Page 45 - Cyber Defense eMagazine August 2024

Finding the golden source of truth

Ultimately the SEC’s regulations provide greater transparency, and give investors a fuller picture of an
organization’s cyber risk posture and what they are actually investing in. But this will put some CISOs in
a delicate position. While investors will be put off by what they see as a poor posture, the SEC will come
down hard on inaccurate reports. Yet this doesn’t mean those CISOs are in an unwinnable Catch-22.

Instead, as the stakes keep getting higher, CISOs need a system of record they can trust to ensure they
are reporting accurately and in good faith. A unified view of every asset throughout the business – where
it sits, who owns it, and who is responsible for its security – will let CISOs turn the lights on. They can
sue this contextual data to quantify risk, plug gaps, and tell a story to the board and ERM team in a
language they’ll understand.

The upshot of this should be a culture of accountability, where CISOs can hold colleagues responsible
by translating security into the language of technical and non-technical stakeholders alike. Each will have
their own relevant view of the same golden source of truthful data, and CISOs can use this to guide their
actions.

CISOs can then protect themselves on all sides: showing they have taken every step to improve risk
posture, demonstrating this improved posture to investors, and presenting the most accurate picture to
the SEC.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Prior to publication of this issue of Cyber Defense Magazine, a major portion of the
SEC action was rejected by the Federal District Court. https://www.msn.com/en-
us/money/companies/solarwinds-defeats-part-of-sec-s-fraud-case-over-hack/ar-BB1qedHX

“The SEC’s claim that SolarWinds didn’t reveal to shareholders the full scope of the attack was based on
“hindsight and speculation,” U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote. However, the judge let the
agency’s lawsuit proceed based on other claims SolarWinds made before the attack about its
cybersecurity defenses and risks.”

About the Author

As the Chief Customer Officer at Panaseer, a leading cybersecurity analytics
platform, Brian Levin leads the go-to-market (GTM) strategy and execution
for marketing, sales, and customer success. He has over 15 years of
experience in scaling early-stage B2B SaaS companies, achieving growth
rates of 30-200% annually at scales from $4M-$150M ARR. Brian can be
reached online at LinkedIn and at our company website
https://panaseer.com/.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – August 2024 Edition 45
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