Threat Versus Risk: Rethinking Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Events
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Governance & Risk Management
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IT Risk Management
Splunk’s Anthony Pierce on Cybersecurity Strategies Beyond Threat Management
Cybersecurity strategies often focus primarily on threat response, which only solves part of the problem. To effectively implement threat identification and risk management, companies should first distinguish between threat and risk. “We spend all of our stuff in cybersecurity addressing modern-day threats, but the whole goal is to reduce risk,” said Anthony Pierce, field CTO, cybersecurity and infrastructure, Splunk.
See Also: Expel: Firms Still Threatened by Old Vulnerabilities
Pierce recommended taking a more comprehensive approach centered around risk management. While threats are inevitable, effective control and a deep understanding of your environment can substantially mitigate risks, enhancing an organization’s resilience against cyberattacks, he said.
“When you think about risk, you think about controls. Controls address threats. But in cybersecurity, we have become reactive in nature. We see threats, so we do something. When you address risks, you are actually doing a whole lot of things,” he said. “For example, when you think about risks, you think about frameworks like NIST, CSF, ITIL, ISO. And when you think about threat, you’re thinking about MITRE.”
In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Pierce also discussed:
- How a data-driven approach to cybersecurity can enhance resilience;
- Why layering defense mechanisms is essential for effective cybersecurity;
- The shift toward outcome-based cybersecurity strategies.
Pierce is an information security investigator and technologist with a deep technical understanding of the managed security services technologies, TS/SCI network security, vulnerability detection, incident response, internal and external threat and hunt operations, intrusion analysis, and secure and protect methodologies.
