We are navigating through the fresh year; people often feel a renewed sense of energy and motivation to reflect on significant changes they wish to make and determine how best to achieve them. This period also coincides with the end of the “prediction season,” where the security community anticipates the challenges and hot topics that may arise. Although many individuals make predictions about security, the real challenge lies in turning these predictions into tangible outcomes. Therefore, consider setting resolutions for the coming year to transform these predictions into reality.

To ensure successful digital transformation, create unified security, infrastructure, and operations teams:

Since the world has already shifted towards a hybrid workforce, organizations face the challenge of balancing the competing needs of security and networking teams. Jason Clark, the Chief Security and Strategy Officer, highlighted in a 2022 blog that networking teams prioritize network performance and user experience, while security teams focus on visibility and protection. To address this dilemma, Jason recommends adopting a modern architecture, such as a converged Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. By leveraging a converged SASE architecture, companies can achieve a single point of inspection for traffic, enabling a sustainable, fast, secure, and cost-effective hybrid work experience. This approach is crucial in meeting the demands of both networking and security teams, as they work together to drive successful digital transformation in the upcoming year.

Improve technical and economic security by implementing more effective technologies and processes:

As economic conditions remain uncertain, organizations must prioritize the ongoing evaluation and maintenance of their security measures to ensure continued protection. In a recent two-part article series for Forbes, Field CTO Steve Riley outlined critical strategies for assessing the effectiveness of existing processes and technologies, empowering people, and optimizing the impact of security resources. Steve emphasizes that improving the efficiency of processes and technologies can increase the value of an organization’s personnel, ultimately enhancing overall security effectiveness. Therefore, it’s crucial for companies to focus on enhancing their security measures through constant evaluation, empowering their employees, and maximizing their security resources.

Be sure to communicate the business value of your security program throughout the year:

As budget season approaches, security leaders must effectively communicate the value of their program to the board to ensure continued funding for upcoming projects. In a recent article for HelpNet Security, James Christiansen, the VP and CSO Cloud Strategy, highlights the key elements of a strong security business case. Specifically, security and technology leaders must articulate how their program aligns with the organization’s overall business objectives, such as facilitating agility, cost management, and risk mitigation. Additionally, they should provide regular status updates to their management team, educating them on progress and setting expectations for future budget cycles. By effectively communicating the value of their security program, leaders can secure the resources needed to drive success and enhance overall organizational security.

Security teams and leaders should place a high priority on mental health:

The security industry is known for high level of stress and potential for burnout and other mental health concerns. As a result, prioritizing the well-being of security teams has become a pressing issue for security leaders in 2023. By addressing mental health, security leaders can mitigate potential risks from a burnt-out workforce, including insider threats and security breaches due to errors and negligence. In a two-part series for Dark Reading, Shamla Naidoo, Head of Cloud Strategy and Innovation, emphasized the importance of addressing mental health in the workplace. Naidoo recommends that companies prioritize promoting work-life balance for security professionals and creating a safe environment for mental health support. Additionally, equipping CISOs with simple tools to manage stress can help them perform their already demanding roles without distractions. As Naidoo notes, addressing mental health concerns is crucial for both maintaining corporate security and attracting and retaining top security talent.

Conclusion:

The most important details in this text are the four key resolutions for security leaders in 2023. These include creating unified security, infrastructure, and operations teams, balancing the needs of security, and networking teams, adopting a modern architecture, improving technical and economic security, assessing the effectiveness of existing processes and technologies, empowering people, and optimizing the impact of security resources.

Additionally, organizations must prioritize the ongoing evaluation and maintenance of their security measures to ensure continued protection. Steve emphasizes that improving the efficiency of processes and technologies can increase the value of an organization’s personnel, ultimately enhancing overall security effectiveness. Companies should focus on enhancing their security measures through constant evaluation, empowering their employees, and maximizing their security resources.

They should also communicate the business value of their security program to the board and place a high priority on mental health. Additionally, companies should prioritize promoting work-life balance for security professionals and creating a safe environment for mental health support.