst-case scenarios? Are you comfortable with the outcomes?
Until you start evaluating your risk and understanding how to mitigate, manage, and accept different risks on your network, you’re in the dark and potentially wasting time and money.
Sign up for a risk assessment at mark-greene.com/analysis and turn on the light.