Cybersecurity as the backbone of Business Reinvention and Resilience

The possible worst outcome of such relation to cybersecurity can be clearly seen in the example of an American healthcare provider, Wood Ranch Medical. In December 2019, the company had to announce a permanent shutdown due to a ransomware attack that caused severe damage to the infected servers making file recovery impossible (Hashim 2023).

This case and many other cases of cyberattacks show possible catastrophic results of such attacks, thus making cybersecurity a crucial component in the businesses’ resilience. Furthermore, according to an Accenture report, implementation of cybersecurity programs with the company’s business goal in mind can more likely benefit the organization’s revenue growth by 18%. Also, such  companies that integrate vital cybersecurity measures into their initiatives for digital transformation and implement robust cybersecurity operational strategies across the entire enterprise, have a greater chance – six times more – to achieve more successful digital transformations compared to those that doesn’t consider both of these aspects. (Dal Cin, Fox, Sidhu & Nunn-Price 2023.)

This underscores the profound role cybersecurity plays in not only fortifying a company’s defenses but also in driving its capacity for innovation, adaptation – key elements of successful business reinvention – and overall success (Cisco 2023).

But how can cybersecurity drive enterprise reinvention and support business resilience at the same time?

While enhancing protection against cyberattacks leads to increased financial resources available for company growth, it is not less important to consider the time of a deployment phase of integrating security controls.  According to Accenture´s report only 18 % of the respondents implement these controls after finalizing transformations, provided vulnerabilities are found. However, this reactive approach risks higher costs and potential drawbacks. (Dal Cin, Fox, Sidhu & Nunn-Price 2023.)

Accenture report emphasizes that identifying coding errors that come from inadequate application security during coding rather than initial planning can cost five times more to fix. Furthermore, the cost can be escalated tremendously, from five to thirty times after the product is released. (Dal Cin et al. 2023, 5.) Thus, proactive security integration not only safeguards systems but also avoids substantial expenses, freeing up resources for improving employees’ safety or successfully adapting to changing market trends leading to reinvention of the whole enterprise.

Despite the importance of cybersecurity management, companies often rely on the traditional in-house model, which can disrupt business resilience at some point, particularly for smaller firms with limited resources and expertise. Instead, a more effective approach is cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) where companies regardless of size can delegate this responsibility to the organizations that provide varied cybersecurity capabilities to protect their data and systems from cyberattacks effectively (Dal Cin et al. 2023; Georgescu 2022).

In-house method often comes with high costs and demanding maintenance. As our global economy becomes increasingly digital, safeguarding data and systems against cyber threats is imperative. In contrast, CSaaS simplifies cybersecurity management by centralizing resources and optimizing allocation. Its scalability addresses the evolving nature of cybersecurity needs, and automated threat detection swiftly thwarts potential attacks while safeguarding crucial data. Integrated security solutions within CSaaS provide robust protection against diverse online threats (Georgescu 2022; Unni 2022).

With the CSaaS, businesses can be more agile and save a lot of their resources on enhancing business resilience. Additionally, utilizing CSaaS can alleviate the burden on a company’s HR team, as there will be no need to hire new personnel for this specific model (Unni 2022).

If a company maintains an in-house team of cybersecurity experts, these professionals might find themselves overworking due to the substantial amount of data processing and number of tasks vital for maintaining cybersecurity at a high level within the company (Essential Tech 2021). However, this is where emerging technologies offer invaluable assistance in boosting employee productivity and operational efficiency. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have the potential to significantly enhance automation within cybersecurity processes, potentially saving up to 50% of the time that would otherwise be spent on manual tasks (EC-Council University 2023).

Nevertheless, these technologies give favorable results only if the employees are well-trained to work with them. At the same time, untrained employees who misuse technology unintended will make the business more vulnerable to cyberattacks (Infoguard Cyber Security 2022).

And even though adopting new technologies would cost a lot of resources for the company, the future advantages that automation would bring completely justify the initial investment. For instance, according to an IBM report, many companies that integrated AI-powered automation manage to enhance their threats detection by 30% in terms of speed while improving response time to incidents, making the business more resilient (Muppidi, Fisher & Parham 2022).

Business resilience is what propels enterprises to become a successful company, enabling them to handle risks and challenges effectively. The example of Wood Ranch Medical’s closure highlights the consequences of cybersecurity neglect. But the strategies discussed here offer a path to a different outcome.

By aligning cybersecurity goals with business objectives, adopting preemptive security measures, utilizing the cybersecurity-as-a-service model, and embracing new technologies, businesses not only defend themselves from potential cyberattacks but also drive innovation and adaptation – key components of successful reinvention and, consequently, business resilience. Thus, cybersecurity secures and empowers, guiding businesses toward a resilient future.