Page 111 - Cyber Defense eMagazine October 2023

Beyond Mere Compliance

Smart teams manage and mitigate cyber risks

By Michael Cocanower, CEO, AdviserCyber

Wise business owners don’t purchase fire alarms and sprinkler systems merely because their installation
is required by local building codes. Rather, they take pre-emptive steps to mitigate risks, protect the lives
of employees and customers and safeguard the value of their business’ inventories, data and equipment.

Yet too often we continue to see executives whose approach to cybersecurity — compliance rather than
protection — is strikingly similar to that of the ill-advised business owner whose minimal fire protection is
designed only to meet the building code.

It’s clear, however, that Kemba Walden, the nation’s acting national cyber director, is committed to a
fundamental change in our approach to cybersecurity — a focus on investments in tools and skills that
provide protection, not mere compliance that allows executives to check a box.

A new national strategy

In her keynote address at BlackHat 2023 in early August, Walden straightforwardly laid out the Biden
Administration’s vision of a National Cybersecurity Strategy, one based on the adoption of the right
cybersecurity tools and the deployment of the best people. It’s not a strategy that simply sets a low bar

Cyber Defense eMagazine – October 2023 Edition 111
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