With indicators of an economic downturn on the horizon, forward-looking cybersecurity leaders are seeking ways to do more with less without negatively impacting their security posture. This often means taking a hard look at your tech stack to see how you can make better use of what you already have—and cut out the weaker links. 

But to prioritize cybersecurity investments and rationalize your portfolio, you first need to truly understand what your current set of security controls can and can’t do. The challenge is, with so many solutions out there, it can be difficult to get a firm grasp on how each control behaves and covers existing attacks within your security stack.

This is where the importance of simulating real-world attacks and leveraging real data comes into play. By running automated simulations, you can safely, efficiently, and continuously monitor the progress of any given attack scenario and understand precisely where the attack is effectively detected, blocked or successfully breaches your environment. You can also determine how well your controls function against various attacks, from basic logging or detection to complete prevention. 

Finally, a simulated attack scenario will help you assess when a breach is the result of a misconfigured control or if the control doesn’t account for the attack at all. In the latter case, you will know you have a gap in your portfolio and can start to evaluate what’s needed for remediation.

Show Your Data

You know all too well the importance of maintaining your security budget, but how will your board feel if your business is experiencing financial uncertainty? Cybersecurity shouldn’t be treated as a luxury expense, especially during uncertain economic times. The threat landscape has evolved. Today’s attacks are increasingly complex, with multiple steps in the attack kill chain that can be detected and blocked. When prioritizing investments, you should look at what will give you the biggest bang for your buck, and if you do need to invest in a new tool, be sure to obtain the necessary data to back up your assertion of that need.

Bringing real data to your board will help you justify, expedite, and secure the necessary funds to make the best investment for your security program. And on the flip side, when your portfolio is fully effective, you can then go back to the board with the good news, sharing the evidence that demonstrates control efficacy and a return on your investment (ROI). 

Maximize the Potential of Your Existing Portfolio

Gear acquisition syndrome is real. We all love shiny new tools, so we fall into the trap of thinking the new cool vendor on the block has all the answers. I’ve seen too many security departments take the wrong approach of adding more and more security technologies thinking that will make them more secure. It’s easy enough to buy a new tool and run the basic install, but if your solution isn’t configured and customized correctly to your business needs, it’s not going to be an effective security control—and in fact can put your organization at greater risk. 

Before you go shopping, be sure the perfect outfit isn’t already hanging in your closet—and in the case of your cybersecurity stack, stop buying new tools before you’ve tested the efficacy of your existing portfolio. SafeBreach provides continuous security validation powered by our breach and attack simulation (BAS) platform. And we don’t just validate your controls—we give you real results to take quick action so you can remediate gaps and drive ROI faster by consolidating software costs around what’s truly working for your security posture (and hold vendors accountable).

Stay tuned for more CISO-to-CISO insights on navigating the looming economic uncertainty. Want to learn more about how the SafeBreach BAS platform can help optimize your portfolio? Connect with a SafeBreach cybersecurity expert to discuss how we test the efficacy of your controls or schedule a personalized demo today to see for yourself.