Page 51 - Cyber Defense eMagazine July 2024

The Undeniable but Often Overlooked Human Element Of

Cybersecurity

By Sam Rehman, SVP, Chief Information Security Officer at EPAM Systems, Inc.

It is firmly established that there is no such thing as 100% security – in fact, a security breach is not a
matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ In other words, risk will always exist, and businesses need to shift their thinking
from completely neutralizing it (which is impossible) to managing it accordingly.

Despite this reality, many business leaders unfortunately expect and demand 100% security from their
teams. Because such a posture is impossible, companies will settle for a false sense of security to allow
their people to function. This mindset is not only incorrect but irresponsible.

Business leaders must abandon this outdated notion of 100% security and adopt a mindset of risk
management. This strategy asks questions about the size of the blast radius and how long it takes teams
to detect and remediate. Such an approach also recognizes that humans play a fundamental role in
cybersecurity – namely, managing risk – and adjusts strategies and processes appropriately.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – July 2024 Edition 51
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