Why Companies Spend Billions on Cybersecurity and Still Get Breached

A CEO of a large Canadian company in the critical infrastructure sector told us how she felt about cybersecurity, “I go to bed every night saying, please not me.” Her company has a generous cybersecurity budget, yet dread and insecurity still plague the executive suites. With the average data breach costing Canadian companies $5.64 million — according to Mastercard — it's no wonder that fear of an attack lingers, even with substantial investments in security.

Cybersecurity is a top concern as organizations innovate, transform, and change how they interact with customers and suppliers. Massive amounts of data move in and out of their systems, and threat actors exploit these opportunities to install malware/ransomware or steal sensitive information. However, per Mastercard, only 39% of businesses have implemented adequate security measures, leaving the majority exposed and vulnerable to attacks.

Your core business activities could be at risk without the proper security measures. For example, a website outage could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. No wonder cybersecurity is a high-priority item and has been gaining much attention in the boardroom for its role in building business resilience. 

Executives understand cybersecurity’s critical role, and many companies have invested significant sums in augmenting their defense. So why do they still fall victim to cyberattacks? A report by Marsh, a leading insurance broker and risk advisor, revealed that nearly 75% of organizations have experienced at least one cyberattack, making cyber resilience — the ability to recover from such attacks — more critical than ever.

The threat landscape is evolving rapidly, while changes in how we conduct business have opened new opportunities for criminals to attack organizations. This post examines why companies are spending billions in cybersecurity and still getting breached — and what they should do instead. In fact, global spending on security and risk management is expected to reach $215 billion in 2024 — as highlighted by Gartner — showing the scale of investment businesses are making to keep up with the growing threats.

Porous Enterprises Increase Vulnerability 

Organizations must stay ahead in today’s digital environment. Yet, digital transformation could be a double-edged sword. Technologies we employ to enhance business processes and remain competitive often create a porous enterprise vulnerable to attacks. 

• The proliferation of devices and the work-from-anywhere culture increase the attack surface, giving hackers more opportunities to breach a network. 

• A hybrid architecture can be challenging to monitor, and IT teams are stretched thin trying to maintain these complex infrastructures. 

• Improperly configured cloud solutions could expose sensitive business data and customer information to unauthorized access. 

• The interconnectedness of systems and networks may allow hackers to access sensitive data through one or a handful of compromised accounts. 

• The hyperconnected supply chain means criminals could breach your network and access your data through your partners and vendors. 

Organizations must implement comparable security measures to participate in the connected supply chain and business ecosystems. However, not every company can keep up with the demand. Those that fall behind become the weak links. Hackers can exploit their vulnerabilities to infiltrate their networks and other companies in the ecosystem. 

The Risk of Diminishing Returns: More Isn’t Always Better 

The rising number of cybersecurity incidents and the skyrocketing costs of data breaches are alarming, especially for regulators in sectors like finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure.  

Increasingly stringent privacy laws require companies to implement various measures to stay compliant. Many deploy disparate security software without a holistic strategy, attempting to cover all the bases. This approach results in a bloated security software portfolio, straining IT resources as they try to manage different systems and consoles.  

Poor integration of these piecemeal deployments leads to a lack of cohesive communication and coordination. Maintaining and managing multiple security applications often causes tools and vendor fatigue. Moreover, they generate separate logs and reports, creating audit and compliance nightmares as the data infrastructure grows. 

Meanwhile, multiple security software often have overlapping functions. The redundancy could lead to confusion or duplicate alerts that hinder timely incident response. 

The myriad security software may also create a false sense of security as companies assume they’ve covered all the bases. Yet, many have visibility blind spots because they didn’t have a holistic strategy to guide the selection and implementation of their security stacks. 

The increased IT workload caused by piecemeal, one-size-fits-all solutions does more harm than good . It leads to the frustration enterprises experience today: Spending billions yet not keeping up with the evolving cybersecurity landscape. 

The old approach of piling on yet another tool to address new security issues can’t solve today’s cybersecurity challenges. Playing whack-a-mole puts you in a reactive stance and won’t help you get ahead. It’s time to rethink how we approach cybersecurity. 

Security by Design: A Modern Approach to Cybersecurity 

Instead of treating cybersecurity as a standalone operation, organizations must incorporate security measures and controls into all their business activities. It’s not security for security's sake — an effective cybersecurity strategy must protect your business processes, allowing employees to perform their daily activities uninterrupted to maximize business value. 

So, what does a holistic approach to cybersecurity entail? 

Your security strategy should guide the consolidation of tools into platforms, using Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Extended Detect and Response (XDR) solutions to streamline network security monitoring and achieve a “single pane of glass” view of all network activities. 

Meanwhile, protection is just one part of the equation. Your approach must also focus on enhancing resilience and recovery to minimize disruptions caused by an incident. Business resilience is essential for preventing revenue and customer loss, increasing agility, and supporting effective risk management.

However, strengthening protection doesn’t mean isolating your infrastructure. Your cybersecurity strategy must support your business objectives — which often means enabling innovation and digital transformation while participating in the connected ecosystem of vendors and partners. 

As such, you should implement the appropriate controls and measures to capture value from cloud-native platforms and SaaS solutions. Also, unify your IT, IoT, and OT environments to create complete visibility across the enterprise ecosystem. 

Your strategy should support a secure modern workspace, like implementing cloud-based collaboration tools for remote and hybrid work, to enhance employee productivity and satisfaction. Also, address third-party risks to effectively participate in today’s connected supply chain while minimizing your enterprise's “porousness.” 

Furthermore, design ongoing improvement and compliance maintenance into your cybersecurity strategy. As attack techniques evolve, so do new security tools and data privacy regulations. Companies must continuously evaluate and upgrade their security stack, processes, and protocols to stay ahead. 

A Cybersecurity Strategy Designed Around Your IT Experience 

Cybersecurity is complex and fast-evolving. The old way of reacting to new threats with piecemeal solutions no longer offers sufficient protection. Enterprises need a proactive, holistic security strategy designed around their business requirements to turn the tables while achieving their business objectives with the latest technologies.  

That’s what we do at Compugen. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, we take the time to understand how everything is connected in your organization and how your employees experience technology to help them do what they do best.  

Security and recovery is just one piece of the puzzle. We also take the time to understand every aspect of your operations (e.g., asset management, hardware refresh, use of AI) to connect the dots and identify opportunities to improve your security posture.  

Learn more about our comprehensive cybersecurity services and get in touch to modernize your defense.