Page 189 - Cyber Defense eMagazine April 2023

• Convey your risk philosophy.
o We can’t eliminate risk, so we rely instead on experience and intuition that inform a
strategic hierarchy of vulnerabilities and philosophies that drive remediation strategies.
o Convey a pragmatic strategy that identifies the company’s unique threat landscape and
what types of attacks it’s likely to face.
o Make sure to communicate what factors can be controlled, what risks the company is
willing to take, and how those decisions are made.

• Incorporate the supply chain
o Work with all supply chain partners to ensure they meet your security standards and that
you meet theirs.
o Commit to each other and to your mutual customers and stakeholders that you adhere to
the highest standards and best risk management practices along physical and digital
supply chains.

• Leverage a multi-pronged communication approach
o Prepare PR, IR, and legal teams to move with every incident. Collaborate using the
Trust Center to develop a “damage report” process that makes sense of breaches when
they happen and communicates remediation strategy in real-time.
o Integrate security posture into periodic financial reporting. After one of history’s worst
identity thefts in 2017, Equifax bounced back with a corporate overhaul, including an
annual report that specifically communicates and elevates security as an investor value
proposition.
o Confirm to the board of directors that security costs for tools and controls can translate
into platform-enabled, seamless systems that deliver better financial performance.
o Integrate Trust Center content into sales team materials and communications. If
presenting the company for acquisition or future financing, incorporate security culture
and updates into your pitch deck.

Circle of Trust

All stakeholders want confidence in their relationships and within their spheres of influence. No one wants
to buy from or do business with companies they can’t rely on. No one can afford to buy and hold the
assets of a company – or allow that company to acquire or merge with another – without an enhanced
level of trust in today’s cloud-exposed environments.

Management must re-calibrate security and trust as bedrock business principles and prioritize
transparency and cyber integrity throughout all enterprise communications.

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