The past few years of global hardships have changed our world forever. While COVID-19 plagued the planet, we quickly reshaped communication, work, travel, finance, and security to adapt to a starkly different reality. Though many might say the pandemic came to a close in 2022, with well over 3.2 million cases reported globally in the last week, it seems we’ve reached more of an endemic than the actual end. And organizations are still dealing with expanded attack surfaces from the shift to hybrid and remote work, which sent vulnerability and cyber attack numbers soaring. 

The pandemic also provoked new security risks when millions of workers resigned in 2021 and 2022, a movement towards better career satisfaction known as the Great Resignation. Following this trend came regret for nearly half of those who quit their jobs and even a return to old positions for about 20 percent. Many businesses are still grappling with the security ramifications that came with the revolving door of employees. 

The year also began disastrously in Europe with Russia’s still-escalating attacks on Ukraine, which ushered in a new era of cyberwarfare. An era the private sector was not immune to: almost nine in ten businesses were targeted by attacks believed to be carried out by nation-state actors. As cyberwarfare modernizes, society adapts to endemic life, and vulnerabilities and attacks continue to escalate, organizations and individuals alike are pressed with the need for resilience. 

Building resilience to face an risk-fueled future

According to Gartner, these shared trials are just a taste of what’s to come. Earlier this year, the analyst firm released a handful of predictions that paint a sobering picture of business operations in the not-too-distant future. Gartner predicts that organizations will transform the way they operate to account for and mitigate increasing risks. However, many are already teeing up a future defined by resilience.

Risk-based approaches have helped security teams adapt to a world of increasing risk. Risk-based vulnerability management (RBVM) is a cybersecurity strategy that gathers threat intelligence to prioritize remediation of software vulnerabilities according to greatest risk. Over the past few years, RBVM has helped organizations significantly cut down on remediation time and maintain resilience. 

Part of that effort to build resilience lies in automated security processes. Automation is gaining ground in the industry as it helps teams streamline workflows, rally around shared goals, lower risk in fewer moves, and assess and prioritize risk with precision. 

Along with the rise of automation and risk-centric approaches, organizations are integrating zero trust architecture in their security framework. An estimated 60% of institutions will have utilized zero trust policies by 2025, requiring multi-factor authentication (MFA), enforcing minimal access to valuable assets, and monitoring users and their device posture continuously.  

Our wish for you

Historically, the concept of security has meant building up defenses to thwart off would-be attackers. Now, it encompasses resilience, too. Knowing the stakes are ever-increasing and the dangers mounting, the need for the ability to withstand challenges and emerge stronger is at an all-time high. 

As we reflect on the past few years and the lessons realized, we have one wish for you this holiday season and beyond: that you would be able to harness resilience through the coming year, no matter what 2023 may bring. To help break down the concept of resilience, Cisco defined five dimensions into achievable measures. We wish for abundance in all for you and your organization:

Connectedness. As dozens of security tools and complex hybrid architectures buff your security systems, may your integrations be seamless and vulnerable gaps bridged. 

Vision. We wish for improved vision across all degrees of your environment, to catch blind spots and anticipate any threat on the horizon before it strikes. 

Intelligence. As threats modernize, so may your security intel keep forces up-to-date with much-needed context, speed, and accuracy.

Focus. Our shared goal is to keep your most valuable assets secure: may your team be able to identify and prioritize the most paramount risks to your organization.

Efficiency. Time and resources are more precious than ever. Let automated processes take a load off your team’s shoulders so they can focus efforts on the strategic interventions you need human intel for. 

It’s important to be realistic here. Preventing 100% of all attacks is not totally possible. And neither is dodging all of life’s difficulties. That’s why we want true resilience not just for your business, but for you, too. In 2023, we’re wishing for good connections, brighter vision, smarter moves, renewed purpose, and strength to make the most of it all. We know you will be able to recover from life’s inevitable ordeals, and spring back stronger than ever before. May 2023 be your year of resilience. 

Thanks for being there  

If we’ve learned anything in the past few years, it’s that life is unpredictable and often harsh. Thank you for being a part of our community through it all and for sharing our vision for the future. We’re here for your organization, and we’re here for you.