Securing U.S. critical infrastructures and democratic institutions requires whole-of-government vigilance, dedicated leadership, and strategic innovation. In many ways, cybersecurity is an asymmetric tower-defense war game where a digital fog of war obfuscates numerous adversaries with unpredictable resources and varying tactics. Organizations begin with the certainty that their systems will be targeted and an accounting of the resources at their disposal to attempt to mitigate attacks or remediate breaches. Proactive strategic planning that incorporates emerging data in real-time and adapts to evolutions in the threat landscape is essential to deter adversaries and mitigate disruptive incidents. However, many organizations fail to recognize the need to modernize their reactive strategies into proactive approaches or adopt a modern strategy altogether. As in physical conflicts, the responsibility of rallying the defense and routing oncoming attackers falls to leaders capable of anticipating adversarial efforts and communicating a comprehensive strategy. This publication will acclimate cybersecurity thought leaders on how to develop and implement effective and proactive strategies to improve the resilience of vital people, data, and systems.
The impacts of the events of the past year, ranging from increases in cybercrime to a transition to remote work and the cloud, were unforeseeable. Hindsight benefits our reflection, evaluation, and analysis, but we do not know what the future may yet hold. Cybersecurity is a mercurial field, and a strategic planning mindset is essential to preempt emerging threats and attacks. At the April 6,2022 ICIT Spring Briefing, “Playing to Win: Using Strategy to Create Your Cybersecurity Battle Plan,” facilitated in partnership with MFGS, inc. cybersecurity thought leaders from across the public and private sectors will expand on some of the themes discussed in this publication and will offer greater depth and insights through their experience in developing and implementing comprehensive and proactive cybersecurity strategies that ensure the security of individual organizations and our nation.